Napoleon, the movie

Quotes of the week

This week a few quotes by Napoleon

• Once you have made up your mind, stick to it; there is no longer any ‘if’ or ‘but.’

• With audacity one can undertake anything, but not do everything.

• Until you spread your wings, you’ll have no idea how far you can fly.

• Impossible is a word to be found only in the dictionary of fools.

• If you want a thing done well, do it yourself.

---

Hello,

We are getting closer to Christmas and I am preparing to receive my parents and brother this year. The Christmas tree is already up and a string of small lamps are hanging from the balcony rail. I like to put them up rather early since this time of the year is very dark. Some days it seems the light is never reaching us. I have also noticed that the Christmas preparations in shops, restaurants etc, are less than usual this year. The decorations are more limited, you don’t hear Christmas music everywhere, and the shopping centers are not that full of people.

I think that the overall situation in the world is putting a lid on the season. Wars and unrest, high inflation (although the latest figures for Sweden is 3.6%, going down), high electricity costs etc. It might be a good idea to slow down on consumption.

Napoleon

I went to see the much talked about film about Napoleon, directed by Sir Ridley Scott. It is a rather long film, around 2 hrs 40 min, but it did not seem that long. Scott shows us Napoleon as a military leader, a leader of a new France, and a man in love with his wife. I had heard the film was concentrated on the wars he fought, but the battle scenes did not take over the film. Although, I always wonder how they are able to film these impressive scenes, I am not so interesting in watching them. There was an equal share of the man in his different roles. I did like the film and Joaquin Phoenix did a fantastic performance as Napoleon. Like you imagine him.

If you are interested in a short history of Napoleon and his life and deeds, I can recommend the pod by historian Dan Snow (Dan Snow’s History Hit). He has a four episode podcast on Napoleon with visiting historians. It is said that there are more than 60.000 books written about Napoleon, and he features in more than 100 appearances on the screen. There is still a serious interest in the man that held Europe captive, took charge of a country in turmoil to change its destiny, and who loved a woman he could not keep.

Views on Napoleon

Inspired by the ideals of the French Revolution, Beethoven dedicated his 1803 symphony the Eroica to Napoleon and called it The Bonaparte Symphony. However, when, in 1804, he heard that Napoleon had crowned himself Emperor of France, he said: “He’s just a rascal like all the others.” The original manuscript already had the title there, but Beethoven tried to erase it, so violently that there was a big hole in the paper instead of the name.  He simply renamed it Eroica.

The German poet, Heinrich von Kleist called Napoleon “a despicable human being, the beginning of all evil and the end of all that is good.” His colleague Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, met Napoleon in 1808, and said he was a guarantor of order. Just a few views from Napoleon’s contemporaries. A man like Napoleon does not leave any one untouched, maybe even today. Personally, I have to read more about his life. The film is a good introduction, but it does not stick strictly to facts. After all, a director has to dramatise his story. Have you seen the film? Let me know what you think.

On the blog this week

Two posts on the blog this week. One of which is the best book I have read this year.

The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards

I don’t have so much space on my book shelves, so I mostly save nonfiction books after I have read them. The fiction books I save are the ones I really love. Here for authors beginning with I and J.

Books I Save on my Shelves - Letters I & J

---

See you next week as we are nearing Christmas.