The Revolt of the Angels · Chapters

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Chapter companions for The Revolt of the Angels by Anatole France.

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Chapter 1
I
The chapter introduces the d'Esparvieu family history from 1789 to the present, focusing on the family mansion in Paris and its notable members: Alexandre Bussart d'Esparvieu, a statesman and author; his son Fulgence-Adolphe, a senator; and his three grandsons: Marc-Alexandre (a general), Gaétan (a country gentleman and agnostic), and René (a devout Catholic and liberal republican). René's household is described, including his wife Marie-Antoinette and their children, particularly Maurice, a young man of lukewarm faith and moderate zeal who is a barrister without practice. The chapter sets the stage for the family's religious and political tensions.
Chapter 2
II
This chapter describes the vast d'Esparvieu library, its origins under Baron Alexandre d'Esparvieu, and the efforts of subsequent generations to maintain and expand it. It introduces the librarian, Monsieur Julien Sariette, his obsessive devotion to the collection, and his daily routine, including his friendship with the painter Père Guinardon. The library is depicted as a treasure trove of knowledge, but also as a place of peculiar obsessions and hidden tensions.
Chapter 3
III
Monsieur Sariette discovers his library in disarray with valuable Hebrew, Greek, and Latin texts scattered and damaged. Despite exhaustive inquiries, he finds no explanation and becomes increasingly anxious. He eventually suspects a monkey, but upon finding a sickly captive macaco, he is overcome with pity and abandons the idea.
Chapter 4
IV
Two months after the mysterious disturbances in the library, Monsieur Sariette, the Catholic archivist, becomes increasingly paranoid, blaming Freemasons and Jews for the thefts. He resolves to spend a night in the library to catch the culprits, but is knocked unconscious by a flying book. His health deteriorates, and his reports are dismissed by Monsieur René d'Esparvieu and Abbé Patouille, who believe his mind is failing.
Chapter 5
V
In the chapel, Abbé Patouille, Gaétan d'Esparvieu, Maurice, and old Sariette discuss the frescoes by Delacroix, focusing on the depiction of wrathful angels versus guardian angels. Patouille laments the absence of peaceful celestial messengers, while Gaétan defends Delacroix's aesthetic. Old Guinardon extols the primitives and condemns Renaissance art. Later, Gaétan vents to Sariette about Guinardon's views, championing the nude and classical art over Christian primitivism.

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