This page will contain wikis about Celine, as they become available.Louis-Ferdinand DestouchesLouis-Ferdinand Destouches (May 27, 1894 – July 1, 1961) was a French writer and physician who wrote under the nom de guerre "Celine". LifeHe was born Louis-Ferdinand Destouches at Courbevoie in the Seine département (now Hauts-de-Seine). Céline received only a basic education before he joined the French cavalry. He fought in World War I and was decorated for his actions in a battle where he was allegedly wounded in the head. Discharged from the Army, after the war he studied to obtain a medical degree. He worked in France as a doctor, then travelled to the United States where he became the staff surgeon at the Ford Motor Company plant in Detroit, Michigan. Next he worked in Africa and for the new League of Nations before taking up a permanent position as a doctor to the poor in Paris. He then started to write in his spare time. His best-known work is also his first: Voyage au bout de la nuit (Journey to the End of the Night) (1932, translated into English most recently and successfully by Ralph Manheim). It broke many literary conventions of the time, using the rhythms and, to a certain extent, the vocabulary of slang and vulgar speech. The book became a public success, but Céline was not awarded the Prix Goncourt, although the voting was controversial enough to become the subject of a book (Goncourt 32 by Eugène Saccomano, 1999). In 1936 he wrote Mort à crédit (Death on the Installment Plan), giving innovative, chaotic, and antiheroic visions of human suffering. Openly anti-semitic before and during World War II, he was identified by the public with the Nazi occupation, despite his consistent contempt for their ideology (and all others). He escaped judgment by fleeing to Germany (Sigmaringen, 1944) along with the Vichy government and later to Denmark (1945). Branded a collaborator, he was condemned by default (1950) in France to one year of imprisonment and declared a national disgrace. Amnestied, he returned to France in 1951; unable to earn a living through medicine, and facing difficulty returning his books to print, he lived in poverty, working himself to death on his writing. Fame came back to him in later life with a trilogy telling of his exile: D'un château l'autre, Nord and Rigodon. Céline died on July 1, 1961 of a ruptured aneurysm and was interred in a small cemetery at Bas Meudon (part of Meudon in the Hauts-de-Seine département). Work AnalysisCéline's importance as an innovative author has been recognized, although many find his anti-semitism distateful. Pessimism pervades Céline's fiction as his characters sense failure, anxiety, nihilism, and inertia. Céline was unable to communicate with others, and during his life sank more deeply into a hate-filled world of madness and rage. However if one wishes to say this then it must be qualified by the narrative of betrayal and exploitation, both real and imagined, that punctuated his life, for his two true loves, his cat and wife, are mentioned with nothing other than kindness and warmth. A progressive disintegration of personality appears in the stylistic incoherence of his books based on his life during the war: Guignol's Band, D'un château l'autre and Nord. However, some critics claim that the books are less incoherent than intentionally fragmented, and that they represent the final development of the style introduced with Journey to the End of the Night, his first novel, suggesting that Céline maintained his faculties in clear working order to the end of his days. He continued writing right up to his death in 1961, finishing his last novel, Rigodon, in fact on the day before he died of a brain aneurysm. In Conversations with Professor Y (1955) Céline defends his style, indicating that his heavy use of the ellipse and his disjointed sentences are an attempt to embody human emotion in written language. His writings are examples of black comedy, where misfortunate and often terrible things are described humourously. Céline's writing is often hyper-real and its polemic qualities can often be startling, however his main strength lies in his ability to discredit almost everything and yet not lose a sense of enraged humanity. Bibliography
References
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Céline's writing is often hyper-real and its polemic qualities can often be startling, however his main strength lies in his ability to discredit almost everything and yet not lose a sense of enraged humanity. Coalitions of NGO's and trade unions like the Clean clothes campaign (CCC) seek to improve these conditions as much as possible by sponsoring awareness-raising events, which draw the attention of both the media and the general public to the workers' plight. His writings are examples of black comedy, where misfortunate and often terrible things are described humourously. The clothing industry is concentrated outside of western Europe and America, and garment workers often have to labor under poor conditions. In Conversations with Professor Y (1955) Céline defends his style, indicating that his heavy use of the ellipse and his disjointed sentences are an attempt to embody human emotion in written language. As technologies change, so will clothing. He continued writing right up to his death in 1961, finishing his last novel, Rigodon, in fact on the day before he died of a brain aneurysm. Costume history serves as a source of inspiration to current fashion designers, as well as a topic of professional interest to costumers constructing for plays, films, television, and historical reenactment. A progressive disintegration of personality appears in the stylistic incoherence of his books based on his life during the war: Guignol's Band, D'un château l'autre and Nord. However, some critics claim that the books are less incoherent than intentionally fragmented, and that they represent the final development of the style introduced with Journey to the End of the Night, his first novel, suggesting that Céline maintained his faculties in clear working order to the end of his days. In the thousands of years that humans have spent constructing clothing, they have created an astonishing array of styles, many of which we can reconstruct from surviving garments, photos, paintings, mosaics, etc., as well as from written descriptions. However if one wishes to say this then it must be qualified by the narrative of betrayal and exploitation, both real and imagined, that punctuated his life, for his two true loves, his cat and wife, are mentioned with nothing other than kindness and warmth. Industrial sewing operations sell these as waste; home sewers may turn them into quilts. Céline was unable to communicate with others, and during his life sank more deeply into a hate-filled world of madness and rage. Modern European fashion treats cloth much more prodigally, typically cutting in such a way as to leave various odd-shaped cloth remnants. Pessimism pervades Céline's fiction as his characters sense failure, anxiety, nihilism, and inertia. Traditional European patterns for men's shirts and women's chemises take this approach. Céline's importance as an innovative author has been recognized, although many find his anti-semitism distateful. The tailor may cut triangular pieces from one corner of the cloth, and then add them elsewhere as gussets. Céline died on July 1, 1961 of a ruptured aneurysm and was interred in a small cemetery at Bas Meudon (part of Meudon in the Hauts-de-Seine département). Another approach involves cutting and sewing the cloth, but using every bit of the cloth rectangle in constructing the clothing. Fame came back to him in later life with a trilogy telling of his exile: D'un château l'autre, Nord and Rigodon. The precious cloth remains uncut, and people of various sizes can wear the garment. Amnestied, he returned to France in 1951; unable to earn a living through medicine, and facing difficulty returning his books to print, he lived in poverty, working himself to death on his writing. Pins or belts hold the garments in place. Branded a collaborator, he was condemned by default (1950) in France to one year of imprisonment and declared a national disgrace. Many peoples wore, and still wear, garments consisting of rectangles of cloth wrapped to fit — for example, the Scottish kilt or the Javanese sarong. He escaped judgment by fleeing to Germany (Sigmaringen, 1944) along with the Vichy government and later to Denmark (1945). One approach simply involves draping the cloth. Openly anti-semitic before and during World War II, he was identified by the public with the Nazi occupation, despite his consistent contempt for their ideology (and all others). Therefore, methods were developed for making most efficient use of textiles. In 1936 he wrote Mort à crédit (Death on the Installment Plan), giving innovative, chaotic, and antiheroic visions of human suffering. One sign of this is that the textile industry was the first to be mechanized during the Industrial Revolution; before the invention of the powered loom, textile production was a tedious and labor-intensive process. The book became a public success, but Céline was not awarded the Prix Goncourt, although the voting was controversial enough to become the subject of a book (Goncourt 32 by Eugène Saccomano, 1999). Although modern consumers take clothing for granted, making the fabrics that go into clothing is not easy. It broke many literary conventions of the time, using the rhythms and, to a certain extent, the vocabulary of slang and vulgar speech. See weaving, knitting, and twining. His best-known work is also his first: Voyage au bout de la nuit (Journey to the End of the Night) (1932, translated into English most recently and successfully by Ralph Manheim). Other cultures have supplemented or replaced leather and skins with cloth: woven, knitted, or twined from various animal and vegetable fibres. He then started to write in his spare time. Some human cultures, such as the various peoples of the Arctic Circle, until recently made their clothing entirely of furs and skins, cutting clothing to fit and decorating lavishly. Next he worked in Africa and for the new League of Nations before taking up a permanent position as a doctor to the poor in Paris. Its invention may have coincided with the spread of modern Homo sapiens from the warm climate of Africa, thought to have begun between 50,000 and 100,000 years ago. He worked in France as a doctor, then travelled to the United States where he became the staff surgeon at the Ford Motor Company plant in Detroit, Michigan. Since most humans have very sparse body hair, body lice require clothing to survive, so this suggests a surprisingly recent date for the invention of clothing. Discharged from the Army, after the war he studied to obtain a medical degree. Ralf Kittler, Manfred Kayser and Mark Stoneking, anthropologists at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, have conducted a genetic analysis of human body lice that indicates that they originated not more than about 72,000 +/- 42,000 years ago. He fought in World War I and was decorated for his actions in a battle where he was allegedly wounded in the head. Archeologists have identified very early sewing needles of bone and ivory from about 30,000 BC, found near Kostenki, Russia, in 1988. Céline received only a basic education before he joined the French cavalry. Knowledge of such clothing remains inferential, since clothing materials deteriorate quickly compared to stone, bone, shell and metal artifacts. He was born Louis-Ferdinand Destouches at Courbevoie in the Seine département (now Hauts-de-Seine). According to archaeologists and anthropologists, the earliest clothing probably consisted of fur, leather, leaves or grass, draped, wrapped or tied about the body for protection from the elements. . It comes in many varieties, from expensive haute couture to thrift store grunge. Louis-Ferdinand Destouches (May 27, 1894 – July 1, 1961) was a French writer and physician who wrote under the nom de guerre "Celine". Western fashion, too, does not function monolithically. Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890 edited by Philip Rees (1991, ISBN 0130893013). A Tongan man may combine a used T-shirt with a Tongan wrapped skirt, or tupenu. Hindus (1950). Items of Western dress may also appear worn or accessorized in distinctive, non-Western ways. The Crippled Giant by M. For example, most Japanese women have adopted Western-style dress for daily wear, but will still wear expensive silk kimonos on special occasions. by Jesse Browner (1992).. However, people may wear ethnic or national dress on special occasions or if carrying out certain roles or occupations. Céline: A Biography by Frédéric Vitoux, trans. Even people in poor countries can afford used clothing from richer Western countries. Thomas (1980). Very few parts of the world remain where people do not wear items of cheap, mass-produced Western clothing. Louis-Ferdinand Céline by M. Western fashion has to a certain extent become international fashion, as Western media and styles penetrate all parts of the world. Céline and his Vision by Erika Ostrovsky (1967). Charities usually skim the best of the clothing to sell in their own thrift stores and sell the rest to merchants, who bale it up and ship it to poor Third World countries, where vendors bid for the bales and then make what profit they can selling used clothing. Céline: Man of Hate by Bettina Knapp (1974). Used but still wearable clothing can be sold at consignment shops, flea markets, online auction, or just donated to charity. Hewitt (1987). Now it is usually just tossed into the trash. The Golden Age of Louis-Ferdinand Céline by N. It could also be recycled into paper. Carson (1989). Used, no-longer-wearable clothing was once desirable raw material for quilts, rag rugs, bandages, and many other household uses. Céline's Imaginative Space by J. But the thrifty still replace zippers and buttons and sew up ripped hems. Buckley (1988). Many people prefer to buy a new piece of clothing rather than to spend their time mending old clothes. K. Mass-manufactured clothing is less expensive than the time it would take to repair it. Critical Essays on Louis-Ferdinand Céline edited by W. Today clothing is considered a consumable item. Reading Louis-Ferdinand Céline by Jim Knipfel. When the raw material — cloth — was worth more than labor, it made sense to expend labor in saving it. Rigodon, published posthumously in 1969. A meticulous tailor or seamstress could mend rips with thread raveled from hems and seam edges so skillfully that the darn was practically invisible. Guignol's band II (Le pont de Londres) 1964. In past times, mending was an art. Nord, 1960 (North, 1972). Humans have developed many specialized methods for laundering, ranging from the earliest "pound clothes against rocks in running stream" to the latest in electronic washing machines and dry cleaning (dissolving dirt in solvents other than water). D'un château l'autre, 1957 (Castle to Castle, 1968). But most clothing consists of cloth, and most cloth can be laundered and mended (patching, darning, but compare felt). Normance (Féerie II) 1954. Owners may patch tears and rips, and brush off surface dirt, but old leather and bark clothing will always look old. Féerie pour une autre fois 1952. Cleaning leather presents difficulties; one cannot wash bark cloth (tapa) without dissolving it. Casse-pipe 1949. In some cases, people simply wear an item of clothing until it falls apart. Guignol's Band, 1944 (English translation 1954). Well-worn clothing, if not cleaned and refurbished, will smell, itch, look scruffy, and lose functionality (as when buttons fall off and zippers fail). "les Beaux Draps", 1941. Fleas and lice take up residence in clothing seams. "l'École des cadavres", 1938. From the outside, sun damage, damp, abrasion, dirt, and other indignities afflict the garment. Bagatelle pour un massacre, 1937. The human body inside sheds skin cells and body oils, and exudes sweat, urine, and feces. "Mea culpa", 1936. Clothing, once manufactured, suffers assault both from within and from without. Mort à crédit, 1936 (Death on the Installment Plan aka Death on Credit (UK), 1938). However, it may also be worn everyday as a marker for special religious status. Sometimes it is worn only during the performance of religious ceremonies. Religious clothing might be considered a special case of occupational clothing. Some clothing manufacturers make fetish clothing, designed to arouse buyers with specialized tastes. Sometimes the clothing itself becomes the object of fetish, such as in case with used girl panties in Japan. Fetishes vary as much as fashion. Common fetishes involving clothing include arousal by or involving shoes, leather, uniforms, or lingerie. Fetishes have been documented in every culture and have been recorded throughout history. Sometimes the object of clothing becomes the object of arousal itself. They may be strongly aroused by the sight of another person wearing clothing and accessories they consider arousing or sexually exciting. Because clothing and adornment are closely related to ideas of human sexuality and sexual display, humans may develop clothing fetishes. All the details proclaim sexual desirability, despite the ostensible message of respectability. For example, a Saudi Arabian woman may wear an abaya to proclaim her respectability, but choose an abaya of luxurious material cut close to the body and then accessorize with high heels and a fashionable purse. Moreover, a person may choose to display a mixed message. What constitutes modesty and allurement varies radically from culture to culture, within different contexts in the same culture, and over time as different fashions rise and fall. A man might wear a tightly-cut shirt and unbutton the top buttons. For example, a Western woman might wear extreme stiletto heels, close-fitting and body-revealing black or red clothing, exaggerated make-up, flashy jewelry and perfume to show sexual interest. Other clothing may indicate flirtatious intent. For example, many Muslim women wear a head or body covering (see hijab, burqa or bourqa, chador and abaya) that proclaims their status as respectable women. Some clothing indicates the modesty of the wearer. See also Visual markers of marital status. Men and women of the Western world may wear wedding rings to indicate their marital status. Hindu women, once married, wear sindoor, a red powder, in the parting of their hair; if widowed, they abandon sindoor and jewelry and wear simple white clothing. Now that haute couture plagiarizes street fashion within a year or so, street fashion may have lost some of its power to shock, but it still motivates millions trying to look hip and cool. Bohemians, beatniks, hippies, Goths, punks and Skinheads have continued the (countercultural) tradition in the 20th-century West. In 19th-century Europe, artists and writers lived la vie de Bohème and dressed to shock: George Sand in men's clothing, female emancipationists in bloomers, male artists in velvet waistcoats and gaudy neckcloths. Clothes can also proclaim dissent from cultural norms and mainstream beliefs, as well as personal independence. A French peasant woman may identify her village with her cap or coif. A Sikh may display his religious affiliation by wearing a turban and other traditional clothing. A Scotsman declares his clan with his tartan. In many regions of the world, national costumes and styles in clothing and ornament declare membership in a certain village, caste, religion, etc. See also undercover. Sometimes a single item of clothing or a single accessory can declare one's occupation or rank within a profession — for example, the high toque or chef's hat worn by a chief cook. Members of religious orders may wear uniforms known as habits. School children often wear school uniforms, while college and university students sometimes wear academic dress. Military, police, and firefighters usually wear uniforms, as do workers in many industries. The threat of social ostracism may also limit garment choice. In current Western society, only the rich can afford haute couture. In other societies (including most modern societies), no laws prohibit lower-status people from wearing high-status garments, but the high cost of status garments effectively limits purchase and display. In many cases throughout history, there have been elaborate systems of sumptuary laws regulating who could wear what. In China before the establishment of the republic, only the emperor could wear yellow. In ancient times, only Roman senators could wear garments dyed with Tyrian purple; only high-ranking Hawaiian chiefs could wear feather cloaks and palaoa or carved whale teeth. In many societies, people of high rank reserve special items of clothing or decoration for themselves as symbols of their social status. When fashion changes, messages from clothing change. More extensive changes, that may require more time, money, or effort to effect, may span generations. The rate at which fashion changes varies; easily modified styles in wearing or accessorizing clothes can change in months, even days, in small groups or in media-influenced modern societies. The manner of consciously constructing, assembling, and wearing clothing to convey a social message in any culture is governed by current fashion. If different groups read the same item of clothing or decoration with different meanings, the wearer may provoke unanticipated responses. Humans must know the code in order to recognize the message transmitted. Social messages sent by clothing, accessories, and decorations can involve social status, occupation, ethnic and religious affiliation, marital status and sexual availability, etc. See: armor, diving suit, swimsuit, bee-keeper's costume, motorcycle leathers, high-visibility clothing, and protective clothing. Humans have shown extreme inventiveness in devising clothing solutions to practical problems. In sum, clothing protects against anything that might injure the naked human body. The practical function of clothing is to protect the human body from weather — strong sunlight, extreme heat or cold, and precipitation — as well as protect from insects, noxious chemicals, weapons, and contact with abrasive substances. . Jewelry and eyeglasses are usually counted as accessories as well, even though in common speech these items are described as being worn rather than carried. Articles carried rather than worn (such as purses, canes, and umbrellas) are normally counted as fashion accessories rather than as clothing. All these decorations contribute to the overall effect and message of clothing, but do not constitute clothing per se. Humans also decorate their bodies with makeup or cosmetics, perfume, and other ornamentation; they also cut, dye, and arrange the hair of their heads, faces, and bodies (see hairstyle), and sometimes also mark their skin (by tattoos, scarifications, and piercings). But every article of clothing also carries a cultural and social meaning. Clothing protects the vulnerable human body from the extremes of weather and other features of our environment. People wear clothing for functional as well as for social reasons. Humans nearly universally wear clothing, which is also known as dress, garments, attire, or apparel. Clothing is defined, in its broadest sense, as coverings for the torso and limbs as well as coverings for the hands (gloves), feet (socks, shoes, sandals, boots) and head (hats, caps). Harmless laser beams (usually white light) will measure the customer; computers will draw up a custom pattern and execute it in the customer's choice of cloth. Present-day ready-to-wear technologies will presumably give way to computer-aided custom manufacturing. Clothing may incorporate wearable computers, flexible wearable displays (possibly leading to fully animated clothing and some forms of invisibility cloaks), medical sensors, etc. "Smart" clothing will incorporate electronics. For example, military uniforms may stiffen when hit by bullets, filter out poisonous chemicals, and treat wounds. Many more types of fibers will certainly be developed, possibly using nanotechnology. Man-made fibers such as nylon, polyester, Lycra, and Gore-Tex already account for much of the clothing market. Clothing in Oceania. Clothing in Africa. Clothing in Asia. United States alternative fashion.
United States mainstream fashion. Clothing in the Americas
International standard business attire -- global in influence, just as business functions globally. PVC. Rubber. Paper. Bark. Nylon. Leather. Fur. Down for down-filled parkas. Cloth, typically made of cotton, flax, wool, hemp, ramie, or silk. Muslim religious dress. Hindu religious dress. Orthodox Jewish dress. Buddhist monastic dress. Christian monastic habits. Christian clerical clothing (non-liturgical dress). Christian liturgical clothing (vestments). |