ENFANTIN, BARTHÉLEMY-PROSPER (1796–1864)

Barthélemy-Prosper Enfantin was the charismatic leading figure in the Saint-Simonian movement and also played a major part in destroying it.

Enfantin was one of the founders of the movement and joint editor with Olinde Rodriguès of its first journal. He wrote articles suggesting how to equalize wealth, including a proposal for death duties. Enfantin soon challenged the democracy of Saint-

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Simonianism and turned it into a fanatically hierarchical mystical religious sect. He seems to have had a compelling and attractive confidence that he held the secret of how to achieve their objectives of liberating women and workers. During 1831 he became increasingly autocratic and dismissed middle-class women leaders.

In November 1831 at an acrimonious assembly he announced that their immediate strategy was to find the one special woman who would unlock the secret of how their ‘church’ should develop. She was to occupy the vacant throne for the new female ‘pope’, next to him, the self-declared male pope. Enfantin introduced the notion of ‘progressive’ or experimental marriage. This shocked some of the original membership, which had consisted of middle-class couples. Enfantin argued that it was women’s passions or flesh, rather than their low wages, that prevented their liberation. Contemporary society was fragmented because the power of love was not realized. Women were the emotional heart of the basic social unit, the male-female couple. Christianity was at fault in demanding that people deny their sensual selves. Love should not be constrained by the rules of conventional marriage. Temporary unions should replace monogamous marriage.

The vast majority left the movement. Enfantin’s doctrine looked suspiciously like a rationalization of his own sex life with Adèle Morlane, mother of his son, whom he never married because, although he liked to be adored, the more someone loved him, the more distant he became. Enfantin exerted an almost hypnotic influence over women similar to that of Mesmer, who, in his violet robes, had charmed numerous wealthy Parisian ladies before the French Revolution.

Enfantin tried to organize the rump of his church. The remaining disciples were obliged to adopt a uniform of red waistcoat, white trousers and blue jacket, complete with beret. The jacket buttoned at the back, to emphasize human interdependence. Enfantin’s shirt was marked ‘Father’ and he toyed with the idea of wearing violet. An all-male retreat was held at Enfantin’s home, Ménilmontant, where the men peeled potatoes and washed their uniforms. Wealthy reformers began to prefer more practical causes. The government banned their public meetings, which had brought converts and money. Enfantin and Michel Chevalier were accused of corrupting public morality and embezzlement, and were sentenced to a year’s imprisonment.

A few remaining members sailed away to seek the missing female half of the papal duo in the ‘Orient’ and eventually Enfantin joined them. He resumed his career as an engineer, working on plans for the colonization of Algeria (1843) and for a canal through the isthmus of Suez (1845). He helped to secure the route and concession for the Paris— Lyon railway. An embarrassing anachronism of Romanticism, he continued to believe that he held the secret of a sort of holy grail and corresponded with a few former supporters.

ENFANTIN, BARTHÉLEMY-PROSPER (1796–1864)