Claudine...! Review
By the manga-ka Riyoko Ikeda, author of Rose of Versailles, this is a short, little known but beautiful manga, telling the story of a transsexual man in early 20th century France.
When the doctor first meets Claudine, she has been brought to him by her concerned mother, worried over her masculine behaviour. A strikingly attractive, confident and fiercly intelligent child, Claudine is adamant that he is in fact a boy, once was a 'real' boy, and will return to being a 'real' boy soon. Over the next 15 years the doctor documents his life, based on Claudine's own accounts during his therapy sessions.
The fourth child born to a distinguished, wealthy family, Claudine, although biologically female, is allowed to grow up living and dressing in a masculine fashion. His mother continues to treat his masculinity as worrying, but seems to grudgingly accept it, seeming to hope it is a 'stage' he will grow out of, while Claudine's father fully accepts him as his 'son' who was simply 'born in the wrong body', and the only one of his children to have inherited his looks and personality, he treats him as the pride of the family. Handsome, intelligent, charming and confident, despite the predjudice transgender men and women suffered at the time, Claudine is also popular and well liked in the town he lives.
At the age of 15, Claudine falls in love for the first time, with a young serving girl, Maura who comes to work at his home, in order to make money to support her ill father. A couple of years younger than him but sweet, hardworking and diligent, she becomes the subject of Claudine's first love, and, after finding her crying after receiving news of her father's death, Claudine kisses her and promises her that he will always be there for her. However, his mother is horrified after finding the two of them together, Maura is sent home, and Claudine is once again sent to see the doctor, this time smouldering with silent rage.
Shortly after this, Claudine falls in love for the second time, this time with an older but beautiful libarian, Cecilia, who shares his love of books, and whose knowledge and intelligence enchants him. The two begin to spend a lot of time together, reading and studying books, but after Claudine attempts to kiss her and tells her his feelings, despite it being apparent that she has feelings for him as well, she turns him down in a panic, telling them that they can't be together as 'Claudine, you're a girl', which devastates him. Up until that point, he had truly believed that Cecilia had seen him as a man, so the revelation that she views him as a woman devastates him.
After his relationship with Cecilia comes to a grim end, Claudine makes the decision to go to the city to attend university. Once again, his personality wins over the people around him, and he manages to get accepted by those around him as a man despite having his biological gender known, even getting an exception made so Claudine can be accepted in to the university's gentleman society. It is here that Claudine meets his third love, a beautiful ex-dancer named Sireene. He initially attempts to deny his feelings for her, not wanting to be hurt again, but Sireene confesses to him, and Claudine cries and kisses her. Following this, the two start a relationship, living together as couple under the guise of being 'best friends'. Claudine adores Sireene, who he positively worships, and Sireene states that even if she 'goes to hell' for being with Claudine she doesn't care, as she loves Claudine, and being with him now is all that matters to her.
However, despite their happiness, things end very sadly. Sireene has an affair, and leaves Claudine. Claudine laters learns that the man she has left him for is his own brother. Following a telephone conversation with the doctor, who states that he indeed believes that Claudine is transgendered, heartbroken, and feeling that all there is left to do is to 'rid himself of his imperfect body', aged just 25, Claudine commits suicide.
Despite the difficulties Claudine faces throughout his life, and the stories tragic ending, this is not a depressing story, and it left a special place in my heart. Before reading this, considering the time this series was written in (the 70's), I was expecting a rather misconceived, stereotyped series, possibly using Claudine's 'crossdressing' as a romantic plot device. Indeed, that is how some people have summed it up. You will often hear this manga described as a 'yuri' manga, about a 'woman who is convinced she is a 'man', and her romantic experiences'. In reality this could not be further from the truth. I'm sorry, but to describe this series as a 'yuri manga about a crossdresser' is beyond just stupid or ignorant, that is just shallow. And by definition, Claudine is a straight trans-man, not a lesbian. This is not a yuri manga in the first place.
The reality was actually a remarkably sensitive, accurate, and honest portrayal of the life of transgender man growing up in 20's France. It was sad, yes, and his life wasn't easy, but that was very true for transgender people in the first part of the 20th century. Life wasn't easy. They weren't understood, and were often not accepted either. I really was not expecting much, but from the 126 pages of this short manga I gained a remarkable amount, and it really touched me. Claudine is a wonderful character, and you really do love him during the short time you know him. The art is nice, and the plot is good too, although it can be somewhat confusing at time. This is one of the best short mangas I've ever read, and I give the series a 9:10. If you are a fan of classic mangas, or just want something a little different, then I would really recommend this!