A Backward Glance: Théodore Monod by Henriette Pallavioux
I called him Théodore, and we loved to walk while he told me about the Desert. We spoke of singing dunes, bivouacs in the craters of Tibesti
I called him Théodore, and we loved to walk while he told me about the Desert. We spoke of singing dunes, bivouacs in the craters of Tibesti, camel expeditions beneath star-filled skies, and the phantom mountains of the Hoggar.
We spoke of the Desert where silence deserves reverence. Of sand winds that can drive men mad, of the courage of men in indigo tagelmust, of women who mastered the encampment, of Freedom itself.
He was a convinced pacifist, ready to fight for peace and liberty. Against all forms of violence, he was vegetarian, defending the cause of animals.
I would read him the newspaper in the morning and evening. He would tell me about the Princess of Cleves or Shakespeare.
His quests, which seemed utopian, were the engine that drove him into mad expeditions in search of a flower or a meteorite.
"He who plucks a flower disturbs a star," he would say.
He was the last traveling naturalist, tireless, having accomplished crossings of the Desert such as the Majabat Al Koubra, that Mauritanian desert which he thus named.
One of the most beautiful testimonies to his humility is, for me, this passage written in his first book Méharées, where he speaks of his hesitations as a young man between two oceans.
"And I remain, between two oceans, the one I possess and the one I desire, the one of ships and the one of camels, uncertain, undecided, torn."
Henriette Pallavioux, November 2019
Frequently asked questions
Théodore Monod (1902-2000) was a French naturalist, explorer, and humanist, renowned as a specialist of the Sahara Desert. He is celebrated for his numerous crossings on foot or by camel, particularly the Majabat Al Koubra expedition in Mauritania, and for his works including 'Méharées'.
The Majabat Al Koubra, which can be translated as 'the great void' in Arabic, is a desert region in Mauritania. Théodore Monod crossed it and gave it this name. He recounted his journey in several of his writings, bearing witness to the solitude and absolute beauty of these vast spaces.
Among Théodore Monod's essential works, 'Méharées' remains the most celebrated. He recounts his early camel expeditions across the Sahara with poetic and scientific prose. 'Libyan Desert' and 'What If Adventure Were Inner' are also inspiring reads for those who love the desert.
Henriette Pallavioux is the author of this personal testimony published in November 2019. She describes a privileged relationship with Théodore Monod, sharing walks and intimate conversations about the desert, nature, and literature.
