Reading Order
Les Caractères Reading Order
Les Caractères (1688) by Jean de La Bruyère is the masterpiece of French classical satire — a collection of moral portraits, maxims, and observations on the manners and morals of late 17th-century France that went through nine editions in La Bruyère's lifetime and established him, alongside Montaigne, Pascal, and La Rochefoucauld, as one of the four great French moralists. La Bruyère had translated Theophrastus's Characters (the Hellenistic genre of brief moral portraits — the flatterer, the miser, the garrulous man) and added his own portraits of contemporary French society, organized under sixteen chapter headings: 'Des ouvrages de l'esprit,' 'Du mérite personnel,' 'Des femmes,' 'Du cœur,' 'De la société et de la conversation,' 'Des biens de fortune,' 'De la ville,' 'De la cour,' 'Des grands,' 'Du souverain,' 'De l'homme,' 'Des jugements,' 'De la mode,' 'De quelques usages,' 'De la chaire,' 'Des esprits forts.' The portraits are sometimes named (Acis, Ménalque, Giton, Phédon) and sometimes recognizable to contemporaries as portraits of real courtiers and members of the Académie française — the book was a social event as much as a literary text, its identifying of the 'clés' (keys) to the real persons a parlor game of the court. The chapter 'Des grands' and 'De la cour' contain the most devastating analysis of Versailles under Louis XIV: the mechanical, ritual subjection of the great nobles to the king's gaze and favor.
Where to start
The Caractères have no required reading order — each chapter is self-contained and the portraits can be read in any order. Begin with 'De la cour' and 'Des grands' for the court satire; then 'Du cœur' and 'De la société' for the moral analysis; then 'De l'homme' for the broader philosophical reflections. The Folio edition includes the Theophrastus translation as well as the Characters, which is essential context. Read La Rochefoucauld first — the Maximes and the Caractères are the two halves of the French moralist tradition.
Complete Les Caractères Book List
- 1Buy
Les Caractères
Jean de La Bruyère·1688·The first edition — La Bruyère adds his own characters after the Theophrastus translation; the eight subsequent editions (to 1696) add new portraits and remarks - 2Buy
Les Caractères (9e édition)
Jean de La Bruyère·1696·The definitive edition — the last in La Bruyère's lifetime; includes all the additions; the standard reading text; the Folio and GF editions use this - 3Buy
Les Caractères de Théophraste
Théophraste (trans. La Bruyère)·1688·La Bruyère's translation of Theophrastus — the Hellenistic model; 30 brief moral portraits of human types (the flatterer, the garrulous man, the miser); the origin of the genre - 4Buy
Les Maximes
François de La Rochefoucauld·1665·The essential predecessor — La Rochefoucauld's maxims are the other half of the French moralist tradition; both La Rochefoucauld and La Bruyère diagnose amour-propre but through different forms - 5Buy
Les Essais
Michel de Montaigne·1595·The ultimate ancestor — Montaigne's self-observing essays are the tradition La Bruyère enters; but where Montaigne observes himself, La Bruyère observes others
Les Caractères — Frequently Asked Questions
What is a "caractère" in La Bruyère?
A caractère is a brief moral portrait of a recognizable human type — the parasite, the proud man, the pedant, the newly rich — described through their behavior in social situations; the form goes back to Theophrastus's 4th-century BCE Characters, which La Bruyère translated before adding his own.
Who is 'Giton' in Les Caractères?
Giton is La Bruyère's portrait of the prosperous man — he spits far, he blows his nose loudly, he coughs, he laughs loudly; his confidence is the confidence of money; his opposite is Phédon, the thin, feverish poor man who effaces himself; the two portraits together analyze how wealth produces and poverty destroys social confidence.
What is the "clé" system in Les Caractères?
The clés (keys) are identifications of the real persons behind La Bruyère's named portraits — Acis is X, Ménalque is Y; these were passed around in manuscript among contemporaries and published in the 18th century. The identification game was part of the book's social function as court satire.
How does La Bruyère differ from La Rochefoucauld?
La Rochefoucauld's maxims are universal and timeless ('Our virtues are disguised vices'); La Bruyère's portraits are particular and social ('Giton' is a specific type produced by specific conditions). La Rochefoucauld is a psychologist; La Bruyère is a sociologist of the ancien régime.
What is the chapter 'De la cour' about?
'De la cour' (On the Court) is La Bruyère's analysis of Versailles under Louis XIV — the entire social life of the great nobles structured around obtaining and maintaining the king's favor; the court as a theater of competitive humiliation in which the most powerful men in France compete to be noticed by one man.
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