Baudelaire and Modernity in Paris

Baudelaire's exposure to art and poetry at a young age, catalyzing his interest, was a product of his modern, middle-class upbringing. His Father, Francois, was at first a priest, but soon left the faith for a lucrative civil service job. He painted and wrote poetry in his leisure time and encouraged an interest in the discipline's in his son. In 1827, when Charles was only six his father died, leaving him to live with his mother for over a year, before she remarried. He found a great joy in their bond, which was broken by his stern Step father, Aupick. Aupick was a soldier and went on to represent France in the Ottoman empire, and eventually became a Second Empire senator. Baudelaire detested him.

In his college education Baudelaire became a student of Law to please his step father, but took little interest in the subject. It is at this point that he frequented Paris' Latin Quarter and began writing serious poetry. Upon receiving his inheritance, he quickly spent much of it on luxuries and dandified himself. He became a flaneur and within two years spent half of his money. In 1844 his family put him on a monthly allowance, preventing him from fully paying off any debts. It was in this limbo state that he lived out the rest of his life, always unsatisfied. His writing is closely linked to the hardships and extravagances to which he was prone. It should also be noted that his career as writer would not have been possible if not for the Modern Middle Class background he was born into.

Links

1. Thesis Page
2. Point A: Modernity and Baudelaire's Personal History
3. Point B: Les Fleurs du Mal as a document of Parisian Modernity
4. Point C: Baudelaire and the Birth of Impressionism in Painting and Prose Poetry