Maurice Maeterlinck from the life of ants. Maeterlinck, Maurice – short biography

His father was a notary, and his mother was the daughter of a wealthy lawyer. From 1874 to 1881 M. attended a Jesuit college. The boy was interested in poetry and literature, but his parents insisted that he study law at Ghent University. Having received a diploma in 1885, M. went to Paris to improve his skills in jurisprudence, but the 6 months that he spent in Paris were entirely devoted to literature. In Paris, M. met the symbolist poets Stéphane Mal and Villiers de Lisle-Adan. On the advice of the decadent writer Joris Karl Huysmans, M. reads the book of the Flemish mystic of the 14th century. Jan van Rousbroeck's "Ornament of Spiritual Marriage", which was translated into French in 1891.

Upon returning to Ghent, M. works as a lawyer and continues to study literature. The Parisian monthly "La Pleiade" published M.'s short story "The Murder of the Innocents" ("Le Massacre des innocents", 1866), and in 1889 he published poetry collection"Greenhouses" ("Serres chaudes") and the fairy tale play "Princess Maleine" ("La Princesse Maleine"), a laudatory review of which is included in "Figaro" by the influential French critic Octave Mirbeau: Mirbeau called “Princess Malene” a masterpiece, and compared its author to Shakespeare. Encouraged by the praise of the famous critic, M. leaves legal practice and devotes himself entirely to literature.

In subsequent years M. writes symbolic plays: "Uninvited" ("L"lntruse", 1890) - a drama, practically devoid of action, in which a family waits for a woman in labor to die (this is the playwright's first play about death, loneliness); "The Blind" ("Les Aveugles", 1890) – here the metaphor of death is a group of blind men lost in a dark forest; “Seven Princesses” (“Les Sept Princesses”, 1891) – a fairy tale about a prince who must awaken seven princesses from their death sleep, the prince arrives on time and saves everyone except his beloved ; "Pelleas and Melisande" ("Pelleas et Melisande", 1892) - a story of criminal passion with a tragic ending (there is an opera of the same name by Claude Debussy, 1902). All these plays are characterized by the mysterious atmosphere of a fairy tale; the characters speak little, in short, meaningful phrases, much remains in the subtext.

In 1894, M. wrote three plays for puppets: “Aladine et Palomides”, “Inside” (“Interieur”) and “The Death of Tintagiles” (“La Mort de Tintagiles”). The playwright turns to the puppet theater because, unlike live actors, puppets can play a symbol and convey the archetype of his heroes.

In 1895, M. met Georgette Leblanc, an actress and singer, who became his companion for 23 years. Leblanc, a strong-willed, educated woman, combined the duties of M.’s secretary and impresario, protected his peace of mind, and protected him from strangers. In addition, Georgette played the main roles, mostly of powerful women, in such plays by the playwright as “Aglavaine et Selysette” (1896), “Ariane et Barbe-Bleue” (1901). ), “Monna Vanna” (“Monna Vanna”, 1902) and “Joyzelle” (“Joyzelle”, 1903). These plays are more traditional and, according to biographer M. Bettina Knapp, weaker than fairy tale plays and plays for puppets.

In 1896, M. and Leblanc moved from Ghent, where his plays became the subject of ridicule, to Paris. During these years, M. wrote metaphysical essays and treatises, which were included in the collections “The Treasure of the Humble” (“Le Tresor des humbles”, 1896), “Wisdom and Fate” (“La Sagesse et la destinee”, 1898), and “Life bees" (La Vie des abeilles, 1901), where an analogy is drawn between the activity of a bee and human behavior.

« Blue bird"("L"Oiseau bleu"), perhaps M.'s most popular play, was first staged in 1908 by Stanislavsky at the Moscow Art Theater; They played “The Blue Bird” in London, New York, and Paris. In this play, M. returns to the symbolic fairy-tale style of his works of the 1890s. “The Blue Bird” gained popularity not only for its fairy-tale fantasy, but also for its allegory. M. continues the story about one of the heroes of this play, Tyltil, in the extravaganza play “The Betrothal” (“Les Fiancailles”, 1918).

In 1911 M. was awarded Nobel Prize"for the multifaceted literary activity, especially for dramatic works, marked by a wealth of imagination and poetic fantasy." In his speech, member of the Swedish Academy S.D. Virsen especially singled out the play "Aglavena and Selisette", which does not agree with the rather low assessment of this play today. Due to illness M. was unable to attend solemn ceremony, and the award was presented to the Belgian Ambassador to Sweden, Charles Wouters. Soon M. was offered to become a member of the French Academy, but the playwright rejected this offer, since for this he had to renounce Belgian citizenship.

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During the First World War, M. tried to enlist in the Belgian Civil Guard, but did not get into it due to his age. The playwright's patriotic activity thus consisted of giving propaganda lectures in Europe and the United States. During this time, his relationship with Leblanc deteriorated, and after the war they separated. In 1919, M. married Rene Daon, an actress who played in The Blue Bird. IN last years M. wrote more articles than plays throughout his life; from 1927 to 1942, 12 volumes of his works were published, the most interesting of which is “The Life of Termites” (“La Vie des termites”, 1926), an allegorical condemnation of communism and totalitarianism, turning people into termites - well-organized but stupid creatures. Other philosophical treatises of this period were included in the collections "The Life of Space" ("La Vie de l"espace", 1928), "The Great Extravaganza" ("La Grande feerie", 1929) and "The Great Law" ("La Grande Loi", 1933).

B 1939, when Nazi Germany threatened Europe, M. moved to Portugal under the patronage of the dictator of Portugal, Antonio Salazar.

When it became obvious that Portugal could also fall under Hitler’s heel, M. and his wife left for the United States, where he lived throughout the war and returned to Nice to his mansion “Bee House” in 1947. M. died on May 6, 1949 from a heart attack. Since during his lifetime the writer was a convinced atheist, he was not buried according to church rites.

In addition to the Nobel Prize, M. received an honorary doctorate from the University of Glasgow, the Belgian Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold (1920) and the Portuguese Order of the Sword of St. Jacob (1939). In 1932, the King of Belgium granted the playwright the title of Count.

M. owes his still high reputation mainly to plays that are still staged. The playwright is considered one of the founders of the theater of the absurd; his works had a particular influence on the plays of Samuel Beckett. Debussy's opera Pelleas et Melisande is included in the repertoire of many opera houses peace..

"M. does not call for anything and does not pass judgment on anyone, wrote Joanna Pataki Kozoff in 1967. “His art never turns into propaganda, because it appeals to fundamental values that are outside politics and psychiatry.” In the monograph “Maurice Maeterlinck” (1975), critic Vettina Knapp suggests that M. often turned to the fairy tale genre because the fairy tale is “the deepest and simplest expression of collective consciousness, it appeals to human feelings».

Maurice Maeterlinck short biography Belgian writer and playwright is presented in this article.

Maurice Maeterlinck short biography

Maurice Polydor Marie Bernard Maeterlinck was born on August 29, 1862 in Ghent, into a wealthy Flemish family. His father was a notary, and his mother was the daughter of a wealthy lawyer.

From 1874 to 1881 he attended a Jesuit college. The boy was interested in poetry and literature, but his parents insisted that he study law at Ghent University. Having received his diploma in 1885, Maurice went to Paris to improve his jurisprudence, but the 6 months that he spent in Paris were entirely devoted to literature.

Upon returning to Ghent, Maeterlinck worked as a lawyer and continued to study literature. The Parisian monthly "Pleiades" published M.'s short story "The Murder of the Innocents", and in 1889 he published the poetry collection "Greenhouses" and the fairy tale play "Princess Malene". After positive feedback he leaves legal practice and devotes himself to literature.

In 1894, the writer wrote three plays for puppets: “Aladdin and Palomides”, “There Inside” and “The Death of Tentagille”. The playwright turns to puppet theater because, unlike live actors, puppets can play a character.

In 1895, Maurice met Georgette Leblanc, an actress and singer who became his companion for 23 years. She was his wife, secretary and impresario, protecting his peace. Georgette also played leading roles, mostly of powerful women, in the playwright's plays.

In 1896, Maeterlinck and Leblanc moved from Ghent, where his plays had become the subject of ridicule, to Paris.

“The Blue Bird,” Maeterlinck’s most popular play, was first staged in 1908. M. continues the story about one of the heroes of this play, Tyltil, in the extravaganza play “The Betrothal.”

During the First World War, the writer tried to enlist in the Belgian Civil Guard, but did not get into it due to his age. The playwright’s patriotic activity thus consisted of giving propaganda lectures in Europe and the USA. During this time, his relationship with Leblanc deteriorated, and after the war they separated. In 1919, Maeterlinck married Rene Daon, an actress who played in The Blue Bird. In the last years of his life he wrote more articles than plays; from 1927 to 1942, 12 volumes of his works were published.

Years of life: from 08/29/1862 to 05/06/1949

Outstanding Belgian poet, playwright and philosopher. Representative of symbolism. Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature. Maeterlinck owes his high reputation mainly to plays that are still performed today. The name of Maeterlinck is associated with the birth of a new theater, where the main attention is focused on the complex and hidden mental life person, and external action is replaced by internal action.

Maeterlinck was born in 1862 in Ghent, into a wealthy Flemish family. His father was a notary, and his mother was the daughter of a wealthy lawyer. The family was French speaking, so Maeterlinck later wrote most of his works in French. Until the age of twelve, Maurice was taught by home teachers. From 1874 to 1881 Maeterlinck attended a Jesuit college. The boy was interested in poetry and literature, but his parents insisted that he study law at Ghent University. Having received his diploma in 1885, Maeterlinck went to Paris where he met the symbolist poets Stéphane Mal and Villiers de Lisle-Adam. Upon returning to Ghent, Maeterlinck worked as a lawyer and continued to study literature. In 1889, he published the poetry collection “Greenhouses” and the fairy tale play “Princess Malen”. Published at their own expense and in a meager circulation, the first literary experiments Maeterlinck would have gone unnoticed, but the play was read by the influential French critic Octave Mirbeau. Mirbeau's laudatory review of Le Figaro draws attention to Maeterlinck literary critics and readers. In subsequent years, Maeterlinck wrote symbolic plays. All these plays are characterized by the mysterious atmosphere of a fairy tale; the characters speak little, in short, meaningful phrases, and much remains in the subtext. The playwright also writes for the marionette theater. In 1895, Maeterlinck met Georgette Leblanc, an actress and singer who became his companion for 23 years. Leblanc, a strong-willed, educated woman, combined the duties of a secretary and a writer's impresario. In 1896 Maeterlinck and Leblanc moved from Ghent to Paris. During these years, Maeterlinck practically abandoned drama and wrote metaphysical essays and treatises, which were included in the collections “Treasure of the Humble” (1896), “Wisdom and Fate” (1898), and “The Life of Bees” (1901). In 1908, Maeterlinck published the play The Blue Bird, which brought him worldwide fame. “The Blue Bird” was first staged in 1908 by Stanislavsky at the Moscow Art Theater and owes much of its extreme popularity to this production. In 1911, Maeterlinck was awarded the Nobel Prize “for his many-sided literary activity, especially for dramatic works marked by a wealth of imagination and poetic fantasy.” Soon Maeterlinck was offered to become a member of the French Academy, but the playwright rejected this offer, since for this he had to renounce Belgian citizenship. During the First World War, Maeterlinck tried to enlist in the Belgian Civil Guard, but was rejected due to his age. To help his country, the writer went on a long lecture tour to cities in Europe and America. He donated all the proceeds to the Defense Fund. During this time, his relationship with Leblanc deteriorated, and after the war they separated. In 1919, Maeterlinck married actress Rene Daon. In the last years of his life, Maeterlinck's work was dominated by philosophical essays and articles; from 1927 to 1942, 12 volumes of his works were published, the most interesting of which is “The Life of Termites” (1926), an allegorical condemnation of communism and totalitarianism. In 1932, the King of Belgium granted the writer the title of Count. In 1939, when Nazi Germany threatened Europe, Maeterlinck moved to Portugal and then to the United States, where he lived throughout the war and returned to Nice to his mansion "The Beekeeper" in 1947. Maeterlinck died on May 6, 1949 of a heart attack. attack.

Speaking about the Jesuit college, Maeterlinck noted that he spent among the Jesuit fathers “the most unpleasant time” of his life. The playwright carried his rejection of religion throughout his life and was not buried according to church rites.

Maeterlinck believed that a puppet would most accurately represent a person on stage, since any actor will bring a lot of personality into his performance, while his characters represent a person in general.

Writer's Awards

(1911)
Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold (1920, Belgium)
Order of the Sword of St. Jacob (1939, Portugal)

Bibliography

Princess Malene (1889).
The Blind (1890).
Uninvited (1891).
Seven Princesses (1891).
Pelleas and Melisande (1893).
Aladdin and Palomides (1894).
There Inside (1894).
Death of Tentagille (1894).
Aglavena and Selisette (1896).
Ariana and Bluebeard, or the Futile Liberation (1896).
Sister Beatrice (1900).
Monna Bath (1902).
Joiselle (1903).
Miracle of St. Anthony (1903).
Bluebird (1908).
Mary Magdalene (1913).
Burgomaster of Stilmond (1919).
Betrothal (1922).
Trouble Passes (1925).
Maria Victoria (1925).
The Power of the Dead (1926).
Judas Iscariot (1929).
Bernickel (1929).
Princess Isabella (1935).
Joan of Arc (1945).

Philosophical works
(1896).
(1898).
(1901).
(1902).
Double Garden (1904).
The Mind of Flowers (1907).
Death (1913).
Trifles of War (1916).
Life of Termites (1926).
Life of Space (1928).
The Great Extravaganza (1929).
Life of Ants (1930).
The Glass Spider (1932).
The Great Law (1933).
Before the Great Silence (1934).
Shadow of Wings (1936).
In the Face of God (1937).
Another World or Sundial (1942).

Poetry
Greenhouses (Greenhouses) (1889).
Twelve Songs (1896)

Memoirs
Blue Bubbles (Happy Memories) (1948).

Film adaptations of works, theatrical productions

Pelleas and Melisande (1913, USA) dir. J. Farrell MacDonald, short
The Blue Bird (1918, USA) dir. M. Tourner
Monna Vanna (1922, Germany) dir. R. Ashberg
La Légende de soeur Béatrix (1923, France, Belgium) dir. J. Baroncelli
The Blue Bird (1940, USA) dir. W. Lang
A Intrusa (1960, Portugal) dir. A. Ramos
Blue Bird (1970, USSR) dir. V. Livanov, animated film
Blue Bird (1976, USSR, USA) dir. D. Cukor
Maeterlinck no aoi tori: Tyltyl Mytyl no bôken ryokô (1980, Japan) dir. H. Sasagawa, anime series
Pelléas et Mélisande (1992, France, UK) dir. P. Stein
Pelléas et Melisande (1999, France) dir. P. Jourdan
Pelléas et Mélisande, le chant des aveugles (2008, France) dir. F. Beziat

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The works of Maurice Maeterlinck (full nameMaurice Polydor Marie Bernard Maeterlinck)

1862, Ghent, Belgium -1949, Nice

Maurice Maeterlinck is a Belgian playwright, prose writer, essayist, and author of philosophical treatises. He wrote only in French. Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature for 1911. One of the first symbolists. Symbolism in drama.

A lawyer by training, he studied law at the University of Ghent. Having received his diploma in 1885, he went to Paris in order to improve in jurisprudence, but the six months that he spent in Paris were entirely devoted to literature. In Paris, he meets Stéphane Mallarmé and one of the founders of symbolism, Auguste Villiers de Lisle-Adam, and attends literary circles. On the advice of the decadent writer Joris Karl Huysmans, Maeterlinck reads the book “The Decoration of Spiritual Marriage” by the 14th century Flemish mystic Jan van Rousbroeck and in 1891 translated it into French.

At the end of the last century in French literary environment Various kinds of questionnaires were in great fashion. In 1891, when symbolism celebrated its fifth anniversary, journalist Jules Huret found Paul Verlaine in the then famous cafe “François the First”, which was located on the Boulevard Saint-Michel, and asked him questions about symbolism. "Symbolism? - the poet was surprised. - I don’t know anything about it... It must be a German word, right? I wish I knew what they could express. However, I don't care. When I suffer, when I enjoy or cry, I know for sure: this is not symbolism.” Jules Huret's questionnaire did not ignore the young Belgian symbolists, who largely set the tone literary life that time. And one of the first to respond to his questionnaire was 29-year-old Maurice Maeterlinck - by that time he was already the author of a book of poems “Greenhouses” and several plays that immediately gained fame, including “Princess Malene” and “The Blind”. “I don’t think that a symbol on its own can give rise to a living work, but any living creation is always symbolic. An image may confuse me, but if it is organic and precise, it means it is subject to a universal law stricter than my mind...” And in the essay “Confession of a Poet,” answering questions asked of him by another critic, Edmond Picard, Maeterlinck added: “I listen carefully and more and more intently to all the unclear voices human soul... I would like to study everything that is not formulated in a living being, everything that has no expression either in life or in death, everything that seeks an echo in the very heart...” The artistic embodiment of these tasks was the dramaturgy of Maeterlinck, and the theoretical embodiment - his natural philosophical works.

In 1889 Maeterlinck's first poetry book was published. Greenhouses ”, permeated with moods of decadence: “desires buried under reaped silences,” sadness, melancholy, “numb soul.” Also in 1889, Maeterlinck’s play was published - a fairy tale play “ Princess Malene ", which later brought Maeterlinck big success. The first book of poems and the first drama did not find their readers at first and were not sold out. In the same year, the head of the French Symbolists, Stéphane Mallarmé, came to Ghent and was introduced to Maeterlinck, who soon after this meeting sent his play to Mallarmé in Paris. French symbolists highly appreciated the play; they found in it ideas and images consonant with the philosophy of symbolism. Already in 1890 Maeterlinck became famous. One of the influential critics of the newspaper Le Figaro wrote that Princess Malene is “the most brilliant work of our time, which in terms of its unusualness and naivety is worthy of comparison with Shakespeare.” The play was created based on the fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm “Malen the Girl”. Maeterlinck depicts a person outside of society, shows the internal movement of the individual, his person and the world are tragic and divided. The language of the play is complex, the basis of the text is subtext. Fate, Fate, which subjugate people - the main theme of Maeterlinck's dramas. He introduces a special type of hero - the “forewarned”. “The forewarned” are, as a rule, children, old people, blind people, young girls, because they can intuitively come closer to understanding Fate, see it, feel its presence in the world through secret signs.

The play "Princess Malene" was not intended to be staged. But Maeterlinck, yielding to numerous requests, gives her to the theater. Inspired by success, he leaves his legal career and decides to devote himself entirely to literature. In May 1891, the premiere of the play “ Uninvited" (1890). Maeterlinck becomes a recognized author, the founder of a new direction in drama. There is practically no action in this short drama - this is the so-called. “static theater”, or “theater of silence”, “theater of waiting”, which can include Maeterlinck’s early dramas, in which waiting is reproduced. "The Uninvited" is Maeterlinck's first drama about death, the entire action of the play takes place in a room where the family is waiting for the doctor and information about the health of the mother in labor. A young woman dies, In the following one-act drama - "Blind" (1890) - the metaphor for death is a group of blind men lost in a dark forest. The concept of the world and man: an island, a shelter for the blind, a deceased priest who was their guide. Among the blind there was only one seer - a newborn child, he screams in fear because he sees the secret of the future, which fills him with horror. With the help of these allegorical images, Maeterlinck represents all of humanity, which has lost the meaning of life and is blind in its egoism.

The plays “Uninvited”, “The Blind”, “There Inside” (1894), “The Death of Tentagille” (1894), “Aladdin and Palomides” (1894) were attributed by Maeterlinck himself to the puppet theater (“puppet theater”). The meaning of this term is twofold. Maeterlinck turned to the puppet theater because, unlike live actors, puppets are better able to represent a person in general, embody a symbol, convey the archetype of his heroes, whereas any actor will bring too much personal into his play. At the same time, Maeterlinck’s heroes are really puppets, because they do not choose their own life path, but obey Fate - a terrible unknowable force standing above a person.

In 1891 the play “ Seven princesses " - a fairy tale about a prince who must awaken seven princesses from their deadly sleep; the prince saves everyone except his beloved. Maeterlinck soon realizes that the laws of the “static theater” are too rigid and strict; they cannot always reveal the author’s ideas. In 1892 he wrote a five-act drama “ Pelleas and Melisande " - a story of criminal passion with a tragic ending. In this play, conflict appears and the plot develops, but the development of events is deliberately slow and is perceived as a tragic dream. External action slowed down by the inner, all attention is focused on the hidden complex mental life of a person. Deep psychological characteristics heroes are still missing. The characters in the play represent two types - initiates and people with ordinary consciousness. There is no specific reference in the play. historical time, the space is also conventional (castle, park, dungeon, forest), thereby the action in it acquires a general, universal character. The world in the play is divided into two: the knowable real world and the mysterious world, terrible in its unknowability. As in early plays, Rock rules over all the characters, and the heroes are powerless to oppose anything evil Rock. Later, Maeterlinck begins to reconsider his positions, his heroes become able to resist Doom. In 1896, the play “ Ariana and Bluebeard ”(subtitle “Vain Liberation”). Maeterlinck again creates a play on the plot of a fairy tale, in in this case fairy tales by Charles Perrault. As before, there is a Mystery in the play, but now it has lost its transcendental, unknowable essence. Ariana opens the forbidden door to the dungeon with the key and finds Bluebeard's previously disappeared wives there. Maeterlinck gives them the names of the heroines of his plays: Selisette, Melisande, Igren, Aladdin, etc. Ariana frees everyone from the terrible dungeon, gives them the opportunity to become free, but they themselves remain in the power of Bluebeard. Conclusion: the reason for lack of freedom is in man himself, and only with the help of his own courage and activity can a person defeat evil. In treatises written at the same time, Maeterlinck comes to the conclusion that man is not only an insignificant part of the unknowable universe, but at the same time a unique personality. This position allows Maeterlinck to combine the universal and the individual personal in depicting a person’s character; his heroes become more active because they have hope for success.

The best and most popular of Maeterlinck's plays is "Blue bird" (1908). In Russia, it was first staged by Stanislavsky in 1908 at the Moscow Art Theater. In this play, Maeterlinck returns to the symbolic fairy-tale style of his works of the 1890s, as a result of which fairy-tale fantasy and allegory appear in the play. Maeterlinck turns to the fairy tale genre because a fairy tale is the deepest and simplest expression of collective consciousness and appeals to human feelings. In a dream, the woodcutter's children Tiltil and Mytil go with the Soul of Light in search of the Blue Bird. They overcome many difficulties and, returning home, see a dove in their house, which seems to their neighbor to be a real Blue Bird. The blue bird is a polysemantic image that refers to the “blue flower” of Novalis. In this play, the Blue Bird is primarily a symbol of free knowledge. Maeterlinck then continues the story of one of the heroes of this play - Tyltila - in the extravaganza play "The Betrothal" (1918).

In 1911, Maeterlinck was awarded the Nobel Prize “for his many-sided literary activity, especially for dramatic works marked by a wealth of imagination and poetic fantasy.” Due to illness, Maeterlinck was unable to attend the ceremony, and the award was presented to the Belgian ambassador to Sweden. Maeterlinck was soon offered to become a member of the French Academy, but he rejected this offer because it would require him to renounce his Belgian citizenship.

In the preface to the collection of his dramas, Maeterlinck wrote:

In depicting the absolute and incorrigible weakness of man, we will come closest to the final and fundamental truth of our existence, and if at least one of the characters thrown into this hostile nothingness manages to rise to a few gestures of warmth and tenderness, to a few heartfelt words of fragile hope, pity and love, it means that we did what was in our power when we pushed the world to the boundaries of that huge and motionless principle that paralyzes us and reduces the desire to live.

After 1918, Maeterlinck's theater changed its character, moving closer to neo-romantic or realistic. In the last years of his life, Maeterlinck wrote more articles and philosophical treatises than plays. In total, Maeterlinck wrote 23 philosophical treatises - from early aesthetic reflections own creativity(book “Treasure of the Humble”, 1896) and works, dedicated to problems ethics and knowledge (the first of them, “Wisdom and Fate,” appeared in 1898), to the last theosophical works “Before God” (1937), “The Great Gate” (1939), “The Other World, or star clock"(1942). In the treatise “Death” (1913), metaphysical problems are raised - he leans toward pantheism. Of greatest interest today are those that are devoted to the direct study of nature, and especially those that were written in the “stellar” decade of Maeterlinck’s work, in the nine hundred years, when his most famous plays were written - natural philosophical essays "The Life of Bees" (1901), "The Mind of Flowers" (1907), "The Life of Termites" (1926). “At first he developed the artistic possibilities of mystery,” Borges notes about Maeterlinck, “then he wanted to reveal these secrets.”

In the study of the living world, Maeterlinck's main area of interest is extraordinary . Plants, bees, ants, termites, spiders are extraordinary - he devotes separate work to each of these types of living nature and sees the universal mind in each of them. He considers main feature world of nature, a certain intelligence inherent in this whole world, which in each separate form may manifest itself in its infancy, but is compensated by common efforts in conquest living space, survival and evolution. Maeterlinck writes about flowers as about people. He sees the difference between flowers and people only in the morality and ethics of people, but at the same time a person can find many positive examples in any manifestation of nature: from signs of “cautious, lively thought”, examples of courage, sensitivity, “romantic desires” to the focus of “the newest most fruitful human discoveries”. As a result, Maeterlinck comes to the fundamental principles of natural philosophy: “Having been the last to appear on this earth, we are only looking for what already existed before us, and, like amazed children, we are retracing the road that life has already completed before us.” To describe all natural phenomena, Maeterlinck uses a dictionary from social life person. This is love and drama, happiness and death, resourcefulness, cunning, forethought, exploitation, he resorts to technical vocabulary and talks about a living organism as a mechanism or joints of mechanisms. According to Maeterlinck, the human world and the plant world are not only indissoluble - they are identical. He writes: “It can truly be said that flowers have thoughts in the same way as ours. /.../ It is important for us to understand the nature, structure, techniques and, perhaps, the purpose of the universal mind, from which all rational acts occurring on our earth flow.” Maeterlinck constantly draws attention to the fact that by nature he is primarily an artist, not a researcher, and metaphor for him is more important than the exact scientific method. In “The Life of Bees” the author acts not only as an artist-researcher, but also as a historian of the issue, bibliographer and practitioner. In “The Life of Bees,” as in “The Mind of Flowers,” he constantly collides two worlds - man and nature, in order each time to return again to the questions of ethics and morality that concern him most. A study of the life activity of a swarm of bees leads the author to a rather pessimistic conclusion from the point of view of individual freedom: “Wherever progress is noticed, it is the result of an increasingly complete sacrifice of personal interest to the general.” “We state once again,” he notes, “that genius belongs to the species, to universal life or nature, and that the individual is almost devoid of reason. In man alone, a competition is emerging between the minds of the species and the individual, a more and more sharp and active desire for some kind of balance, which is the great secret of our future.” In his natural philosophical treatises, Maeterlinck tried to answer the questions of his youth, when he so enthusiastically wanted to study everything that was “not formulated” in a living being.

In 1939, when the second began World War, Maeterlinck moved to Portugal, but when it became obvious that Portugal might also be occupied, Maeterlinck moved to the United States with his wife. He lived in America throughout the war and returned to Nice to his mansion only in 1947. He died in 1949 from a heart attack. During his lifetime he was a convinced atheist, so he was not buried according to church rites.