Enfant Terrible

Information about Enfant Terrible

L'Enfant terrible (Terrible child) (also spelled enfant terrible) is a French term for a child who is terrifyingly candid by saying embarrassing things to adults, especially parents. The Webster's Dictionary also defines a L'Enfant terrible as a usually successful person who is strikingly unorthodox, innovative, or avant-garde.

Origin of term

Its use was coined by Thomas Jefferson to describe Pierre Charles L'Enfant, Architect of Washington, who was a handsome, idealistic, and very headstrong French military engineer. L'Enfant had difficulties dealing with the map engravers and then Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, and Washington City Commissioner Daniel Carroll especially after L'Enfant had Carroll's new house, still under construction, torn down to build a street. L'Enfant was fired after only eleven months by Jefferson.

Literature

In Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina (part three, chapter XVII), Princess Betsy Tverskaya uses this phrase to describe Liza Merkalova and Anna Karenina in the context of discussing their actions as unfaithful wives. Princess Betsy points out the dichotomy of the virtue of those two women. On the one hand, Anna Karenina is poignantly aware of the repulsiveness of her "position", and all of the lying and deception that it entails. Anna, according to Princess Betsy, sees her situation "tragically" and turns it "into a misery". Conversely, Liza Merkalova is a "naive nature", handling the situation as one unaware of the difference between right and wrong, looking at her situation "simply and even humorously".

Les Enfants Terribles' is also a novel of classic French literature, written by Jean Cocteau

French (franÃ§ais, pronounced [fʁɑ̃ˈsɛ]) is a Romance language originally spoken in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Switzerland, and today by about 300 million people around the world as either
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Webster's Dictionary is the common title given to English language dictionaries in the United States, derived from American lexicographer Noah Webster. In the United States, the phrase Webster's has become a genericized trademark for dictionaries.
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Avant-garde (pronounced /ɑvɑ̃ gɑʁd/) in French means "front guard", "advance guard", or "vanguard".
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Pierre (Peter) Charles L'Enfant (2 August 1754, Paris, France – 14 June 1825, Prince George's County, Maryland) was a French-born American architect and urban planner.
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military engineer is primarily responsible for the design and construction of offensive, defensive and logistical structures for warfare. Other duties include the layout, placement, maintenance and dismantling of defensive minefields and the clearing of enemy minefields and the
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Washington, D.C.

Flag
Seal
Nickname: DC, The District
Motto: Justitia Omnibus (Justice for All)
Location of Washington, D.C.
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Daniel Carroll (July 22 1730 – July 5 1796) was a politician and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He was a prominent member of one of America's great colonial families that included his cousin Charles Carroll of Carrollton who signed the Declaration of
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Leo Tolstoy

Leo Tolstoy, late in life.
Born: July 28 1828
Yasnaya Polyana, Russian Empire
Died: November 20 1910 (aged 82)
Astapovo, Russian Empire
Occupation: Novelist
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Les Enfants Terribles is a 1929 book by Jean Cocteau. It concerns two sibilings, Elizabeth and Paul, who isolate themselves from the world as they grow up; this isolation is shattered by the stresses of their adolescence.
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French literature is, generally speaking, literature written in the French language, particularly by citizens of France; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak other traditional non-French languages.
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Jean Maurice EugÃ¨ne ClÃ©ment Cocteau (5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963) was a French poet, novelist, dramatist, designer, boxing manager and filmmaker. His versatile, unconventional approach and enormous output brought him international acclaim.
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