The only child of Fernand Destouches and Marguerite-Louise-Céline Guilloux, he was born Louis Ferdinand Auguste Destouches in 1894 at Courbevoie, just outside Paris in the Seine département (now Hauts-de-Seine). The family came originally from Normandy on his father's side and Brittany on his mother's side. His father was a minor functionary in an insurance firm and his mother was a lacemaker.[1] In 1905 he was awarded his Certificat d'études, after which he worked as an apprentice and messenger boy in various trades Between 1908 and 1910 his parents sent him to Germany and England for a year in each country in order to acquire foreign languages for future employment. From the time he left school, until the age of eighteen, Céline worked various jobs, leaving or losing them after only short periods of time. He often found himself working for jewellers, first, at eleven, as an errand boy, and later as a salesperson for a local goldsmith. Although he was no longer being formally educated, he bought schoolbooks with the money he earned, and studied by himself. It was around this time that Céline started to want to become a doctor.
World War I and Africa
In 1912, in what Céline described as an act of rebellion against his parents, he joined the French army, two years before the start of the first World War and its mandatory French conscription. This was a time in France when, following the Moroccan crisis of 1911, nationalism reached "fever pitch" – a period one historian described as "The Hegemony of Patriotism" (1911–1914), particularly affecting opinion in the lycées and grandes écoles of Paris.[3]
In 1912 Céline began a three-year enlistment in the 12th Cuirassier Regiment stationed in Rambouillet. At first, he was unhappy with the military, and even considered deserting. However, he adapted, and eventually attained the rank of Sergeant.[2] The beginning of the First World War brought action to Céline's unit. On 25 October 1914, Céline volunteered to deliver a message, when others were reluctant to do so because of heavy German fire. Near Ypres, during his attempt to deliver the message, he was wounded in his right arm. (He was not wounded in the head, contrary to a popular rumor that he perpetuated.)[2] For his bravery, Céline was awarded the médaille militaire in November, and appeared one year later in the weekly l'Illustré National of November 1915, p16.
In March 1915 he was sent to London to work in the French passport office. While in London, he was married to Suzanne Nebout and divorced one year later. In September, his arm wounds were such that he was officially declared physically unfit for military duty and was discharged. He returned to France, where he began working at a variety of jobs.
In 1916 Céline set out for Africa as a representative of the Sangha-Oubangui company. He was sent to the Cameroons and returned to France in 1917. Little is known of this trip except that it was unsuccessful. After returning to France he worked for the Rockefeller Foundation. As part of a team, it was his job to travel toBrittany teaching people how to fight tuberculosis and how to improve hygiene.
Becoming a doctor
In June 1919 Céline went to Bordeaux and completed the second part of his baccalauréat. Through his work with the Institute, Céline had come into contact, and good standing, with Monsieur Follet, the director of the medical school in Rennes. On 11 August 1919 Céline married Follet's daughter Édith Follet, with whom he had been acquainted for some time. With Monsieur Follet's influence, Céline was accepted into the university. On 15 June 1920 his wife gave birth to a daughter, Colette Destouches. During this time, he studied intensely, obtaining certificates in physics, chemistry, and natural sciences. By 1923, three years after he had started the medical program at Rennes, Céline had completed almost everything he needed to complete his medical degree. His doctoral thesis, The Life and Work of Ignaz Semmelweis, is considered his first literary work, completed in 1924. Ignaz Semmelweis's contribution "was immense and it stood, according to Céline, in direct proportion to the misery of his life." In 1924 Céline began work as an intern at a Paris maternity hospital.
Nguồn: http://en.wikipedia.org/
