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Sylvain Trudel et le réenchantement du monde
Get PDFSince the middle of the 1980s French Canadian novelist Sylvain Trudel has constantly put his characters in contentious situations from which they try to escape by way of creating alternative worlds at the same time real and fantastical. This device takes the characters away from their trite everyday life and into a symbolic and mystical universe. The synthème seems to be fit into that symbolic frame. Through the child’s point of view – which seems then to become some sort of secret language – each object belonging to the realm of the profane becomes tinted with a sacred meaning. Synthème and symbol would then be considered as vehicles for the sacred, that which shows through Sylvain Trudel’s novels.Since the middle of the 1980s French Canadian novelist Sylvain Trudel has constantly put his characters in contentious situations from which they try to escape by way of creating alternative worlds at the same time real and fantastical. This device takes the characters away from their trite everyday life and into a symbolic and mystical universe. The synthème seems to be fit into that symbolic frame. Through the child’s point of view – which seems then to become some sort of secret language – each object belonging to the realm of the profane becomes tinted with a sacred meaning. Synthème and symbol would then be considered as vehicles for the sacred, that which shows through Sylvain Trudel’s novels
Des œuvres décentes qui font rougir : la métaphore véhiculant la sexualité (apparemment) absente dans quelques romans zoliens
Get PDFSex and sexuality are two obsessions of the 19th century. As the literature of this time, influenced by the Victorian hypocritical morality, rejects these subjects, considered as “immoral”, the relation of any form of sexual act is consequently absent in the works of 19th century writers, even of those who consider themselves as realists. However, the work of a writer like Emile Zola cannot overlook this problem, so important for naturalism. For Zola, sex is a vital activity and should be shown in works of art. Therefore, to give his writings the appearance of decency, Zola uses metaphors that “sexualise” some elements of the world of his novels, like plants, animals, things, places and everyday occupations. This allows him to show, in an imaginary way, the aspects of life that cannot be displayed openly and directly. Thank to his poetic talent these images constitute a valuable part of his Rougon-Macquart series.Sex and sexuality are two obsessions of the 19th century. As the literature of this time, influenced by the Victorian hypocritical morality, rejects these subjects, considered as “immoral”, the relation of any form of sexual act is consequently absent in the works of 19th century writers, even of those who consider themselves as realists. However, the work of a writer like Emile Zola cannot overlook this problem, so important for naturalism. For Zola, sex is a vital activity and should be shown in works of art. Therefore, to give his writings the appearance of decency, Zola uses metaphors that “sexualise” some elements of the world of his novels, like plants, animals, things, places and everyday occupations. This allows him to show, in an imaginary way, the aspects of life that cannot be displayed openly and directly. Thank to his poetic talent these images constitute a valuable part of his Rougon-Macquart series
L’absence chez Michel Butor. L’Emploi du temps et Degrés
Get PDFMichel Butor, born in 1926, one of the leaders of the French New Novel movement, has written only four novels between 1954 and 1960. The most famous of them is La Modification (Second thoughts), published in 1957. The author of the paper analyzes two other Butor’s novels: L’Emploi du temps (Passing time) – 1956, and Degrés (Degrees) – 1960. The theme of absence is crucial in both of them. In the former, the novel, presented as the diary of Jacques Revel, a young Frenchman spending a year in Bleston (a fictitious English city vaguely similar to Manchester), describes the narrator’s struggle to survive in a double – spatial and temporal – labyrinth. The first of them, formed by Bleston’s streets, squares and parks, is symbolized by the City plan. During his one year sojourn in the city, using its plan, Revel learns patiently how to move in its different districts, and in its strange labyrinth – strange because devoid any centre – that at the end stops annoying him. The other, the temporal one, symbolized by the diary itself, the labyrinth of the human memory, discovered by the narrator rather lately, somewhere in the middle of the year passed in Bleston, becomes, by contrast, more and more dense and complex, which is reflected by an increasinly complex narration used to describe the past. However, at the moment Revel is leaving the city, he is still unable to recall and to describe the events of the 29th of February 1952. This gap, this absence, symbolizes his defeat as the narrator, and, in the same time, the human memory’s limits.
In Degrees temporal and spatial structures are also very important. This time round, however, the problems of the narration itself, become predominant. Considered from this point of view, the novel announces Gerard Genette’s work Narrative Discourse and his theoretical discussion of two narratological categories: narrative voice and narrative mode. Having transgressed his narrative competences, Pierre Vernier, the narrator of the first and the second parts of the novel, who, taking as a starting point, a complete account of one hour at school, tries to describe the whole world and various aspects of the human civilization for the benefit of his nephew, Pierre Eller, must fail and disappear, as the narrator, from the third part, which is narrated by another narrator, less audacious and more credible.Michel Butor, born in 1926, one of the leaders of the French New Novel movement, has written only four novels between 1954 and 1960. The most famous of them is La Modification (Second thoughts), published in 1957. The author of the paper analyzes two other Butor’s novels: L’Emploi du temps (Passing time) – 1956, and Degrés (Degrees) – 1960. The theme of absence is crucial in both of them. In the former, the novel, presented as the diary of Jacques Revel, a young Frenchman spending a year in Bleston (a fictitious English city vaguely similar to Manchester), describes the narrator’s struggle to survive in a double – spatial and temporal – labyrinth. The first of them, formed by Bleston’s streets, squares and parks, is symbolized by the City plan. During his one year sojourn in the city, using its plan, Revel learns patiently how to move in its different districts, and in its strange labyrinth – strange because devoid any centre – that at the end stops annoying him. The other, the temporal one, symbolized by the diary itself, the labyrinth of the human memory, discovered by the narrator rather lately, somewhere in the middle of the year passed in Bleston, becomes, by contrast, more and more dense and complex, which is reflected by an increasinly complex narration used to describe the past. However, at the moment Revel is leaving the city, he is still unable to recall and to describe the events of the 29th of February 1952. This gap, this absence, symbolizes his defeat as the narrator, and, in the same time, the human memory’s limits.
In Degrees temporal and spatial structures are also very important. This time round, however, the problems of the narration itself, become predominant. Considered from this point of view, the novel announces Gerard Genette’s work Narrative Discourse and his theoretical discussion of two narratological categories: narrative voice and narrative mode. Having transgressed his narrative competences, Pierre Vernier, the narrator of the first and the second parts of the novel, who, taking as a starting point, a complete account of one hour at school, tries to describe the whole world and various aspects of the human civilization for the benefit of his nephew, Pierre Eller, must fail and disappear, as the narrator, from the third part, which is narrated by another narrator, less audacious and more credible
Cher Antoine ou l’amour raté de Jean Anouilh – de l’absence à la présence de personnage
Get PDFThe eponymous hero of this little-known play by Jean Anouilh is perceived by other protagonists as absent. Nevertheless, his presence is becoming more and more vivid with the development of the plot, which is illustrated by the analysis presented in the article. It shows the process in which the absent hero transforms into a character fully present in the text. The detailed analysis of the character’s presence in particular space-time dimensions, as well as the actant analysis prove that the main character pretends to be absent from the beginning of the play in order to achieve a definite goal.The eponymous hero of this little-known play by Jean Anouilh is perceived by other protagonists as absent. Nevertheless, his presence is becoming more and more vivid with the development of the plot, which is illustrated by the analysis presented in the article. It shows the process in which the absent hero transforms into a character fully present in the text. The detailed analysis of the character’s presence in particular space-time dimensions, as well as the actant analysis prove that the main character pretends to be absent from the beginning of the play in order to achieve a definite goal
Le silence de la personne présente dans le théâtre français du XXe siècle
No full textThe consideration of the silence of a present person in some French 20th century drama reveals the power and the cruelty of human silence. The play by Anouilh displays the destiny of a woman who is convicted to be a voiceless witness, whereas the one by Beckett shows the silence of a husband begged by his companion to confirm her presence. In the play by Lagarce, the agony of an ungrateful son unleashes a torrent of complaints pronounced by a women belonging to his family. Finally, both of the analysed plays by Sarraute show the consequences of silence in relations between friends.The consideration of the silence of a present person in some French 20th century drama reveals the power and the cruelty of human silence. The play by Anouilh displays the destiny of a woman who is convicted to be a voiceless witness, whereas the one by Beckett shows the silence of a husband begged by his companion to confirm her presence. In the play by Lagarce, the agony of an ungrateful son unleashes a torrent of complaints pronounced by a women belonging to his family. Finally, both of the analysed plays by Sarraute show the consequences of silence in relations between friends
Se perdre afin de se retrouver : l'importance du passage entre l’absence et la présence dans Œdipe sur la route de Henry Bauchau
Get PDFRetracing in his novel the labyrinthine journey that leads Oedipus from the place of his abomination (Thebes) to the city of his future glory (Colonus), Henry Bauchau fills the emptiness between Sophocles’s Oedipus the King and Oedipus at Colonus. Bauchau’s hero, a powerful king, loses everything and stabs his eyes out when the cruel truth about his real identity is revealed. Blind, homeless, devoid of meaning of life, Oedipus leaves on a journey to pass away anywhere. However, his way to death turns out to be, thanks to benevolent presence of others and art’s liberating power, the road to personal elucidation. The story of Bauchau’s Oedipus, who finally recognizes himself as a truly human, is based therefore on the passage between absence and presence, between darkness and lucidity, on the union of contradictions which symbolize the complexity of human nature. This paper attempts to analyse different representations of absence in Bauchau’s novel. Afterwards, the article focuses on the ways which facilitate Oedipus’s road leading from depersonalization to rediscovery of his own identity.Retracing in his novel the labyrinthine journey that leads Oedipus from the place of his abomination (Thebes) to the city of his future glory (Colonus), Henry Bauchau fills the emptiness between Sophocles’s Oedipus the King and Oedipus at Colonus. Bauchau’s hero, a powerful king, loses everything and stabs his eyes out when the cruel truth about his real identity is revealed. Blind, homeless, devoid of meaning of life, Oedipus leaves on a journey to pass away anywhere. However, his way to death turns out to be, thanks to benevolent presence of others and art’s liberating power, the road to personal elucidation. The story of Bauchau’s Oedipus, who finally recognizes himself as a truly human, is based therefore on the passage between absence and presence, between darkness and lucidity, on the union of contradictions which symbolize the complexity of human nature. This paper attempts to analyse different representations of absence in Bauchau’s novel. Afterwards, the article focuses on the ways which facilitate Oedipus’s road leading from depersonalization to rediscovery of his own identity
« Écrire l’absence » selon Assia Djebar : Le Blanc de l’Algérie
Get PDFThe well-known French-language writer, Assia Djebar, teaches the reader to listen intently to cultural differences, inspires tolerance towards other people and touches upon the problem of the emancipation of women in the Arab-Muslim civilization.
In her work entitled Le Blanc de l’Algérie Djebar recalls deceased Algerian intellectuals, such as Albert Camus, Frantz Fanon or Kateb Yacine, as well as cruelly murdered writers and less known persons, who proved to be important for the author
herself (namely her friends) and for the history of Algeria. The author bemoans those absent figures, remembering their last minutes of life, their families’ despair, and the atrocity of death.
The article is an attempt at a reflection on the problem of absence that is in dichotomy with presence. The absence of great Algerians is unbearable; it is not silence but a cry for the memory of the tragic moments in the history of the country. Those moments, when remembered, shall help understand better the painful contemporary times. Djebar in a subtle way removes a white shroud (white is the colour of mourning in the tradition of North-African countries), thus showing the reader the moving and colourful Algerian fresco.The well-known French-language writer, Assia Djebar, teaches the reader to listen intently to cultural differences, inspires tolerance towards other people and touches upon the problem of the emancipation of women in the Arab-Muslim civilization.
In her work entitled Le Blanc de l’Algérie Djebar recalls deceased Algerian intellectuals, such as Albert Camus, Frantz Fanon or Kateb Yacine, as well as cruelly murdered writers and less known persons, who proved to be important for the author herself (namely her friends) and for the history of Algeria. The author bemoans those absent figures, remembering their last minutes of life, their families’ despair, and the atrocity of death.
The article is an attempt at a reflection on the problem of absence that is in dichotomy with presence. The absence of great Algerians is unbearable; it is not silence but a cry for the memory of the tragic moments in the history of the country. Those moments, when remembered, shall help understand better the painful contemporary times. Djebar in a subtle way removes a white shroud (white is the colour of mourning in the tradition of North-African countries), thus showing the reader the moving and colourful Algerian fresco
Les tourments de l’absence dans Gazole de Bertrand Gervais
Get PDFIn his novel entitled Gazole (2001), Bertrand Gervais, a Quebec writer, takes up the issue of suicide and its psychological and social impact. The main character, Lancelot Tremblay, whose job is to write lyrics for a rock band Le Livre des Morts (Eng. The Book of the Dead), hangs himself in his apartment. His naked body with an erect penis is discovered by the other members of the band Gazole and Pyramide. Their reactions to this deadly act are, however, different. Submerging himself in mourning, Pyramide withdraws emotionally from his relationship with his girlfriend Gazole, who, deeply touched by her partner’s newly developed indifference to her, delves into an investigation into the causes of Lancelot’s suicide. Being increasingly fascinated by the figure of Lancelot, Gazole reconstructs a new picture of him. Pieces of memories conjured up by those who knew Lancelot, like incomplete pieces of a puzzle, make Gazole form a romantic image of his absence. The mysterious and tragic figure of the young poet who chose to extinguish himself fires the woman’s imagination, who fantasizes about a sentimental and erotic relationship with him. An emptiness created by the suicide forces the woman to ponder over the nature of death, an eternal absence. Obsessed with this imaginary presence of Lanelot, Gazole has to set herself free from its influence, which causes her to flirt with a razorblade in a bathtub. The foray into Lancelot’s suicide gives Gazole an insight into her own true identity. Gazole discovers her internal feminine strength and frees herself from the shackles of Lancelot’s mental and sexual hold.In his novel entitled Gazole (2001), Bertrand Gervais, a Quebec writer, takes up the issue of suicide and its psychological and social impact. The main character, Lancelot Tremblay, whose job is to write lyrics for a rock band Le Livre des Morts (Eng. The Book of the Dead), hangs himself in his apartment. His naked body with an erect penis is discovered by the other members of the band Gazole and Pyramide. Their reactions to this deadly act are, however, different. Submerging himself in mourning, Pyramide withdraws emotionally from his relationship with his girlfriend Gazole, who, deeply touched by her partner’s newly developed indifference to her, delves into an investigation into the causes of Lancelot’s suicide. Being increasingly fascinated by the figure of Lancelot, Gazole reconstructs a new picture of him. Pieces of memories conjured up by those who knew Lancelot, like incomplete pieces of a puzzle, make Gazole form a romantic image of his absence. The mysterious and tragic figure of the young poet who chose to extinguish himself fires the woman’s imagination, who fantasizes about a sentimental and erotic relationship with him. An emptiness created by the suicide forces the woman to ponder over the nature of death, an eternal absence. Obsessed with this imaginary presence of Lancelot, Gazole has to set herself free from its influence, which causes her to flirt with a razorblade in a bathtub. The foray into Lancelot’s suicide gives Gazole an insight into her own true identity. Gazole discovers her internal feminine strength and frees herself from the shackles of Lancelot’s mental and sexual hold
La dialectique de l'absence et de la présence dans la création poétique : l'exemple de la poésie française
Get PDFConsidering poetry as a literary form in close relation with absence and scarcity; this paper deals with some of the most frequent and significant forms of absence that appear in poetic texts. The physical absence of the other, due either to death or to the distance between the two individuals, is the most common kind in lyric poetry. Modern poetry often deals with Gods’ absence, which represents an important loss for the contemporary human being, trying to understand or face it. There is also the lack of inspiration and words with efficient expressive capacity that make poets suffer. However, poetry is the only way in which they express their situation and create a meaningful language. Finally, absence in poetry is also a fundamental sign of its generic specificity in connection with the means that it uses, as well as with its printed representation on paper, especially in the contemporary production. In all cases, poetry, based on the dialectic of being – not being, operates as a material, sensible and intellectual presence, which like the primordial logos fillsthe vacuum, eliminates absence and scarcity, generates and animates the human world and en-riches it with presence and meaning.Considering poetry as a literary form in close relation with absence and scarcity; this paper deals with some of the most frequent and significant forms of absence that appear in poetic texts. The physical absence of the other, due either to death or to the distance between the two individuals, is the most common kind in lyric poetry. Modern poetry often deals with Gods’ absence, which represents an important loss for the contemporary human being, trying to understand or face it. There is also the lack of inspiration and words with efficient expressive capacity that make poets suffer. However, poetry is the only way in which they express their situation and create a meaningful language. Finally, absence in poetry is also a fundamental sign of its generic specificity in connection with the means that it uses, as well as with its printed representation on paper, especially in the contemporary production. In all cases, poetry, based on the dialectic of being – not being, operates as a material, sensible and intellectual presence, which like the primordial logos fillsthe vacuum, eliminates absence and scarcity, generates and animates the human world and en-riches it with presence and meaning
