My Private Menagerie: from The Works of Theophile Gautier Volume 19

In Short

Part memoir, part lighthearted domestic record, this book traces the author's lifelong obsession with household animals. From a childhood home in Paris to his adult literary quarters, Gautier recounts the lineages of his pets, detailing their distinct personalities, intellectual quirks, and daily lives. Rich with period charm and literary humor, the narrative captures the affectionate bond between an artist and his non-human companions. It endures as a witty, poignant exploration of animal intelligence and human devotion.

The Story

The narrative begins with Gautier reflecting on his lifelong passion for animals, recalling his early childhood move from Tarbes to Paris and his earliest memories of canine companions. Though his early love for dogs is marred by the tragic loss of his pet Luther to rabies, his affection shifts toward cats, whose quiet, fire-side habits better suit his literary life.

Gautier introduces his first notable feline, Childebrand, named in a deliberate gesture of Romantic rebellion against Classical tradition. Soon, dynasties of cats begin to pass through his household. During the White Dynasty, he introduces Don Pierrot of Navarre, a polite cat that sits with Gautier as he writes and attempts to turn book pages with his claws, and Pierrot's immaculate mate, Séraphita, who loves fine scents and elegant furniture. In a brief interval of exotic curiosity, Gautier buys thirty-two white Norway rats, housing them in an elaborate cage. The cats accept the rats without hostility, but the rat dynasty ends abruptly when a summer lightning bolt strikes their cage in the garden.

Following Séraphita’s death from croup, the Black Dynasty begins with her offspring: Enjolras, Eponine, and Gavroche, named after characters in Victor Hugo's Les Misérables. Gavroche proves to be a street-smart cat who brings starving strays home to feed, while Eponine demonstrates an uncanny knack for etiquette, surrendering her dining chair whenever guests arrive.

Gautier then defends his affection for dogs, recounting the remarkable moral character of Zamore, a spaniel who despises women but remains fiercely loyal to Gautier's father during night-fishing trips. After being entranced by a street performance of costumed dancing dogs, Zamore secretly practices dancing on his hind legs at night, eventually performing social dances to impress suitors. Later dogs include Kobold, a music-loving King Charles spaniel that sings along with the piano in a strong "English accent," and Dash, a three-legged rescue dog who engages in expressive, conversational grunts.

Finally, Gautier describes his love for horses, funded by his earnings as a journalist. He purchases two Shetland ponies, Jane and Blanche, who follow him like dogs and crave melon skins. He drives them in light carriages through Paris for several years. However, the Revolution of 1848 disrupts his finances and forces the suspension of his newspaper. Unable to feed the horses, he sells them at a heavy loss, watching them stop wistfully outside his window whenever their new owner drives them past his house.

How It Unfolds

The childhood origins Gautier establishes his lifelong love of animals, recalling his move to Paris as a homesick three-year-old and his initial affection for family dogs and gutter-cats.

The White Dynasty In his adult home, Gautier shares his life with the elegant white cats Don Pierrot and Séraphita, along with thirty-two white rats that live in surprising harmony with the felines until a fatal thunderstorm.

The Black Dynasty Three black kittens named after Les Misérables characters inherit the household, displaying distinct personalities that range from streetwise charity to formal dining etiquette.

The dogs of the house Gautier introduces a succession of dogs, including Zamore, who secretly teaches himself to dance on his hind legs, and Kobold, a King Charles spaniel that sings to piano music.

The carriage horses Using his earnings as a journalist, Gautier buys two affectionateAn eccentric French Romanticist fills his home with a sprawling household of animals, recording their lives, personalities, and quirks with affectionate precision.

In Short

Théophile Gautier collects a lifetime of domestic animal companions—from gutter-born felines and performing dogs to white Norway rats and a pair of affectionate Shetland ponies—and sets down their individual histories in a warm, witty memoir. Blending Romantic literary flair with keen observation, Gautier treats every creature as a thinking individual with its own dignity, eccentricities, and intellect. The book has endured because it bridges the gap between human artifice and animal soul, capturing the intimate, everyday joy of shared domestic life with timeless humor and tenderness.

The Story

Gautier opens his memoir by confronting a popular caricature that depicts him sitting in Turkish robes, draped in familiar cats. Accepting the portrait as essentially true, he traces his devotion to animals back to his earliest childhood, when, as a homesick three-year-old brought to Paris from Tarbes, he sought comfort in non-human companionship. Over the decades that follow, his home becomes a sanctuary for an ever-shifting dynasty of pets.

Cats dominate his household in successive generations. He introduces Childebrand, a magnificent black-and-tan striped gutter-cat named in deliberate defiance of classical literary tastes to champion Romanticist aesthetics. He writes of Madame-Théophile, a feline whose predatory ambush on a newly acquired green parrot is permanently shattered when the bird suddenly addresses her in a booming human voice.

Gautier then chronicles the "White Dynasty," led by the exceptionally sweet Don Pierrot of Navarre and the aristocratic, perfume-loving Séraphita. Don Pierrot becomes a literary collaborator of sorts, watching Gautier’s pen move across paper and escorting him to bed every night, while Séraphita lounging on fine armchair fabrics mirrors the icy purity of Balzacian heroines. Gautier even introduces a colony of thirty-two white Norway rats into the household; rather than hunting them, Don Pierrot forms a gentle friendship with the rodents, sleeping alongside their cage until a sudden bolt of lightning strikes the metal cage during a summer storm and kills the entire rat colony at once.

Following Séraphita’s death, three coal-black kittens mark the rise of the "Black Dynasty," named Enjolras, Gavroche, and Eponine after characters in Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables. Gavroche exhibits street-wise habits, bringing famished alley cats home to share his food, while the clever Eponine dines at the family table, understanding that the placement of a knife and fork beside her plate means she must yield her seat to human guests.

Gautier turns next to dogs, admitting a lingering fear of rabies but celebrating remarkable individuals: Zamore, a stoic spaniel mix who despises women, loyally accompanies Gautier’s father on overnight fishing trips, and secretly teaches himself to dance on his hind legs by moonlight after watching a troop of street dogs; Kobold, a music-loving King Charles spaniel who sings in key with the piano; and Dash, a three-legged stray saved from drowning who attempts to speak in expressive, varied vocalizations.

Finally, Gautier details his equine companions during a period of journalism prosperity: Jane and Blanche, two tiny Shetland ponies who follow him like dogs and crave melon rinds. Gautier drives them through Paris in a series of small, colorful carriages until the Revolution of 1848 destroys his finances, forcing a heartbreaking sale that stands as his greatest personal loss.

How It Unfolds

The early bonds Gautier establishes his lifelong affinity for animals, recounting his childhood arrival in Paris and his first experiences with deceptive dog-dealers and faithful house cats. He introduces his early Romantic feline, Childebrand, whose tiger-like stripes and Gothic name embody the author's rejection of rigid neoclassicism.

The white dynasty and the parrot The narrative moves into a period dominated by white pets, beginning with Madame-Théophile's hilarious encounter with a talking parrot that frightens her out of her predatory instincts. Gautier introduces the regal Don Pierrot of Navarre and the fastidious Séraphita, alongside a commune of thirty-two white Norway rats who live in peaceful accord with the cats until a tragic lightning strike ends their lives.

The black dynasty Three black offspring of the white cats are named after Hugo's characters, developing distinct personalities that mirror their namesakes. Gavroche acts as a benevolent rogue feeding alley strays, while Eponine learns dining etiquette and voluntarily cedes her chair whenever dinner guests arrive.

A gallery of dogs Gautier defends his complex relationship with dogs, detailing the extraordinary talents and quirks of his canine companions. Zamore secretively practices ballet steps in the dead of night, Kobold modulates his voice to match piano notes, and the injured stray Dash develops a complex language of grunts and sighs to communicate.

The lost ponies The memoir concludes with Gautier's acquisition of Jane and Blanche, two affectionate Shetland ponies fed on the proceeds of his journalism. After years of driving them through Paris, political upheaval forces him to sell his beloved team, leaving him with a lingering, sorrowful memory of their shared bond.

The People

• Théophile Gautier: The narrator and author, a devoted writer and animal lover who treats his pets as intellectual equals and artistic muses. He seeks comfort, inspiration, and domestic warmth in their presence, facing financial ups and downs alongside them.
• Don Pierrot of Navarre: A pure white cat of gentle, deeply affectionate demeanor who acts as Gautier's night-time escort and writing companion. He breaks species barriers by befriending the household's white rats and sleeping beside them.
• Séraphita: Don Pierrot's white feline mate, an exquisitely clean, aristocratic cat who loves delicate perfumes and fine furniture. She maintains an aloof, duchess-like presence and avoids crude antics.
• Eponine: A black cat of the successor dynasty who possesses remarkable reasoning powers and a passion for fish. She understands human table settings and gracefully moves to the piano stool whenever guests attend dinner.
• Zamore: A small, serious spaniel mix who gives his sole loyalty to Gautier's father during long fishing trips. Driven by a secret artistic ambition, he spends his nights mastering upright dance steps after watching a street performance.
• Jane and Blanche: A pair of gentle, hairy Shetland ponies who draw Gautier's carriage through the streets of Paris. They demonstrate deep affection for their owner, obeying him without reins and nudging his shoulders for treats.

In Its Own Voice

"The eyes of the cat, fixed upon the bird with an intensity that had something of fascination in it, plainly said in a language well understood of the parrot and absolutely intelligible: 'Green though it is, that chicken must be good to eat.'"

Context: Gautier observes Madame-Théophile stalking a newly arrived parrot, moments before the bird speaks and terrifies the cat.

"He was very fond of books, and when he found one open on the table, he would lie down by it, gaze attentively at the page and turn the leaves with his claws; then he ended by going to sleep, just as if he had really been reading a fashionable novel."

Context: Gautier describes the quiet, literary habits of Don Pierrot of Navarre resting beside him in his study.

"And my ponies were none the less fat and in good condition though they were fed on literature, had substantives for oats, adjectives for hay, and adverbs for straw."

Context: Gautier reflects on the short-lived period when his income as a journalist allowed him to keep his beloved Shetland ponies.

What It's Really About

Beneath its charming anecdotal surface, My Private Menagerie explores the deep emotional and cognitive life of animals, arguing against the Cartesian view that non-human creatures are mere unfeeling automata. Gautier presents animals as conscious, expressive beings capable of humor, grief, ambition, and loyalty. The book meditates on the nature of language and translation, suggesting that animals possess their own complex modes of communication that humans are simply too dull to fully interpret. By naming his pets after literary heroes and observing their artistic habits—whether reading over a shoulder or practicing a dance step—Gautier blurs the boundary between human culture and the natural world, emphasizing the quiet tragedy of outliving companions whose lifespans are so much shorter than our own.

Why Read It Today

My Private Menagerie will captivate anyone who has ever shared a home with a beloved pet and recognized an independent mind behind a pair of golden or green eyes. Gautier writes with an irresistible mix of Romantic flair, dry wit, and unpretentious affection, transforming simple anecdotes about household pets into rich, character-driven narratives.

The prose flows easily, though modern readers should expect nineteenth-century literary allusions to figures like Boileau, Balzac, and Hugo, as well as period terminology regarding breeds and street life. What stays with the reader is Gautier's profound empathy. He does not project silly caricatures onto his animals; instead, he pays them the compliment of close, respectful observation. The grief he feels when parting with his ponies or losing a lifelong cat is rendered with genuine dignity, free from sentimental melodrama. Reading the book feels like sitting by a warm hearth with a well-read friend who understands that the creatures sharing our living rooms are among the most fascinating companions we will ever know.