Between Reality and Romanticism: Mérimée’s description of the Romani world in his Carmen novel

In various realms of art—be it literature, cinema, music, and/or painting—one can often encounter Romanis. The image of this ethnic group is, more often than not, pretty template-based and stereotypical. A freedom-loving folk who makes a living by singing, dancing, smithery, wandering around the world. Dark-haired, motley attire, and a longing for the nomadic lifestyle.

At times, the stereotypes intertwine with the actual images of Romanis in people’s minds. It appears to be a good thing, as we actually see the truth. There is, however, another perspective to this: such a combination only reinforces stereotypes. If one of the facts is the truth, then the other ones, too, are correct. What about the Carmen then—a novel featuring a Romani girl as the main protagonist? What dominates here: truth or fiction?

What did the French writer Mérimée write about? 

The Carmen novel by Prosper Mérimée tells a story full of passion, fatal love, and a clash of cultures. The narrator meets Don José, an ex-soldier who, through his love for Carmen, becomes a criminal and a murderer. José recounts how he met Carmen, a beautiful, independent Gypsy, back when he served in Seville. She was a fearless, cunning, and enticing. She tempted men but never became a property of any one of them.

It was Carmen who dragged José into the world of smugglers, and he abandoned everything for the sake of her. Her infidelity and her longing for freedom, however, became the reasons of their tragedy. Torn between jealousy and passion, José cannot get over rejection by Carmen and eventually kills her.

The world of Romanis in the novel

The world of Romanis in Carmen is pretty much romanticised and full of stereotypes. Mérimée depicts Romanis as independent, enigmatic people who are often prone to commit crimes. They live according to their own laws; they are into smuggling and fortunetelling. These details partially reflect the realities of the times but are exaggerated to create an exotic image.

The reality of Romani life back then was much more complicated. In the 19th century, Spanish Romanis faced discrimination, poverty, and permanent threat of oppression. Their world was not a romantic one and their struggle to survive was often the only sense of their existence. Mérimée, on the other hand, focuses on their spirit of freedom more than on the actual problems they were then facing—all in order to juxtapose two worlds: one of the nomads and the other one of the rest of citizens.

Disclaimer: We use the term ‘Gypsy’ and its derivatives, as the author in question actually used this precise term in his novel. 

So, having absorbed a million of stereotypes, Mérimée describes the world of Romanis as follows:

«…The Gypsies, being of no country, are always travelling, and speak all languages, and that most of them are perfectly at home in Portugal, in France, in the Basque provinces, in Catalonia, everywhere; they even make themselves understood by the Moors and the English».

«Ordinarily the men carry on the trades of horse-dealer, veterinary, and clipper of mules; they combine therewith the industry of mending kettles and copper implements, to say nothing of smuggling and other illicit traffic. The women tell fortunes, beg, and sell all sorts of drugs, innocent or not».

And, of course, here goes a description of a flamboyant appearance:

«…when you have seen a single one, you can readily pick out a person of that race from a thousand others. Features and expression—these above all else separate them from the natives of the countries where they are found. Their complexion is very dark, always darker than that of the peoples among whom they live… Their eyes, which are perceptibly oblique, well-shaped, and very black, are shaded by long, thick eyelashes. One can compare their look to nothing save that of a wild beast. Audacity and timidity are depicted therein at once, and in that respect their eyes express accurately enough the character of the race—crafty, insolent, but naturally afraid of blows…»

As he describes Romanis, Mérimée resorts to polar extremities. He notices the beauty but does not try to conceal his disgust in his description of their appearance:

«When they are very young, they may pass for rather attractive ugly women; but when they have once become mothers, they are repulsive. The uncleanliness of both sexes is beyond belief, and one who has never seen the hair of a gypsy matron would find it hard to form an idea of it, even by imagining it as like the coarsest, greasiest, dustiest horsehair. In some large cities of Andalusia, some of the girls who are a little more attractive than the rest take more care of their persons. They go about dancing for money—dances very like those which are forbidden at our (Parisian) public balls during the Carnival».

Let me be clear. The Romani culture (the traditional one, the genuine one, not in the one depicted in fiction - author.) tidiness is a very serious matter. This pertains both to personal hygiene, to food cooking, and to any other realm of human activity.  

That said, Mérimée does notice positive things in the Romani community, too. For instance, when it comes to marital fidelity and hospitality towards any guests invited.

«However that may be, it is certain that the gitanas (Gypsy women)  display a most extraordinary devotion to their husbands. There is no peril or privation which they will not defy, in order to assist them in their need».

«In the cabin of an old woman, the patriarch of the tribe, there was a gypsy unknown to her family, suffering from a fatal disease. That man had left a hospital, where he was well cared for, to die among his compatriots. For thirteen weeks he had been in bed in the cabin of his hosts, and much better treated than the sons and sons-in-law who lived in the same house. He had a comfortable bed of straw and moss, with reasonably white sheets, whereas the rest of the family, to the number of eleven, slept on boards three feet long. So much for their hospitality».

That is the depiction of the community Mérimée provides. Very contradicting statements, aren’t they?  Let us move on though. What about Carmen? A femme fatale or a smuggler? Spoiler: we are up to some new contrasts and polar statements.

So, Carmen, what is she like?

Mérimée creates a complex image of Carmen. She is a symbol of liberty, spontaneity, and waywardness. The image of José, on the other hand, shows us how blind love can destroy a personality.

Carmen is depicted as a woman enchanting everyone with her beauty and magnetism.

«Her skin, albeit perfectly smooth, closely resembled the hue of copper. Her eyes were oblique, but of a beautiful shape; her lips a little heavy but well formed, and disclosed two rows of teeth whiter than almonds without their skins. Her hair, which was possibly a bit coarse, was black with a blue reflection, like a crow’s wing, and long and glossy… It was a strange, wild type of beauty, a face which took one by surprise at first, but which one could not forget. Her eyes, especially, had an expression at once voluptuous and fierce, which I have never seen since in any mortal eye».

An image quite strikingly unlike the depiction of all Romani women in general, is it not? I personally find it weird how could Carmen become such a unique exception among Romani women who ostensibly disregard their hygiene.

Carmen’s entire image and style was actually likewise ambiguous:

«She wore a very short red skirt, which revealed white silk stockings with more than one hole, and tiny shoes of red morocco, tied with flame-coloured ribbons. She put her mantilla aside, to show her shoulders and a huge bunch of cassia, which protruded from her chemise. She had a cassia flower in the corner of her mouth, too, and as she walked she swung her hips like a filly in the stud at Cordova. In my province a woman in that costume would have compelled everybody to cross themselves. At Seville every one paid her some equivocal compliment on her appearance, and she had a reply for every one, casting sly glances here and there, with her hand on her hip, as impudent as the genuine Gypsy that she was».

And, at the same time, this is how Carmen is depicted in another setting:

«She was arrayed like a shrine this time, bedizened and bedecked, all gold and ribbons. A spangled dress, blue slippers, also with spangles, and flowers and lace everywhere. She had a tambourine in her hand».

Carmen’s character and feelings are also depicted very vividly. It is her recalcitrant character, her straightforwardness, her headstrong attitude that became her undoing. She refused to submit to José; instead, she upfront told him she did not love him any more. And the price of her honesty was her death—or, to be quite precise, José’s jealousy and his refusal to accept the rejection became the reason why he killed Carmen. After all, the victim is not responsible for assailant’s actions.

And so, Carmen says:

«I will go with you to death, yes, but I won’t live with you any more. You mean to kill me, I can see that... it is written, but you will not make me yield ...  I no longer love you; you do still love me, and that is the reason you intend to kill me. I could easily tell you some lie; but I don’t choose to take the trouble. All is over between us. As my rom, you have a right to kill your romi; but Carmen will always be free». 

That’s all

Carmen covers common human topics like love, freedom, and a conflict between a person and society. Despite the fact that Romani is rather stereotypically depicted in it, this novel still is one of the most prominent works of European literature which even today charms us with its characters and plot twists.

Prosper Mérimée takes us into a world of contrasts and contradictions. Smugglers, fortune-tellers, thieves — Romanis remain faithful to their traditions and beliefs at the same time. Powerful characters, strong emotions, bold actions. Something like that could have happened to anyone. There are smugglers and criminals in any country, belonging to any ethnic group. Mixed feelings between representatives of different cultures is a popular storyline.    

And this love story could, in my opinion, have been a likewise outstanding one, had a women of any other ethnic group be a character of this novel in Carmen’s stead. After all, traits of Carmen’s personality are ones of a human being, of a woman. And these traits have not been assigned to her only due to her being born in a family of Roma people.

What is your opinion about this? How do you perceive Carmen? And could this story have happened in a non-Romani environment?