Night Flight (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)

At a glance:

Characters Discussed

Rivière (ree-VYAY), the director of an air-mail service. Completely dedicated to making night flying regular in spite of all its attendant dangers, he imposes on his men a rigid discipline that is taken for callousness. When Fabien and his wireless operator are lost in a storm, Rivière’s deep concern reveals that his unbending severity springs not from any lack of feeling for his pilots but from a complete sense of consecration to his mission.

Fabien (fah-BYAH[N]), a pilot. On a night flight carrying the mail from Patagonia to Buenos Aires, he and his wireless operator enter a violent storm and are lost. Their deaths prompt the revelation of Rivière’s real concern for his pilots in spite of his severe demands on them.

Robineau (roh-bee-NOH), the inspector. Inclined to make friends with the pilots, he resents Rivière’s undeviating discipline and insistence that the supervisors maintain complete impersonality toward those whom they may have to send to their deaths. Only after Fabien is lost does he realize Rivière’s real concern for his men and experience a sense of communion with him.

Pellerin (peh-leh-RA[N]), a pilot who comes safely through the great storm in which Fabien is lost.

Mme Fabien, Fabien’s bride of six weeks, who hears from Rivière of the enormous price men must pay to conquer the skies. She understands.

Roblet (roh-BLAY), an old former pilot.

Bibliography:

Cate, Curtis. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry: His Life and Times. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1970. Born in France and educated in England and America, Cate wrote the first major biography of Saint-Exupéry in English. The author comments extensively on the airman’s literary works.

Migeo, Marcel. Saint-Exupéry. Translated by Herma Briffault. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1960. Shortly after the end of World War II, in the course of researching the life of Saint-Exupéry, the author interviewed Didier Daurat, the inspiration for Rivière.

Rumbold, Richard, and Lady Margaret Stewart. The Winged Life: A Portrait of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Poet and Airman. New York: David McKay, 1953. Written by a World War II Royal Air Force pilot and the daughter of a former secretary of air in the British cabinet, the work is a sympathetic study of the famous French pilot.

Schiff, Stacy. Saint-Exupéry: A Biography. New York: Knopf, 1994. This well-written biography explores the connection between Saint-Exupéry the pilot and Saint-Exupéry the writer. It includes a comprehensive discussion of the circumstances and influences surrounding Night Flight.

Smith, Maxwell A. Knight of the Air. London: Cassell, 1959. The author of this work concentrates not only on Saint-Exupéry’s life but also, more specifically, on his literary works, including an excellent analysis of Night Flight.