SIMENON SIMENON. VIOLENCE IS NOT IMPORTANT, IT'S HUMAN BEING THAT MATTERS

About the difference between the Maigret novels and the classic detective novels 

SIMENON SIMENON. LA VIOLENZA NON È IMPORTANTE, È L'ESSERE UMANO CHE IMPORTA 

Sulla differenza tra i romanzi di Maigret e i romanzi gialli classici

SIMENON SIMENON. LA VIOLENCE N'EST PAS IMPORTANTE, C'EST L'ETRE HUMAIN QUI COMPTE 

A propos de la différence entre les romans Maigret et les romans policiers classiques 

 

One of the remarks that is still made today about the Maigret novels is the lack of action and also the lack of violence. This binomial, action & violence, has become so widespread in the panorama of crime fiction, up to the point of being considered an essential ingredient of the genre. It is also the case in cinematographic productions and also in great part in TV series. In fact, action and violence are scarcely present in Chief Inspector Maigret’s investigations, and if they would be, they would seem rather off topic... And yet we are in front of a typology of detective story that is extremely realistic, no world conspiracy, no secret organization led by supervillains, no fanciful flight in the world of impossible enterprises or science fiction cases. The world built by Simenon for Maigret is made of concrete things, of murders for even trivial reasons: revenge, jealousy, necessity, money… small and big tragedies of everyday life. Yet we are well aware that in this reality, if not really action, at least violence is an essential part in homicides, kidnappings, in revenge... 

Simenon himself answered about this lack of describing violence in his novels, when he was interviewed in 1968 by five doctors for the review Médecine et Hygiène, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the publication: “in all my life I have had a physical horror for violence, I don’t like to watch a boxing on television, however I myself practiced a little that sport. I hate cruelty, for example I would not be able to attend a bullfight…” 

In short there appears the picture of a quiet bourgeois far away from the world frequented by his characters. Doctors, analysts and psychologists of Médecine et Hygiène found that element interesting and they insisted to understand which is the reason for such a choice. Why have murder and violence already taken place at the moment when Maigret arrives on the spot, and why does the Chief Inspector always seem interested in other people? 

Simenon answered: “this is true and there is a good reason for this. What is a murder? There is a man of 45, on that Sunday he’s a man like any other belonging to the community. Within five minutes, this man, for any reason, as small and insignificant as a drop of water, commits a murder and suddenly he doesn’t belong to the human community anymore and he becomes a monster. Thus, he lived for 45 years as a human being accepted in society and five minutes later on he’s regarded with disgust… he is no longer part of society…“ 

In short it seems like Simenon would tell us that his Maigret (or maybe his own projection in the role of the Chief Inspector?) knows that in a few moments insignificant events can occur, which, changing a man’s life, can lead him to perform gruesome actions. But it’s not violent action in itself that is important and nor is it the centre of the novelist’s and the Chief Inspector’s interest in the investigations. But rather it is the individual himself that interests them (the famous “naked man”). They want to know the social conditions, the values and the dominant mentality of the environment in which this individual grew up, what these elements have made of him and who he is now. They have to enter the world in which he works and in which he lives with his familiars. When Maigret/Simenon will be in tune with all that and will be able to feel that way of being, then the road will open on understanding the situations, the facts and the actions of the protagonists. 

by Simenon-Simenon