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L'Ingénu (US: /ˌlɑːnʒəˈnuː/ LAHN-zhə-NOO, UK: /ˈlænʒeɪnjuː/ LAN-zhay-new, French: [lɛ̃ʒeny]), sometimes subtitled The Sincere Huron in English,[1] is a satirical novella by the French philosopher Voltaire, published in 1767.
The work tells the story of a Huron "child of nature" who, after having crossed the Atlantic to England, crosses into Brittany, France, in the 1690s. Upon arrival, a prior notices depictions of his brother and sister-in-law, whom they deduce to be the Huron's parents – making him French; and he is christened Hercules de Kerkabon (Hercule de Kerkabon).
Having grown up outside of European culture, he sees the world in a more 'natural' way, causing him to interpret things directly. Since he is unaware of what is customary, leading to comic misinterpretations. After reading the Bible, he feels he should be circumcised and calls upon a surgeon to perform the operation, which is stopped through the intervention of his 'family'. After his first confession, he tries to force the priest to confess as well since he interprets a biblical verse to mean confessions must be made mutually and not exempting the clergy. Not expecting to be baptized in a church, they find the Child of Nature waiting in a stream, as baptisms are depicted in the Bible. The story satirises religious doctrine, government corruption and the folly and injustices of French society, including its practices that conflict with actual scripture.
The story also criticizes the contemporary corruption in the French government. First, the Child of Nature, on his way to receive accolades for helping fight off a British amphibious assault, is wrongly imprisoned as a Jansenist after he shows sympathy to the plight of those fleeing religious persecution. He spends a great deal of time in prison, until his lover, having been sent to a convent for four years,– journeys to Versailles to find out his plight. To do so, she must use back channels such as the wife of a confessor. Ultimately, to secure her lover's release, she must succumb to the advances of a government minister. She seeks guidance from the confessor, but he says she must have misunderstood the minister's deal and that whatever he was intimating, it must be for the best since he is related to king's confessor. The episode suggests not only the personal corruption in the French government but also the corrupt interplay of secular and religious institutions. She eventually gives in for the sake of her lover but dies of an illness shortly after they are reunited.
L'Ingénu is a mix of genres and shares characteristics with the conte philosophique, the apologue and the novel.[2]
Throughout L'Ingénu, Voltaire advocates deism and lambastes intolerance, fanaticism, superstitions, sects and the Catholic clergy.
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