and listened, trying not to intervene: “Intry to think otherwise than I feel.” Butnhe loved all his characters, as God lovesnhis creatures and permits them to actnfreely. Bruckberger gives neither ancomplete nor a chronological list ofnBernanos’ writings, from which henquotes more or less at random. An in-‘nterested reader will find the translatednworks in any public library, and anyoung person might do well to beginnthe discovery of Bernanos throughnhis fiction. Those who read Frenchnshould, of course, try to get hold of thenoriginal texts.nEven more so than Dostoyevsky,nBernanos drives situations and charactersnto the extreme, anything less seemingnhardly to interest him. In LesnEnfants humilies, a collection of essays,nhe says: “I have dreamed of saintsnand heroes, neglecting the intermediarynforms of our species, and I havenbecome aware that these forrris hardlynexist, that saints and heroes alonenLncount. The intermediary forms are angelatinous mass; if you take a handfulnat random you know the rest, and thisnjelly would not even deserve to bengiven a name if it were not for thensaints and the heroes to whom thevnowe the right to be called human.”nAlthough Bernanos did not read muchnand knew hardly any authors of his or,nfor that matter, of any other time, henwould have agreed with AnatolenFrance, who said: “II n’y a de supportablenque les choses extremes” — “onlynextremes are bearable.” In his fictionnBernanos reestablished, in its authenticndimension, the moral order of thenuniverse threatened by the ever-acceleratingndisintegration of bourgeois society;nthe only order in which we cannrediscover our consciences as well asnthe taste, the lust for life, for the effortnand the risk proportionate to our dignitynas human beings created in thenimage of God. In Bruckberger’s estimation,nneither Proust nor Celine,nGREAT TOPICS, GREAT ISSUESnSouthern Writing — March 1991 — George Garrettnon the state of Southern letters, Madison Smartt Bellnon the short story, Dabney Stiiart on Fred Chappell,nFred Chappell’s story “Ancestors,” and poems bynJames Seay and R.H.W. Dillard. Plus Henry Taylornand Kelly Cherry on Southern poetry, George Corenon the literary quarterlies, and Steven Goldberg onnthe teaching of sociology.nConservative Movement: R.I.P.? — May 1991 —nSix views on conservatism by Wick Allison, CharleynReese, Clyde Wilson, Murray N. Rothbard, HowardnPhillips, and Donald Devine. Plus Samuel Francisnon the failure of American conservatism, FlorencenKing on misanthropy, Chilton Williamson on thenhistory of isolationism, and Peter Stanlis’ vindicationnof Iidmund Burke.nThe Promise of American Life — July 1991 — ChiltonnWilliamson on the cultural and environmentalnarguments against increased immigration, RichardnEstrada on the impact of immigration on Hispanic-nAmericans, Thomas Fleming on how Ellis Island hasnsuperceded Jamestown and Plymouth Rock, andnnovelist Edward Redlinski’s account of emigratingnto America. Plus Milton Rosenberg on Paul de Mannand J.O. Tate on the music of Ignaz Friedman.nCaught in the Cash Nexus — April 1991 — IrvingnHorowitz and Mary Curtis on “bottom-line” thinkingnand national productivity, Josh Ozersky on thenseduction of cable’s Nick at Nite, and Thomas Molnarnon why European unification will never occur. PlusnSamuel Francis on the European New Right, GeorgenCarey on the present health of the Constimtion, andnFrank Bryan on the case for Vermont’s secession.nU.S.S.R.: Cracli-up or Crackdown? — June 1991n— Andrei Navrozov on Soviet deception and thenliberation of Eastern Europe, Yuri Maltsev on thenunveiling of Soviet myths, Arnold Beichman onnGorbachev and reform. Jay Kinney on the state ofnSoviet propaganda, and Thomas Fleming on the lessonsnAmerica can learn from the Soviet Union. PlusnJeffrey Tucker on enterprise zones, and MatthewnScully’s review of Carl Rowan’s autobiography.nPenny Dreadfuls — August 1991 — Robert Sampsonnon adventure fiction, Richard S. Wheeler on thencliche[ac]s of the traditional Western, and ThomasnFleming on the Utopian and dystopian visions ofnscience fiction. Plus Llewellyn H. Rockwell onnChristopher Lasch’s The True and Only Heaven,nEllen Wilson Fielding on Elizabeth Fox-Genovese’snFeminism Without Illusions, and Bill Kauffman onnthe life and work of Henry W. Clune.nBACK ISSUE ORDER FORM Each issue $5.00 (postage & handUng included)nTITLE DATEnQty.nCostnSouthern Writing March 1991nCaught in the Cash Nexus April 1991nConservative Movement: R.I.P.? May 1991nU.S.S.R.: Crack-up or Crackdown? June 1991nThe Proinise of American Life July 1991nPenny Dreadfuls August 1991nTotal Enclosed $nName.nAddress _nCity_nState .nZip _nMail with check to: Chronicles • 934 N. Main Street • Rockford, IL 61103 Jn38/CHRONICLESnnnneither Stehdahl nor Flaubert measuresnup to the temerity of this matadornin the literary bullring. He had notnmany male friends because, saysnBruckberger, “men are frivolous andnnot aware of the risks Bernanosnundertook . . . not physically, but spiritually,nknowing that one wrong wordncould have disastrous effects. Womennare more sensitive, they have a feelingnfor the dangers undedying every venturenin the course of its trite, day-to-daynprocedure.”nDue to his (as usual) straitenedncircumstances, Bernanos published hisnsecond novel in two parts, UImposturenand La Joie. But although these eadynworks are among his best, the one thatnreveals most about this unique man isnLa Nouvelle Histoire de Mouchette,nthe last of his novels written before thennonfiction period. It was composednunder the impact of horrors committednby Franco’s supporters in Majorca, butncoming from a professed CatholicnChristian this story of apparently unredeemablendespair is an enigma; not anword in the entire book is about eithernGod, the Church, or religion. And yetnit is not a glorification of suicide but, asnBernanos told Bruckberger, an attemptnto save his faith and his sanity in thenface of dreadful crimes committed innthe name of what he valued and cherishednabove all else. One year earliernhis Journal d’un cure de campagne wasnpublished and there, according tonBruckberger, we find in the main characterna close resemblance to Bernanos.n”It is the peculiarity of children, heroes,nand saints not to be able to draw anclear line between what is possible andnwhat is not. This applies to Bernanosnthe man and to the fascinating, exuberant,nfraternal character of his work tonwhich the only means of admission is ancertain eandidness, the candidness ofnAlice in Wondedand which allows hernto see people as they are, no matternhow surprising this may be.”nThe unusual testimony to a greatnman and a great friendship introducesnthe reader to the many-splendorednwork of Bernanos, to his spiritualitynand his realism, to his love of God’ andnHis worid. In the second volume of hisnpublished letters, one finds the followingnwords: “When I am dead, tell thensweet kingdom of this earth that I lovednit more than I ever dared to say.”n