At ^ *li losoplier's i >< k lll Iticlisircl .^ Watson A& 64sAA*t At< Ht* 4f* A ...... I * 1 1 i I < >«•>< > | > 1 1 < - r*<s RichardWatson,a well-known American scholar of Descartes,can read French. He can translate French. But he has never learned to speak it. When he is in—vited to del—iver a paper in Paris in French he begins a hilarious and often harrow- ing voyage on the rough seas of learning to speak a foreign language in late middle age. A crash course with a native Frenchwoman is his starting point. Buoyed by these intensive lessons, Watson fantasizes about conversing ably with the hallowed inner circle of French Cartesian scholars in a Paris cafe.When they unceremoni- ously rebuff him at the Paris confer- ence,Watson realizes,with a sigh, that he still cannot really speak French. Ever determined,the belea- guered scholar signs up for a two- month program at theAlliance Francaise in Paris,where he is taught by a sequence offemale French pro- fessors,each more formidable than the last.One scornfully doubts that he is a university professor,another ignores him,and a third delights in — tormenting him all under the gaze Tlxe Deinise Books Watson J>j I*ioili\i-«l THE DOWNFALL OF CARTESIANISM MAN AND NATURE with Patty Jo Watson THE LONGEST CAVE with Roger W. Brucker UNDER PLOWMAN'S FLOOR, a novel THE RUNNER, a novel THE PHILOSOPHER'S DIET THE BREAKDOWN OF CARTESIAN METAPHYSICS THE PHILOSOPHER'S JOKE WRITING PHILOSOPHY NIAGARA, a novel MP 1 fc FR Watsion R<lcli.£ijrcl University of MiwNouri Pre§s - —— Copyright © 1995 by The Curators ofthe University ofMissouri University ofMissouri Press, Columbia, Missouri 65201 Printed and bound in the United States ofAmerica All rights reserved 5 4 3 2 1 99 98 97 96 95 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Watson, Richard A., 1931— The Philosopher's Demise (Learning French) / Richard Watson, p. cm. ISBN 0-8262-1003-1 — — — 1. Watson, Richard A., 1931- Journeys France Paris. 2. Paris — — — (France) Sociallifeandcustoms 20thcentury. 3. Frenchlanguage Study — — and teaching English speakers. 4. French language Study and teaching — — — France Paris. 5. Novelists, American 20th century Biography. 6. Col- — — — — lege teachers United States Biography. 7. Americans Travel France Paris. 8. Alliance francaise. I. Title. PS3573.A8576Z47 1995 818i8.5403—dc20 94-42803 [B] CIP ^yThis paper meets the requirements ofthe American National Standard for Permanence ofPaper for Printed Library Materials, Z39.48, 1984. Designer: Stephanie Foley Typesetter: Bookcomp Printer and binder: Thomson-Shore, Inc. Typefaces: Madrone and Minion That's it? —Mae West to W. C. Fields >emise ... to transfer ... to convey . . . to transmitbysuccession orinheritance . . . to pass on. — Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary