Description
Book SynopsisThe nineteenth-century French novel has been seen as the production of great men, who confronted in their works the social consequences of the French Revolution. This book argues that to understand how literary codes respond to material factors, it is imperative to see how such factors take shape within the literary field and the society.
Trade ReviewCo-Winner of the 1999 Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Prize, Modern Language Association "This is an important book... Almost every page presents some salient point, proffers a useful fact, argues a question... In short, a remarkable work, necessary, and highly recommended."--Armand E. Singer, European Legacy "Carefully crafted, Cohen's book makes a persuasive argument about the relative value of prose realism and its chief rival in the sentimental social novel. Her book merits a large and appreciative audience of literary historians, theorists, and specialists in women's studies."--James Allen Smith, Nineteenth-Century French Studies "[A] significant scholarly contribution."--G. Gabrielle Starr, The Wordsworth Circle "A serious, intelligent attempt to understand more fully the early development of the nineteenth-century French novel."--John T. Booker, French Review
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations vii Acknowledgments ix Introduction Reconstructing the Literary Field Out of the century's chaos 3 Realism in literary-political contexts 10 Genre is a social relation 16 Hors d'usage 20 Chapter I Conflicting Duties: Sentimental Poetics What else is lost in Illusions perdues 26 Conflicting duties 34 The double bind of liberalism 40 Woman's destiny 46 A light touch 48 Few details, few manners, few portraits 50 Image of the heart 53 Sentimental blazon 54 "..." 57 Beyond purely personal life 58 All should be clear 60 To interest, to instruct 62 Analysis of the heart 63 Oh torments of an uneasy conscience! 64 Tableau 65 A secure refuge 67 "Tragedy now is politics" (Napoleon, 1799) 70 Chapter II The Novel Is a Young Man of Great Expectations: Realism against Sentimentality So women wrote under the Emperor? 77 Novels for chambermaids and salon novels 82 Woe to those who accept the social contract 87 An obstacle, a motive, a duty 90 A minor duty! A duty of little importance! 93 The way of the world 97 Just want it! 104 The goal of all her actions 106 What I understand as sacrifice 108 I write for men, not girls 112 Chapter III The Heart and the Code: George Sand and the Sentimental Social Novel What will rule the novel? 119 The heart and the code 124 The tears of the oppressed 130 The political idea, the social idea 135 Victim of an unjust law 139 I am the slave and you the lord 143 The heart that directs her conduct 145 Huge heaps of manure 150 Physical and moral beauty's diverse and contrasting forms 153 The novelist is the real lawyer of abstract beings 155 Chapter IV A Compromised Position: French Realism and the Femme Auteur He said, she said 163 The Muse of Limoges 165 "Rather death." "Rather life." 174 Une Fausse Position 185 Woman is the style 191 Select Bibliography 197 Index 211
