Baudelaire et l'énigme de « J. G. F. »

Michel Brix

doi:10.1556/Verb.9.2007.2.3

Baudelaire et l'énigme de « J. G. F. »

Authors

Michel Brix Facultés Universitaires Notre-Dame de la Paix, Faculté de Philosophie et Lettres

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1556/Verb.9.2007.2.3

Keywords:

Baudelaire, J. G. F. Baillarger, medicine, poetry, French

Abstract

The dedication "À J. G. F." appears twice in Baudelaire's work. As a heading to Paradis artificiels (1860) the first time; and a second time in the 1861 edition of Les Fleurs du Mal, where the poem entitled "L'Héautontimorouménos" is addressed to this mysterious person. Up until now, these initials have guarded their secret. To whom do they belong? To this day, no mention has ever been made by critics that those initials match the forenames of a famous contemporary of the author, a doctor twice mentioned by Baudelaire, the alienist (psychiatrist) Jules Gabriel François Baillarger.