During the last days of my work at the paper, I kept thinking about a story by J.-K. Huysmans, published first, apparently, only in 1964, some 57 years after the writer’s death.
It’s called M. Bougran’s Retirement, and it’s about a civil servant who gets pensioned off early, at age 50, and finds out right away that his identity is wrapped up in his job:
And, more poignant than ever, the memory of his office obsessed him. Seen from afar, the ministry appeared to him as a real paradise. He had quite forgotten the iniquities he had endured, his post as under-chief -clerk nabbed by an outsider who had entered the service on the coattails of a minister, the irritations of a job that was both mechanical and stressful; the darker side of this existence spent polishing your chair with the seat of your pants had evaporated; all that was left was the vision of a nice sedentary life, cozy and warm, made cheery by the conversation of his colleagues, by their awful puns and their third-rate practical jokes.
My copy of the story comes from the Hesperus Press edition, translated by Andrew Brown and published in 1997 (the Hesperus Website is being revamped, but here’s a good piece by Carlin Romano about what this innovative little house is all about).
Bougran is in despair at his early retirement until he has a stroke of inspiration: He’ll redecorate his apartment to look just like his office. He even goes so far as to hire another ex-colleague to come in every few minutes or so with an urgent case that needs his attention.
It’s hilarious, but also very sad, and it ends with Bougran’s death of a stroke, at his desk, writing an opinion in regard to a nonexistent appeal, his health having been seriously undermined by the loss of his job.
Huysmans spent 30 years working for the French government himself, and he knew whereof he spoke when it came to office tedium.
I think the excerpt above shows how ideal a writer he is for Cubicle Nation, and while I’m enjoying being out of the office routine right now, there’s a comforting esprit de corps there that Huysmans touches on that rings as true today as it did in the late 19th century.
I recommend this story, and the Hesperus series in general, which offers 100-page paperbacks featuring shorter works by excellent writers (my library has Hesperus volumes of works by Petrarch and Pushkin). Rereading the story of poor old M. Bougran has been quite a tonic in these stressful days.
