"Faire comprendre à Mlle D. qu'il me serait extrêmement pénible de répondre à ses lettres, qui ne pourraient être que de condoléances...autant celles d'amis comme toi me seraient apaisantes, autant des consolations féminines, même bien intentionnées, je n'en doute pas, me seraient insupportables..."

Autograph letter dated and signed by Victor Segalen addressed to Emile Mignard, one and a half pages (24 lines) written in black ink on a double sheet.
Traces of transverse folds inherent to postal delivery. Trace of white paper tab.
Emile Mignard (1878-1966), also a doctor from Brest, was one of Segalen's closest childhood friends whom he met at the Jesuit college Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours, in Brest. The writer maintained with this companion an abundant and regular correspondence in which he described with humor and intimacy his daily life in the four corners of the globe. It was at Mignard's wedding, on February 15, 1905, that Segalen met his wife, Yvonne Hébert.
It was in 1899 that Victor Segalen's first nervous disorders manifested themselves, which would only worsen as he advanced in age. Worried about his already failing health, his friends and relatives wanted to hear news of him, which sometimes exasperated him: "Faire comprendre à Mlle D. qu'il me serait extrêmement pénible de répondre à ses lettres, qui ne pourraient être que de condoléances...autant celles d'amis comme toi me seraient apaisantes, autant des consolations féminines, même bien intentionnées, je n'en doute pas, me seraient insupportables..." (Make Miss D. understand that it would be extremely painful for me to respond to her letters, which could only be of condolence...while those from friends like you would be soothing to me, feminine consolations, even well-intentioned, I have no doubt, would be unbearable to me...)
Victor Segalen thus declares his profound intimacy with Emile Mignard, with whom he had undertaken that same year a cycling tour in Brittany, and to whom he confided fully. Fleeing certain relationships, he desired to maintain, despite his illness, his privileged friendship with the latter: "... ne reviendrai qu'après un détour dont je ne prévois pas la durée... Mais j'ai le temps et le désir d'avoir de tes nouvelles." (...will only return after a detour whose duration I cannot foresee... But I have the time and desire to hear from you.)
Knowing his friend to be understanding and respectful of his reserve, the convalescent Victor Segalen did not wish to elaborate further on the illness that was already consuming him: "Tu sens que je ne puis en écrire plus long, n'ayant, en ce moment, pas le choix des sujets, mais tu ne m'en voudras j'en suis sûr pas." (You feel that I cannot write at greater length, not having, at this moment, a choice of subjects, but you will not hold it against me, I am sure.)
Autograph letters by Victor Segalen are extremely rare.