Denise Sarrault
Denise Sarrault | |
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| Born | 21 February 1927 Ďasla, Xevden |
| Died | 22 April 1997 (aged 70) Déylaŋi, Nerveiík-Iárus-Daláyk, Gylias |
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| Years active | 1960–1997 |
Denise Sarrault (Gylic transcription: Denis Saró; 21 February 1927 – 22 April 1997) was a Gylian writer, columnist, and humourist. She was one of Gylias' most popular columnists for over 40 years, writing prolifically and having her column "Fée d'logis" syndicated by many newspapers.
Denise's columns used broad and eloquent humour to chronicle the ordinary life of a Gylian housewife. She enjoyed using the persona of an average housewife to dispense progressive insights to readers, and wrote with acceptance and bemused sympathy of the Golden Revolution. This quality of casual radicalism beneath a placid surface, shared with fellow columnist Esua Nadel, prompted The People's Voice to compare them to "modern-day daimones."
Early life
Denise was born on 21 February 1927 in Ďasla. She came from a working-class family, her parents being manual workers, and had a sister, Thelma. Her family was of mixed descent with French ancestry being predominant, and she learned French as her first language.
She attended informal Gylian schools during Xevden's last years and then volunteer classes in the Free Territories. She was an excellent student and avid reader. She began writing a humorous column for a youth newspaper in 1940.
Denise reflected on the years 1945–1949 as her "university years": although unable to attend a formal university, she furthered her studies and her writing career, holding various part-time jobs, including at a general store and spokesperson for the local RYU.
Columnist
Denise put her career on hold in the early 1950s to care for her children. Ironically, her time away from writing proved crucial in shaping her writing voice and subject matter. She resumed writing in 1960, contributing a weekly column to a local newspaper in Peisir, where she had settled with her family.
Her column quickly found success, and was distributed through syndication to various newspapers. Gradually, the frequency of her column and the number of newspapers publishing it increased. By the mid-1960s, she was established as one of the most successful independent columnists in Gylias, and a popular humourist nationwide.
Denise had been fascinated by the figure of the housewife, and used this as the springboard of her humour, titling her column "Fée d'logis" (French reformed for "perfect housewife"). She wrote from the perspective of an average housewife, using this façade to reflect on the Golden Revolution, and provide progressive-minded insights and advice to her readers.
She thus used the archetype of the housewife for radical purposes, transforming a stereotype associated with conservatism and social repression into a modern and liberated one, unafraid of experimentation and sympathetic towards revolutionaries and utopians.
Denise's image completed her humour: in all her portraits, she was shown smiling slyly, dressed conservatively, and holding a cigarette holder, projecting an image as old-fashioned yet contemporary. While her whimsical humour remained, she also passionately advocated for several causes, including feminism, the "gender revolution", education, and the "psychedelic revolution".
She was a supporter of Gylias' liberal drug policies and a famous participant in Project Nous, writing about her experimentation with psychedelics and having it filmed for public information purposes. This reinforced her reputation as "the turned-on housewife".
She also supported the francité movement, being a member of both OMFLG and ACFEN, and was cheered by its success in Gylias. She wrote her columns in French and was pleased that success meant her column was sometimes the most prominent French article in otherwise unilingual newspapers.
The success of Denise's columns allowed her to become a media personality as well. She was a guest on radio and television shows, particularly panel shows. One of her recurring jokes was to preface her more philosophical remarks with a variation of the phrase "Speaking as a mere housewife...".
She was briefly involved in the Siege of Gothendral, speaking to Marius Lauritzen by phone. She commented: "M'ami, you've made a brilliant list of demands. I haven't laughed as hard since the last LSD Party manifesto."
One of her last interviews before her death was for Rasa Ḑeşéy's documentary series Nation Building, in which her appearance would be posthumous.
Death
Denise underwent a kidney transplant in her youth, and survived breast cancer and mastectomy. She died of natural causes at home on 22 April 1997.
Private life
Denise married Guglielmo Buonamici, a Megelanese International Brigades volunteer and educator, in 1949. The couple had three children: one adopted in 1953, and two born in 1955 and 1958.
She mainly practised Gaulish polytheism combined with Concordianism, while her husband was "mildly Guglielmite" but unaffiliated to any religion, in her words. The couple gave their children a secular upbringing.
She was a staunch supporter of Gylian education throughout her life, particularly higher education. She donated to and volunteered for many universities. However, she declined to enroll and obtain a formal degree, believing it important to remind young Gylians that "degrees aren't everything".