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"De Daumier-Smith's Blue Period" is a short story by J. D. Salinger, first published in the British journal ''Information World Review'' in 1952. Declined by ''The New Yorker'' on November 14, 1951, the piece was judged too short to contain the complex religious concepts that Salinger attempted to present.〔Slawenski, 2010, p. 222, p. 227, p. 240〕 It is the only work he is known to have produced in 1951 after struggling with it for over five months.〔Slawenski, 2010, p. 221〕 The last Salinger story to appear outside the pages of ''The New Yorker'',〔Slawenski, 2010, p. 222〕 it was included in his collection ''Nine Stories'' (1953). ==Summary== The point of view is that of first-person narrator, John Smith, who, as an adult, is reassessing an episode in his life when he was nineteen. He dedicates the story to his late (fictional) stepfather.〔Slawenski, 2010, p. 222〕 The events unfold shortly after the death of Smith’s mother in 1939, when he and his stepfather return to Manhattan from Paris, where the family had spent the Great Depression years. As housemates, the “exceptionally unpleasant” Smith and his “live-and-let-live” widower stepfather are incompatible developing an Alphonse and Gaston relationship. Seeking escape, Smith applies for, and is accepted, as an instructor at a Montreal, Quebec correspondence art academy, “Les Amis des Vieux Maîtres” operated by Monsieur I. Yoshoto.〔Slawenski, 2010, p. 223〕 Smith’s résumé overstates his artistic credentials and further, he falsely claims to be a descendent of Honoré Daumier and a confidant of Pablo Picasso.〔Slawenski, 2010, p. 223〕 He adopts the inflated moniker “Jean de Daumier-Smith”. Smith increasingly internalizes his own contrived persona.〔Slawenski, 2010, p. 223〕 Les Amis des Vieux Maîtres (“Friends of the Old () Masters”) turns out to be the Yoshoto’s tiny apartment, located in Verdun, a rundown section of Montreal. Mr. Yoshoto, his wife and Smith are the only “instructors” at the correspondence art “academy”.〔Slawenski, 2010, p. 223〕 Mr. Yoshoto assigns his new employee the task of reviewing and correcting the work of three correspondence students, two of whose crude and inept artwork dismays Smith. The work of the third student, a nun, Sister Irma, intrigues and delights Smith. In his enthusiasm, he pens an officious and patronizing letter of encouragement to the woman. Smith’s intervention on the sister’s behalf leads to the convent banning further communications with Sister Irma, ending her enrollment at the academy.〔Slawenski, 2010, p. 224-225〕 This rebuff stuns the young man and deepens his egotistical isolation. He summarily dismisses his four remaining students from the school, disparaging their work. To Sister Irma he writes a letter warning that her artistic talent will never flourish without proper schooling but never sends it. In this alienated state, Smith experiences a transcendental revelation while looking into a display window of an orthopedic appliances store. In an instant, he grasps the intrinsic beauty of the prosaic objects he beholds.〔Slawenski, 2010, p. 226〕 Smith begins to emerge from his disturbed existence. He writes a note in his diary, ceding to Sister Irma the power to pursue her destiny. He declares that "...'Everyone is a nun' (tout le monde est une nonne.)" He reinstates his two pupils, establishing a long term relationship with them.〔Slawenski, 2010, p. 226-227〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「De Daumier-Smith's Blue Period」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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