Paul Gavarni, Le Flâneur, 1842
There is no English equivalent for the French word flâneur. Cassell’s dictionary defines flâneur as a stroller, saunterer, drifter but none of these terms seems quite accurate. There is no English equivalent for the term, just as there is no Anglo-Saxon counterpart of that essentially Gallic individual, the deliberately aimless pedestrian, unencumbered by any obligation or sense of urgency, who, being French and therefore frugal, wastes nothing, including his time which he spends with the leisurely discrimination of a gourmet, savoring the multiple flavors of his city.
(Cornelia Otis Skinner, Elegant Wits and Grand Horizontals, 1962)
“Flâneur” is a distinctly urban concept, connected especially with Paris during the last half of the 19th Century. The quote above defines the flâneur in almost hedonistic terms, whereas others – for example Baudelaire – tended to view the flâneur as more observant and analytic.
There is no such thing as a rural flâneur, of course, or even a suburban flâneur, so talking about “flâneur gardening” will inevitably be a twisting of the original meaning of the term. A real flâneur would probably never get dirt under his nails, nor would he cart around with a wheel barrow full of soil or any such strenuous activities, but this is where the change in time – from late 19th century to early 21st century – comes into play.
When I work hard I sit still in front of a screen or speak to people, and as a consequence time in the garden – fresh air, occasionally hard work and a connection to the soil – becomes a luxury pursuit, just as the act of strolling aimlessly around used to be a luxury reserved for those privileged enough not to have to spend their days working.
You could also argue that my gardening is as fruitless as the perambulating gentleman of leisure; what little produce I harvest from the garden could be more efficiently procured by going to the supermarket. The practical aim of my gardening is decidedly missing, and instead it becomes a pursuit of sensuality, of experiencing the surroundings and taking them in, both visually and by the senses of smell, touch, hearing and taste.
Mind you, I’m not adverse to a bit of old-school flânerie either; I love wandering aimlessly about a city and take in the sights and sounds and smells of the life that goes on around me. Being a casual, nonparticipating observer and spend hours strolling or sitting at a pavement café. Rome and Paris are excellent for this, as is Copenhagen to a large extent when the weather is nice, whereas a city like London is absolutely impossible to be a real flâneur in; the pace is too fast and there are precious few places to sit and engage in a spot of people watching.
I once took it so far as to go to Paris for a week on my own, simply because I had a lunch date with a couple of friends who were over from Australia. The rest of the week I spent mainly alone; strolling around the city, sitting in cafés with a novel or a news paper and only meeting other people when I randomly ran into a friend from London here or a friend from the US there. (I felt terribly glamorous and international, I can tell you!)
So there, that was my contribution to Mrs. Nesbitt’s ABC Wednesday for this week.
I just love the concept and your fine description
ROG, ABC Wednesday team
Well, it seemed obvious, given the title of my blog…
What a wonderful description of a word I hadn’t come accross before. In Italian one can go ” a spasso” which has a similar meaning. But I love the way you’re related the word to gardening – brilliant! Liked your last post too. Christina
It was the first word that came to me when I considered making a blog…
And given my penchant for flânerie, I guessed it would transpire in my gardening anyway…
Noi leggiavamo un giorno per dilletto
De Lancialotto, come il giardinaggio lo strinse…
-As Dante (almost) wrote.
I think I want to dedicate the rest of my life to the flâneur lifestyle. Because it sounds awesome.
It’s perhaps impractical as a day-to-day pursuit… But great on the weekends! Or in the garden when you can’t really be bothered with doing anything…
The ideal recreation, the city from a different perspective.
Indeed! Relaxation, recreation, exercise, entertainment, all wrapped in one neat package…
Love to learn a new word and the descriptions fit the sound of the word so well. Gallivant is not dissimilar and makes for an alliterative adjective for gardener. I doubt by the time you have added more and more plants there will be much time for flaneuring. Loved watching the world go by in Copenhagen some years ago and once you’ve matched the pace here in London, every niche is a vantage point. I just look out of my window!
I’ve always loved the word, and there is a certain care-free (or even careless) elegance to the concept that can be a nice counter-balance to being a responsible adult with mortgages, 9-5 and so on.
(I also love to frolic, but that seems a bit silly if one does it alone.)
I was unfamiliar with the word, but the concept is not limited to France! I have the diary of my grandfather who, as a young man just out of college in the early 1900s, spent a year traveling to various cities and doing what you describe. It was a simpler time, but I still wonder how he was able to afford it.
Taking a gap year in the early 1900s must have been rather unusual! And yes, rather expensive for the average person, indeed… I guess he might have worked odd jobs here and there; otherwise it would require a fair bit of wealth.
Thanks, I was wondering what flaneur meant, but hadn’t got around to looking it up yet. I was a flaneur in Copenhagen for one morning and never knew it!Awesome.
Good job explaining both the blog name and the philosophy– Gardeners sometimes need reminding about why we create garden spaces I think, that the gardens are for us to enjoy rather than that we exist to maintain THEM.
ps: I hope your move went well.
pps: Withnail was the best– really loved it– thanks!
The move is the day after tomorrow, so I’m still stressing around, trying to get everything packed and furniture taken apart…
Flaneur, it conjures up so much in the mind which I neither understood or questioned. Glad I dropped by and was enlightened..
To me it has always seemed so very important to sometimes take time out of one’s schedule to just observe and experience one’s surroundings. It’s a wonderful world, and we need to remember to enjoy it.
I was unfamiliar with the word and concept behind it. But strolling a city is right up my alley. Thanks for the explanation.