Skull given by Victor Hugo to Sarah Bernhardt

Skull given by Victor Hugo to Sarah Bernhardt:

pilferingapples:

pilferingapples:

ratheralark:

!!!

Someone referred to this on twitter, and of course I had to verify, but apparently it’s true?? The skull Sarah Bernhardt used when she played Hamlet was a gift from Victor Hugo.

WUT

WOW
I’d wonder why this is never mentioned in bios, but covering Hugo’s life is admittedly a Choose Your Battles kinda thing

STILL THOUGH SARAH BERNHARDT??

THE POEM THOUGH

Before presenting this unusual gift, Hugo inscribed a verse on the cranium about the sadness of the body once the soul has departed. The verse, originally in French, reads:

Skeleton, what have you done with your soul?
Lamp, what have you done with your flame?
Empty cage, what have you done with
The beautiful bird that used to sing?
Volcano, what have you done with your lava?
Slave, what have you done with your master?

via Tumblr https://ift.tt/2JfZbOq