Charles Plisnier (13 December 1896 – 17 July 1952) was a Belgian writer from

Wallonia Wallonia ( ; ; or ), officially the Walloon Region ( ; ), is one of the three communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, regions of Belgium—along with Flemish Region, Flanders and Brussels. Covering the southern portion of the c ...

Biography

Training as a lawyer at the Free University of Brussels from 1919, Plisnier became a Doctor of Law at the court of appeal of Brussels in 1922. In his youth, he was a member of the Communist Party of Belgium, and worked for the International Red Aid. After visiting the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

in 1928, he was disillusioned with the country and started sympathizing with the

Trotskyist Trotskyism (, ) is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Russian revolutionary and intellectual Leon Trotsky along with some other members of the Left Opposition and the Fourth International. Trotsky described himself as an ...

movement, which led to his exclusion from the Communist Party. He later disavowed communism and became a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, but nevertheless remained a

Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...

. Plisnier appeared as a

heretic Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, particularly the accepted beliefs or religious law of a religious organization. A heretic is a proponent of heresy. Heresy in Christianity, Judai ...

to the majority of his contemporaries, as the

existence of God The existence of God is a subject of debate in the philosophy of religion and theology. A wide variety of arguments for and against the existence of God (with the same or similar arguments also generally being used when talking about the exis ...

never ceased to be an active question for him; throughout his life, he experienced periods of profound

atheism Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the Existence of God, existence of Deity, deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the ...

and of mystical crisis. Turning to literature, Plisnier became notable as a writer of family sagas tinged with a critique of

bourgeois The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and Aristocracy (class), aristocracy. They are tradition ...

society. ''Mariages'' (1936; in English as ''Nothing to Chance'', 1938) deals with the limitations of social conventions; the five-volume ''Meurtres'' (1939–41; "Murders") centres on an idealistic tragic hero, Noël Annequin, in his fight against hypocrisy. A recurring theme in his works is the moral and psychological study of individuals in crisis, such as in ''L'Enfant aux stigmates'' (1931; "The Child With Stigmata"), which recalls the

fatalism Fatalism is a belief and philosophical doctrine which considers the entire universe as a deterministic system and stresses the subjugation of all events, actions, and behaviors to fate or destiny, which is commonly associated with the cons ...

Maurice Maeterlinck Maurice Polydore Marie Bernard Maeterlinck (29 August 1862 – 6 May 1949), also known as Count/Comte Maeterlinck from 1932, was a Belgian playwright, poet, and essayist who was Flemish but wrote in French. He was awarded the 1911 Nobel Prize in ...

. Plisnier also wrote

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

: his early poetical works, such as ''Prière aux mains coupées'' (1930; "Prayer with Severed Hands"), deal with his struggle to reconcile religion and politics, while ''Fertilité du désert'' (1933; ”Fertility of the Desert”) shows an influence of

surrealism Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...

. His later works of poetry, such as ''Odes pour retrouver les hommes'' (1935; "Odes to Meet Again With Men"), ''Sacré'' (1938; "Holy", "Sacred") and ''Ave Genitrix'' (1943; "Hail Mother"), are more conventional in form and mark a movement back to Christianity. In 1937, Plisnier won the

Prix Goncourt The Prix Goncourt ( , "The Goncourt Prize") is a prize in French literature, given by the académie Goncourt to the author of "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year". The prize carries a symbolic reward of only 10 euros, but resul ...

for '' Faux passeports'' ("False Passports"; in English as ''Memoirs of a Secret Revolutionary'', 1938), a collection of short stories denouncing

Stalinism Stalinism (, ) is the Totalitarianism, totalitarian means of governing and Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union (USSR) from History of the Soviet Union (1927–1953), 1927 to 1953 by dictator Jose ...

, in the same spirit as

Arthur Koestler Arthur Koestler (, ; ; ; 5 September 1905 – 1 March 1983) was an Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian-born author and journalist. Koestler was born in Budapest, and was educated in Austria, apart from his early school years. In 1931, Koestler j ...

. He was the first foreigner to receive Prix Goncourt. He was also an activist of the Walloon movement; at the Walloon National Congress held in

Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...

in 1945, he gave fiery speeches and called for the unification of

with

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Footnotes

Belgian communists Walloon movement activists Belgian writers in French Prix Goncourt winners Belgian Roman Catholic writers 1896 births 1952 deaths People from Hainaut (province) {{Belgium-writer-stub