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Jean-Pierre Camus : la moralisation d’un genre immoral est-elle possible ?
Get PDFCamus complements his novels with long peritexts, thus using his ecclesiastic authority to legitimise their moral and didactic value. In these peritexts he juxtapposes the licentious novels with his own devout works of fiction, which are, in his own words, not only valuable and worth recommending, but also capable of saving the readers’ souls, put in danger by other texts. In any case, a close reading of these peritexts reveals a view which challenges the idea of the novel’s insidiousness and which bears witness to Camus’s great fascination with this officially condemned literary genre.Camus complements his novels with long peritexts, thus using his ecclesiastic authority to legitimise their moral and didactic value. In these peritexts he juxtapposes the licentious novels with his own devout works of fiction, which are, in his own words, not only valuable and worth recommending, but also capable of saving the readers’ souls, put in danger by other texts. In any case, a close reading of these peritexts reveals a view which challenges the idea of the novel’s insidiousness and which bears witness to Camus’s great fascination with this officially condemned literary genre
Retrouver le temple du sacré : la logique des extrêmes dans le roman de Durtal
Get PDFIn the late 19th century a reversal of the values linked to the sacred and the profane can be observed. As Religion retreats, Positivism and faith in Progress fill the gap left by the abandoned spiritual belief. A nostalgia for transcendence arises amongst writers. Naturalism turns out to be sterile, but, sill, a belief in God seems to have become impossible. It is in this context that Huysmans writes his novels. The Durtal tetralogy in particular focuses on this theme: desperate, the main character wanders around Catholicism, seeking a sense of the Sacred. He first explores the world of Satanism before the conversion. But even when faith is regained, problems are not solved. In the religious domain itself, Durtal condemns the sacralization of the profane. Henceforth, the Durtal tetralogy manifests itself as a novel of the in-between: from brothel to church, between up-above and down-below, between almighty materialism and bourgeois Catholicism, this misanthropic writer prays for a renewed and primitive form of religious practice in which the individual can access the Sacred again. The quest for the supernatural, through a questioning of contemporary society, becomes a quest for Identity.In the late 19th century a reversal of the values linked to the sacred and the profane can be observed. As Religion retreats, Positivism and faith in Progress fill the gap left by the abandoned spiritual belief. A nostalgia for transcendence arises amongst writers. Naturalism turns out to be sterile, but, sill, a belief in God seems to have become impossible. It is in this context that Huysmans writes his novels. The Durtal tetralogy in particular focuses on this theme: desperate, the main character wanders around Catholicism, seeking a sense of the Sacred. He first explores the world of Satanism before the conversion. But even when faith is regained, problems are not solved. In the religious domain itself, Durtal condemns the sacralization of the profane. Henceforth, the Durtal tetralogy manifests itself as a novel of the in-between: from brothel to church, between up-above and down-below, between almighty materialism and bourgeois Catholicism, this misanthropic writer prays for a renewed and primitive form of religious practice in which the individual can access the Sacred again. The quest for the supernatural, through a questioning of contemporary society, becomes a quest for Identity
L’amour vu comme un « rite de passage » : la confrontation du sacrum et du profanum chez Marguerite Duras
Get PDFOne of the distinguishing characteristics of Marguerite Duras’ works is her focus on contradictions, especially in the realm of physicality, which is part of the “dialectic of desire”, a nonverbal pleasure. In the analysed novels: The Sea Wall and The Lover this passion manifests itself through the “rite of passage”. It is a double discovery of one’s own and someone else’s physicality. Duras perceives love as an un-controllable, violent “experiment”, a rebellion against one’s mother and restrictions.Narrating one of the most important (and secret) episodes of her life – crossing the Mekong – the author depicts the sexual initiation of a young heroine (Duras’ alter ego), who seduces a mature man with her behaviour and dress. This experience al-lows her to experience the absolute and become initiated and free. For the narrator it is an opportunity for in-depth analysis of the secular and the sacred aspects of desire. To fully understand the sacred and the profane in Duras’ works, it seems necessary to approach the phenomenon from an interdisciplinary perspective.One of the distinguishing characteristics of Marguerite Duras’ works is her focus on contradictions, especially in the realm of physicality, which is part of the “dialectic of desire”, a nonverbal pleasure. In the analysed novels: The Sea Wall and The Lover this passion manifests itself through the “rite of passage”. It is a double discovery of one’s own and someone else’s physicality. Duras perceives love as an un-controllable, violent “experiment”, a rebellion against one’s mother and restrictions.Narrating one of the most important (and secret) episodes of her life – crossing the Mekong – the author depicts the sexual initiation of a young heroine (Duras’ alter ego), who seduces a mature man with her behaviour and dress. This experience al-lows her to experience the absolute and become initiated and free. For the narrator it is an opportunity for in-depth analysis of the secular and the sacred aspects of desire. To fully understand the sacred and the profane in Duras’ works, it seems necessary to approach the phenomenon from an interdisciplinary perspective
La toile et le voile : l’art, la littérature et le sacré dans trois récits romantiques
Get PDFThe literature of the Romantics, in the first part of the 19th century, is steeped in religious doubt. Moreover, the sacred was a taboo yet unavoidable subject especially in novels and short stories that were considered at the time profane genres. Romantic writers exploited certain covert strategies in order to speak of the unspeak-able and touch the untouchable. They resort, for instance, to their artistic culture with its centuries of pictorial tradition that render religious figures and events more familiar and accessible. Musset’s Le Tableau d’église, Vigny’s Daphné, and Gauthier’s La Toison d’or, all bear witness to a striking (meeting) harmony between iconoclastic and/or cavalier characters and sacred works of art that focus on the Passion. All three writers interweave aesthetic contemplation with mystical communion, thus revealing a new sense of the sacred that is often ambiguous, nay, subversive. And since sacred art is not in itself sacred, it allows writers to come very close to sacrilege in order to examine the fine line between the profane and the sacred.The literature of the Romantics, in the first part of the 19th century, is steeped in religious doubt. Moreover, the sacred was a taboo yet unavoidable subject especially in novels and short stories that were considered at the time profane genres. Romantic writers exploited certain covert strategies in order to speak of the unspeak-able and touch the untouchable. They resort, for instance, to their artistic culture with its centuries of pictorial tradition that render religious figures and events more familiar and accessible. Musset’s Le Tableau d’église, Vigny’s Daphné, and Gauthier’s La Toison d’or, all bear witness to a striking (meeting) harmony between iconoclastic and/or cavalier characters and sacred works of art that focus on the Passion. All three writers interweave aesthetic contemplation with mystical communion, thus revealing a new sense of the sacred that is often ambiguous, nay, subversive. And since sacred art is not in itself sacred, it allows writers to come very close to sacrilege in order to examine the fine line between the profane and the sacred
Comment le rapport au texte biblique transforme le rapport au texte littéraire au XVIIIe siècle : le cas Rousseau
Get PDFIn the 18th century, the Bible felt the full force of criticism by radical Enlightenment thinkers who read it piece by piece and denounced the process of its creation as an imposture – thus extending the break initiated by moral and historical critiques of the previous century. In doing so, they nevertheless failed to grant it the literary status of a “profane work”. Yet, Rousseau, who produced a literary rewriting of the Book of Judges with his Levite of Ephraim, pondered over the violence inflicted on biblical intertextuality during his exile in Môtiers: in his Letters Written from the Mountain, he compared it to the violence caused to his own literary works. By draw-ing this parallel, he opened a reflection on the different manners of reading a text, as well as the possibility of regulating the reader’s violence through proposing an ethics of literary reception. Analogy might not work as a substitute; however, it enabled Rousseau to go beyond the mistreatment which anti-philosophers or philosophers inflicted on his works, by giving, among other things, an autobiographical orienta-tion to his writing: one in which the author is ready to take responsibility for giving himself to the reader. The ambivalence of the sacred and the profane, the perception of a common essence of religion – defined either by sacrifice or gift – were thus what helped Rousseau invent the autobiographical pact.In the 18th century, the Bible felt the full force of criticism by radical Enlightenment thinkers who read it piece by piece and denounced the process of its creation as an imposture – thus extending the break initiated by moral and historical critiques of the previous century. In doing so, they nevertheless failed to grant it the literary status of a “profane work”. Yet, Rousseau, who produced a literary rewriting of the Book of Judges with his Levite of Ephraim, pondered over the violence inflicted on biblical intertextuality during his exile in Môtiers: in his Letters Written from the Mountain, he compared it to the violence caused to his own literary works. By draw-ing this parallel, he opened a reflection on the different manners of reading a text, as well as the possibility of regulating the reader’s violence through proposing an ethics of literary reception. Analogy might not work as a substitute; however, it enabled Rousseau to go beyond the mistreatment which anti-philosophers or philosophers inflicted on his works, by giving, among other things, an autobiographical orienta-tion to his writing: one in which the author is ready to take responsibility for giving himself to the reader. The ambivalence of the sacred and the profane, the perception of a common essence of religion – defined either by sacrifice or gift – were thus what helped Rousseau invent the autobiographical pact
La désacralisation de l’église dans quelques romans des Rougon-Macquart
Get PDFBeing agnostic and believing in science only, Emile Zola perceived churches as simple buildings, monuments to a dead religion that would certainly lose the battle against nature and science. The paper gives some examples of this vision in four novels, parts of the Rougon-Macquart cycle.Being agnostic and believing in science only, Emile Zola perceived churches as simple buildings, monuments to a dead religion that would certainly lose the battle against nature and science. The paper gives some examples of this vision in four novels, parts of the Rougon-Macquart cycle
Le syncrétisme de Du Bartas
Get PDFThe works of the humanist Du Bartas has been considered religious, with the aim to present a Calvinist conception of the world conforming to the dogmas. However, the presence of paganism and the effects of dissonances shows that Du Bartas belongs to a spiritual tradition beyond the dogmas. The poet in fact writes in the tradition of Marsil Ficin and his vision of the profane and the sacred is totally in accordance with that of the hermeticist philosophers. Beneath the superficial mean-ing and the topical speech about religious subjects, there lies a much higher truth to be expressed clearly to profanes, those unable to understand the unity of traditions.The works of the humanist Du Bartas has been considered religious, with the aim to present a Calvinist conception of the world conforming to the dogmas. However, the presence of paganism and the effects of dissonances shows that Du Bartas belongs to a spiritual tradition beyond the dogmas. The poet in fact writes in the tradition of Marsil Ficin and his vision of the profane and the sacred is totally in accordance with that of the hermeticist philosophers. Beneath the superficial mean-ing and the topical speech about religious subjects, there lies a much higher truth to be expressed clearly to profanes, those unable to understand the unity of traditions
Le mélange du sacré et du profane dans les livrets de tragédies lyriques du librettiste Nicolas-François Guillard (1752-1814)
Get PDFNicolas François Guillard (1752-1814) was one of the best librettists of the Tournant des Lumières. The libretto of Proserpine by Quinault, set to music by Lully at the end of the seventeenth century, was adapted by Guillard and once again set to music by Giovanni Paisiello in 1803. Six years later, in 1809, La Mort d’Adam, adapt-ed by Guillard from Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock’ Der Tod Adams (1757), was set to music by Jean-François Lesueur.
These rewritings, with religious or sacred topics staged for a secular theatre by Guillard, are very different from the original works and tend to be family dramas: he then transforms them into secular works with secular content. Human sacrifices are present in these works but seem to feature here for family reasons and not only for religious purposes. Divinities are presented by the librettist as human beings, whose family roles are predominant. The sacred and the profane are mixed in these two librettos, changed into hybrid works. Guillard seems to use the same model to adapt historical, mythological or religious works, which means that the role and the impor-tance of the religious in the works staged at the Académie Impériale de Musique in the period of the Tournant des Lumières has to be examined.Nicolas François Guillard (1752-1814) was one of the best librettists of the Tournant des Lumières. The libretto of Proserpine by Quinault, set to music by Lully at the end of the seventeenth century, was adapted by Guillard and once again set to music by Giovanni Paisiello in 1803. Six years later, in 1809, La Mort d’Adam, adapt-ed by Guillard from Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock’ Der Tod Adams (1757), was set to music by Jean-François Lesueur.
These rewritings, with religious or sacred topics staged for a secular theatre by Guillard, are very different from the original works and tend to be family dramas: he then transforms them into secular works with secular content. Human sacrifices are present in these works but seem to feature here for family reasons and not only for religious purposes. Divinities are presented by the librettist as human beings, whose family roles are predominant. The sacred and the profane are mixed in these two librettos, changed into hybrid works. Guillard seems to use the same model to adapt historical, mythological or religious works, which means that the role and the impor-tance of the religious in the works staged at the Académie Impériale de Musique in the period of the Tournant des Lumières has to be examined
La musique sacralisée dans les œuvres de quelques écrivains romantiques
Get PDFThis article analyses poetic visions, based on synesthesia and referring to Swedenborg’s correspondence theory, evoked by listening to music. In these visions the musical impressions are in some way sanctified and they contribute to the development of the spiritual area. This aesthetic phenomenon is noticeable in Balzac’s novels. The music for him is the light penetrating the listener’s soul and a means of accessing divine mysteries. Similarly, in George Sand’s works music is the inspiration to create soulful poetic visions and the character of Consuelo who, by her singing, is vouchsafed by divine revelations.This article analyses poetic visions, based on synesthesia and referring to Swedenborg’s correspondence theory, evoked by listening to music. In these visions the musical impressions are in some way sanctified and they contribute to the development of the spiritual area. This aesthetic phenomenon is noticeable in Balzac’s novels. The music for him is the light penetrating the listener’s soul and a means of accessing divine mysteries. Similarly, in George Sand’s works music is the inspiration to create soulful poetic visions and the character of Consuelo who, by her singing, is vouchsafed by divine revelations
Pèlerinages barrésiens
Get PDFThis article is a inquiry about how Barrès (1862-1923) handles the religious rite of pilgrimage. Barrès stages in his writings three successive forms of pilgrimage, revealing what is sacred to him at different times. The pilgrimage to a museum or to the birthplace of an artist is typical for the egotism and the humanism of the young Barrès, expressed in the Cult of the Self (1888-1891). After his conversion to nationalism, Barrès tries to unite the sons of France and to instill in them a solemn reverence for “the earth and the dead” ; for that purpose he encourages in French Amities (1903) pilgrimages to historical places of national importance (battlefields; birthplace of Joan of Arc), building what Nora later called the Realms of Memory. The third stage of Barrès’ intellectual evolution is exemplified by The Sacred Hill (1913). In this book the writer celebrates the places where “the Spirit blows”, and proves open to a large scale of spiritual forces, reaching back to paganism and forward to integrative syncretism, which aims at unifying “the entire realm of the sacred”.This article is a inquiry about how Barrès (1862-1923) handles the religious rite of pilgrimage. Barrès stages in his writings three successive forms of pilgrimage, revealing what is sacred to him at different times. The pilgrimage to a museum or to the birthplace of an artist is typical for the egotism and the humanism of the young Barrès, expressed in the Cult of the Self (1888-1891). After his conversion to nationalism, Barrès tries to unite the sons of France and to instill in them a solemn reverence for “the earth and the dead” ; for that purpose he encourages in French Amities (1903) pilgrimages to historical places of national importance (battlefields; birthplace of Joan of Arc), building what Nora later called the Realms of Memory. The third stage of Barrès’ intellectual evolution is exemplified by The Sacred Hill (1913). In this book the writer celebrates the places where “the Spirit blows”, and proves open to a large scale of spiritual forces, reaching back to paganism and forward to integrative syncretism, which aims at unifying “the entire realm of the sacred”