Description
Book SynopsisThis engaging book spans three centuries to provide the first full account of the long and diverse history of genius in France. Exploring a wide range of examples from literature, philosophy, and history, as well as medicine, psychology, and journalism, Ann Jefferson examines the ways in which the idea of genius has been ceaselessly reflected on an
Trade Review"[Ann Jefferson] outlines for the first time a body of writings on genius in France that have tended to be overlooked until now."--Celine Surprenant, Times Literary Supplement "The precise linguistic, literary, and sociocultural analysis with which she supports this wide-ranging exploration of intellectual history provides compelling evidence for her contention that there is value in taking into account the particular language and cultural tradition within which ideas are expressed."--Jessica Goodman, French Studies "Ann Jefferson in Genius in France offers a genial and genial meditation on the question, focusing on a country that probably uses the word more than any other."--Andrew Martin, Literary Review
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations ix Preface xi Introduction 1 Part I: Enlightenment Genius 17 Chapter 1: The Eighteenth Century: Mimesis and Effect 19 Chapter 2: Genius Obscured: Diderot 35 Part II: Nineteenth-Century Genius: The Idiom of the Age 45 Chapter 3: Language, Religion, Nation 47 Chapter 4: Individual versus Collective Genius 61 Chapter 5: The Romantic Poet and the Brotherhood of Genius 67 Chapter 6: Victor Hugo, William Shakespeare, and the Dynasty of Genius 81 Part III: Genius in the Clinic 89 Chapter 7: Genius under Observation: Lelut 91 Chapter 8: Genius, Neurosis, and Family Trees: Moreau de Tours 104 Chapter 9: Genius Restored to Health 114 Part IV: Failure, Femininity, and the Realist Novel 123 Chapter 10: A Novel of Female Genius: Mme de Stael's Corinne 125 Chapter 11: Balzac's Louis Lambert: Genius and the Feminine Mediator 137 Chapter 12: Creativity and Procreation in Zola's L'OEuvre 146 Part V: Precocity and Child Prodigies 159 Chapter 13: Exemplarity and Performance in Literature for Children 161 Chapter 14: Alfred Binet and the Measurement of Intelligence 173 Chapter 15: Minou Drouet: The Prodigy under Suspicion 183 Part VI: Genius in Theory 193 Chapter 16: Cultural Critique and the End of Genius: Barthes, Sartre 195 Chapter 17: The Return of Genius: Mad Poets 204 Chapter 18: Julia Kristeva and Female Genius 212 Chapter 19: Derrida, Cixous, and the Impostor 219 Notes 227 Bibliography 251 Index 267
