In his new novel, The light of happinessÉric-Emmanuel Schmitt transports his readers to the Ve century BC, in ancient Greece, a period when humans “had genius”, according to him.
In this fourth volume of The crossing of times, a saga which will span the history of humanity in eight parts, we find the immortal character of Noam. The latter tries to carve out a place for himself in Athens, even if he does not have citizenship rights there due to his status as a foreigner. However, he will experience the daily life of this teeming city, meeting among others the philosopher Socrates and the doctor Hippocrates.
No need to have read the previous books in this historical fresco to immerse yourself in The light of happiness, specifies the author. You just need to have an interest in this period of history, he says, speaking at his home in Brussels. Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt also maintains a “very ancient and deep” link with this era, given that he learned ancient Greek from the age of 13.
Fascinated by this civilization, he mentions the many inventions which date from these centuries, such as democracy. At the time, however, this political regime included only a restricted portion of the population, he continues. “Women, metics – that is to say free citizens born in another city – and slaves were, however, excluded,” he specifies.
It remains that democracy, theater, philosophy and sports as leisure are legacies of this historical period which are still part of our lives, raises the writer. “We are all Greeks without realizing it,” he says. As such, Noam will also experience the excitement of the Olympic Games in Antiquity.
Sensuality
If the title The light of happiness evokes the intelligence that reigned in ancient Greece, it also echoes the way in which its inhabitants conceived desire. “For them, it was like pollen in the air that we inhale. It’s like an accident. For example, the god of love, Eros, shoots arrows: if the tip is gold, you fall in love, if it is lead, you hate the person. It’s the idea that it comes from the outside and not from the inside,” explains Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt.
In Greek mythology, the gods are themselves subject to these “accidents of desire”. They fall in love with women and men in turn, after an arrow has been shot at them, the writer continues. “There is a kind of fluidity which perhaps ties in with what we are trying to develop today, with this whole idea of questioning sexual identities,” he notes.
The fourth volume of The crossing of times also addresses the theme of relationships where the two people are not in tune. “Noam is deeply in love with Noura, but they are rarely in the same place together. As they are immortal, they still have centuries to love each other,” observes the author.
In his quest to regain his autonomy from Noura, Noam will also meet a young Athenian, Daphné, with whom he will experience moments of “poetry, tenderness and beauty”, continues Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt. “She will be one of the great loves of his life. »
The women’s place
If ancient Greece was a time when sensuality was heightened, it was especially men who had the leisure to enjoy it, says Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt. He therefore wanted to include extraordinary female characters, such as the legendary Greek poet Sappho. “This woman dared to love a young man, an older man, a young woman, as well as a woman her age,” he lists.
The fact remains that the place of women was “better” before the era of ancient Greece, indicates the writer. “The first volume of The crossing of times, Lost paradisestakes place at the time when we estimate that the hunter-gatherer was almost on an equal footing with the hunter-gatherer,” he explains.
The arrival of a sedentary lifestyle will, however, change the situation, he continues. “We invent the housewife and we begin to downplay the importance of women within the clan. »
The next book in the saga of Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt will also address the advent of Christianity, an era where the status of women was more mistreated than in ancient Greece, he indicates. “We are going to decrease [encore plus] the importance of women or demonizing them. »
This volume will be titled The two kingdoms, reveals the author. “I’m going to talk about Rome and Jerusalem, that is, the earthly kingdom of the Romans and the heavenly kingdom, the one that a beggar called Jesus is trying to explain. »