# Elisée Reclus — Memoirs of a Revolutionist character guide

> Elisée Reclus in Memoirs of a Revolutionist by Peter Kropotkin.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Elisée Reclus, Reclus, Elie Reclus, Elie

**First appearance:** 0056-i

## Snapshot

The century's great geographer, who mapped the earth's peoples and then asked only where he might quietly set his shoulder to the common work.

## Who they are

Among the Geneva watchmakers and exiled Communards, Reclus stands out as a Puritan in habits and an encyclopedist in mind — a man whose vast learning of how humans live under every climate made him an anarchist almost by observation. He inspires everyone and commands no one; told to fill a gap in the paper, he sits down like a copy-boy, and invited to collaborate on his own Geography, he simply says, 'Here are the books, here is a table. Do as you like.' His presence shows the young Kropotkin what authoritylessness looks like when it is worn by a man of genuine greatness.

## Relationships

### [Peter Kropotkin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/memoirs_of_a_revolutionist_se/characters/peter_kropotkin)

_friendship_

Reclus was a fellow anarchist geographer and close friend of Kropotkin, sharing intellectual and political passions.

## In the story

### [First Contact with the Jura Federation](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/memoirs_of_a_revolutionist_se/chapters/ix)

Mentioned among Communard refugees who exhibited absence of hatred and calm gaze toward the future.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/memoirs_of_a_revolutionist_se/chapters/iii)

Great geographer and anarchist, described as a Puritan in life and an encyclopedist in mind, who served in the Paris Commune.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/memoirs_of_a_revolutionist_se/chapters/iv)

Quoted regarding the Paris Commune and the willingness of the middle classes to try a new start.

### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/memoirs_of_a_revolutionist_se/chapters/ix)

Kropotkin stayed near his abode before expulsion from Switzerland.

### [XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/memoirs_of_a_revolutionist_se/chapters/xii)

Came to support Kropotkin's wife after his arrest.

### [Spies and Agents Provocateurs](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/memoirs_of_a_revolutionist_se/chapters/xiv)

Kropotkin worked with Reclus at Clarens; mentioned in the context of a suspicious individual there.

### [Release and Renewal](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/memoirs_of_a_revolutionist_se/chapters/xv)

Mentioned as the geographer brother of Elie Reclus; the two brothers shared a close friendship and journeyed together.

### [Release and Renewal](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/memoirs_of_a_revolutionist_se/chapters/xv)

Hosted Kropotkin and his wife in Paris after release; a writer in anthropology, often mistaken for his brother Elisée.

### [XVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/memoirs_of_a_revolutionist_se/chapters/xvii)

Published the critical part of Kropotkin's work, 'Paroles d'un Révolté', during Kropotkin's imprisonment at Clairvaux.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/memoirs_of_a_revolutionist_se/characters/elisee_reclus
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/memoirs_of_a_revolutionist_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/memoirs_of_a_revolutionist_se/characters