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The Image of the Tattoo in Pennac's Belleville: The Search for a Permanent Fixture in a Changing Landscape

2002; Edinburgh University Press; Volume: 41; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.3366/nfs.2002-2.008

2047-7236

Carolyn Stott,

Philippine History and Culture

Tattooing is an age-old phenomenon, practised universally, and serving many functions: decorative, religious, magical and punitive. It may also be a mark of identity, status, occupation or ownership. In Monsieur Malaussene, the novel intended as the final tome of Daniel Pennac' s Belleville series,1 the tattoo fulfils all ofthese functions and more, since it eventually comes to represent life or death for all who wear it. The tattooed characters of Pennac' s series were inspired by the population of the Parisian workingclass suburb in which the writer has lived and worked for a large part of his adult life: Belleville. The physical transformation of this suburb during the decade spanned by the series, 1985-1995, had a profound impact upon its inhabitants, who reacted negatively to the massive urban redevelopment taking place on their doorsteps. In Pennac' s novel, the existence ofthe tattoos is presented as a response to the problem of social disruption. Little wonder that the protagonists seek, through the indelibility ofthe tattoo, a reassuring sign of permanence in a changing world. However, their quest for security is not always satisfied by the presence of the tattoo. Before examining the tattoos of Pennac' s characters, it is important to define briefly the characteristics of the area in which they live, and also the general relationship of Monsieur Malaussene to the Belleville series as a whole. The Belleville defined by Pennac in his series is a colourful multicultural neighbourhood whose boundaries correspond approximately to the administrative limits set by the council of Paris; the neighbourhood spans mainly the eleventh and twentieth districts, as well as a small section of the nineteenth. Contemporary Belleville has retained the seedy reputation it earned during the nineteenth century; although reports indicate an exaggerated emphasis on local crime and drug trafficking, the deteriorating state of most of Belleville's buildings has done little to reverse its reputation as an undesirable area. Long recognized as a neighbourhood in need of renovation, Belleville's urban developments, planned since World War Two, were not even begun until the early 1970s. Yet, for many residents, who hail from all comers of the globe, the initial renovations announced the architectural