Carmen and the Venus of Ille

“Carmen”–the inspiration for one of the world’s most popular operas–is a story about the dark forces that lurk beneath the facade of civilization, where passions are brutal and erotic love is seductive and sinister. When Don Jose meets a gypsy woman, he has no idea that his chance encounter with the “pretty witch” will have disastrous consequences. With her magic and her malevolent spirit, Carmen exerts a powerful charm on the unsuspecting Don Jose, who is drawn into a seedy underworld of bandits and smugglers–exploited and humiliated, until he is driven to the ultimate revenge. In “Carmen,” Prosper Merimee introduced a literary archetype: the femme fatale, who uses her sexuality and mystery to ensnare and ultimately destroy the weak, unsuspecting man. It appears here with “The Venus of Ille,” a brilliant tale of the supernatural. Prosper Merimee is a noted French novelist, playwright, and short story writer.