Severed Ties 1972–1973 231
expressed my disagreement with the way Daily Life in Revolutionary
China had been banned at the Fête de L’Humanité. And this took up
most of the interview. Nothing signifi cant apart from that.’^3
That same evening, Jacques and Marguerite were invited to
have dinner at the home of Paule and Yves Thévenin, together
with Sollers, Kristeva, and Pleynet. But time went by and the
three telqueliens did not appear. Derrida and Paule Thévenin soon
learned that this was a ‘rap on the knuckles’ – in reprisal for the
meeting with Casanova.^4 Thévenin and Derrida were aghast at this
attitude and immediately drew the consequences. The very next day,
they separately informed the organizers of the Cerisy conference
that relations had been ‘broken off ’ with Sollers and the Tel Quel
group, and so they would not be taking part in the scheduled décade
on Artaud and Bataille. In his letter, Derrida said, ‘I regret this, but
my decision is fi nal, and I thought it best to inform you straightaway
so that, if you think it appropriate, you can make it public.’^5
When he realized the situation, Sollers tried to salvage what he
could, by purporting to distinguish between Derrida’s attitude and
Paule Thévenin’s:
Jacques,
I guess everything can happen without too much of a fuss, no?
You know that I’ve thought about it and think I need to
show my fundamental commitment re the Macciocchi aff air.
Could you please say:
(1) to Paule: that I don’t think there’s any point in suggesting
that we’re going to attack her (because of her work) – we will,
of course, never do so.
(2) to Yves: that whatever happens, Julia and I will continue
to be his grateful friends.
Thank you for this favour.
Best to Marguerite.
For you, everything that you know from other sources (it’s
written).Sollers added a PS: ‘Is it absolutely necessary for Paule to start
telling everyone that she and Derrida have broken off relationships
with Tel Quel?’^6 In actual fact, there was nothing left to salvage,
even though Dissemination was to be published a few weeks later in
the ‘Tel Quel’ series. Derrida hoped to stay on friendly terms with
a few of the group’s outsiders, especially Jacqueline Risset – she
lived in Italy, far from all these dramatic twists and turns –, but he
no longer had any time for Sollers, Kristeva, or Pleynet, who would
have no compunction about attacking him.
The brutality that was soon to be the rule was not just individual;
it was characteristic of the period. On 25 February 1972, just over