André Suarès

French critic. His real name was Isaac Félix Surès. A Jew born in Marseille, he failed to obtain a teaching qualification after graduating from the École Normale Supérieure (Ecole Normale Supérieure) and instead devoted himself to writing. He formed friendships with Rolland, Péguy, Claudel, and Gide (his collection of letters with them is famous), but remained isolated in the literary world throughout his career. He used pen names such as Yves Scantrel, Caeldal, and Seypsé. He wrote poetry, plays, travelogues, and essays, but his writings were always accompanied by deep critical reflection. Since his Voyage du Condottiere (1910-32), which could be called his Italian art pilgrimage, and his essay On the Death of My Brother (1904), he discovered the theme of "greatness" that elevates human suffering, misery, and death to the level of artistic creation, and at the same time established his own critical method of intuitively grasping the essence of the subject and replacing it with words of the soul. His representative works include the three-volume collection of essays On Life (1909-12) and The Three Men (1913), which paints critical portraits of Pascal, Ibsen, and Dostoevsky, and he has written a total of about 80 works. His most notable work is Prospects for Europe (1939), which is considered a masterpiece of abusive criticism in which he sees Hitler as the epitome of greatness.

[Yoshitaka Matsuzaki]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

フランスの批評家。本名はイザック・フェリックス・シュアレス。マルセイユ生まれのユダヤ人で、高等師範学校（エコール・ノルマル・シュペリュール）卒業後、教授資格取得に失敗し、文筆活動に専念する。ロラン、ペギー、クローデル、ジッドらと親交を結ぶが（彼らとの往復書簡集は有名）、文壇的には終始孤立を続ける。イブ・スカントレル、カエルダル、セイプセなどの筆名を用いる。詩、劇、旅行記、エッセイを手がけるが、つねに深い批評的省察を伴う。イタリア美術行脚(あんぎゃ)ともいうべき『傭兵隊長(コンドチエーレ)の旅』Voyage du Condottiere（1910～32）、エッセイ『私の兄の死について』（1904）以来、人間の苦悩、悲惨、死を芸術創造にまで高める「偉大性」のテーマをみいだし、同時に、対象の核心を直観的にとらえ魂のことばに置き換える独自の批評的方法を確立した。時評集『生について』3巻（1909～12）、パスカル、イプセン、ドストエフスキーの批評的肖像を描く『三人』（1913）を代表作として、著作総数はおよそ80。なかでも『ヨーロッパ展望』（1939）は、ヒトラーに偉大さの悪(あ)しき典型をみてとる、罵詈雑言(ばりぞうごん)批評の傑作とされる。

［松崎芳隆］

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