Today, I’ve decided to go “butterfly hunting” as Georges Brassens once sang. Armed with my special net, I head towards the field of daisies lit by the sun, which alone adorns the blue sky of the French Riviera, much envied by the people of the north.
Silence reigns in this little paradise but no butterflies in sight. But where is the Hermit? The Swallowtail? The Bride? The Flirt? I search in vain for the perfect insect in this white carpet. Nothing. No winged insects. But where are they? Could they have migrated elsewhere? Let’s solve this mystery!
Butterflies appeared with the first flowering plants, about 150 to 200 million years ago. They fluttered through the forests of prehistoric ferns.
In ancient Greece, inspired by Athena, they flapped their wings to animate the human bodies shaped by Prometheus. The metamorphosis of a caterpillar into a butterfly is a symbol that reappears in all mythologies. Like the butterfly emerging from its chrysalis, the human soul is called to be reborn from trials to awaken to wisdom.
In China, there is a very famous play titled “The Butterfly Lovers” which tells the story of a young girl, Zhu Yingtai. She was intelligent and wanted to study but, in ancient China, girls could not receive an education. So, she disguised herself as a boy. In class, she fell in love with a young man, Liang Shangbo, a brilliant but poor student.
Unfortunately, she was already promised in marriage to another young man, rich and foolish. One day, she confessed to Liang Shangbo that she was a girl and that she loved him. Liang loved her too, but he fell ill from not being able to marry her and died. Desperate, Zhu Yingtai committed suicide to join her beloved. Then, both transformed into butterflies and were thus able to freely live their love.
Greece, China – Enough traveling, let’s return to France! And direct our research towards cinema. Why? Because the butterfly has also played a role on the film screen. Remember that wonderful film with Michel Serrault playing a great collector of psyche (butterfly in ancient Greek). In “The Butterfly,” he embarked on a search for Isabella, a night butterfly whose beauty is matched only by its rarity.
Speaking of the night butterfly, did you know that this winged insect has also taken to singing? Yes, I assure you. But no, I am not foolish, I well know that the butterfly can neither talk nor sing. It is Myriam, the last winner of Nouvelle Star, who lends her voice in her first album that will be released on November 7th. Ah! I see, you don’t know who Myriam is, you are not “in,” as they say nowadays. On the other hand, if I tell you that “The Butterfly” also had as its voice, the unique voice of Céline Dion, you would surely think: for a perfect insect, a perfect voice is only fitting.
Actor, singer. And still no palpable butterflies. Let’s return to Nice, you know, this city that has trenches in its streets! Today, I took a day off for window-shopping on Jean Médecin Avenue (or what’s left of it). What do I see on the mannequins in the big stores? BUTTERFLIES. Butterflies printed on jackets, on T-shirts, on pants, on socks, butterflies in the form of keychains, of brooches, butterflies drawn on school supplies, on dishes, on wallpaper… Butterflies everywhere. Finally, I found them. The most accomplished insect in creation has done like a good number of men; it has become urban.
But in the city, the graceful creature will no longer flap its iridescent wings from flower to flower. Indeed, its colors still possess as much richness and beauty but it has become static. It’s sad, it no longer breathes life. Brrrr!! This thought gives me chills. I’m cold. I’ve put on my scarves and my gloves. It’s winter. It’s winter? Eureka! The butterfly sipping nectar from the heart of the flower like a lover collecting a kiss on the lips of a loved one, “is born with the spring and dies with the roses,” as Alphonse Lamartine wrote. I am reassured, it was just a bad dream or rather a seasonal mistake. It’s so beautiful on the French Riviera that it feels like spring every day!
Audrey Bollaro
