La Fin de La Princesse de Clèves comme fait divers
As a fait divers by extension, The Princess of Clèves combines chance and fiction in innovate ways. The curious flatness and extreme brevity of the end of the novel are effects of this fusion. The princess secures a final state of repose for herself by reducing her exposure to the chance events that...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Institut du Monde Anglophone
2020-10-01
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| Series: | Etudes Epistémè |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://journals.openedition.org/episteme/7393 |
| _version_ | 1829512566766829568 |
|---|---|
| author | David L. Sedley |
| author_facet | David L. Sedley |
| author_sort | David L. Sedley |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | As a fait divers by extension, The Princess of Clèves combines chance and fiction in innovate ways. The curious flatness and extreme brevity of the end of the novel are effects of this fusion. The princess secures a final state of repose for herself by reducing her exposure to the chance events that have tormented her throughout the plot. Once there is no chance of her being disturbed, the narrative goes slack and immediately proceeds to represent her final days and death in less than one sentence. The rapid exhaustion of the formerly vivid portrait of Lafayette’s heroine implies how tightly the text binds chance and mimesis to one another. In the absence of chance, the life of the princess becomes inimitable, in the sense that it no longer constitutes a possible object of fictional representation as the novel previously defined it. This recipe for mimesis resists the scientific takeover of vraisemblance projected in the philosophies of Descartes and others. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-16T12:44:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a721ecd4143a4b6ca01a9a697946933d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1634-0450 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-16T12:44:34Z |
| publishDate | 2020-10-01 |
| publisher | Institut du Monde Anglophone |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Etudes Epistémè |
| spelling | doaj.art-a721ecd4143a4b6ca01a9a697946933d2022-12-21T22:31:20ZengInstitut du Monde AnglophoneEtudes Epistémè1634-04502020-10-013710.4000/episteme.7393La Fin de La Princesse de Clèves comme fait diversDavid L. SedleyAs a fait divers by extension, The Princess of Clèves combines chance and fiction in innovate ways. The curious flatness and extreme brevity of the end of the novel are effects of this fusion. The princess secures a final state of repose for herself by reducing her exposure to the chance events that have tormented her throughout the plot. Once there is no chance of her being disturbed, the narrative goes slack and immediately proceeds to represent her final days and death in less than one sentence. The rapid exhaustion of the formerly vivid portrait of Lafayette’s heroine implies how tightly the text binds chance and mimesis to one another. In the absence of chance, the life of the princess becomes inimitable, in the sense that it no longer constitutes a possible object of fictional representation as the novel previously defined it. This recipe for mimesis resists the scientific takeover of vraisemblance projected in the philosophies of Descartes and others.http://journals.openedition.org/episteme/7393novelchanceMadame de LafayetteThe Princess of ClèvesendDescartes |
| spellingShingle | David L. Sedley La Fin de La Princesse de Clèves comme fait divers Etudes Epistémè novel chance Madame de Lafayette The Princess of Clèves end Descartes |
| title | La Fin de La Princesse de Clèves comme fait divers |
| title_full | La Fin de La Princesse de Clèves comme fait divers |
| title_fullStr | La Fin de La Princesse de Clèves comme fait divers |
| title_full_unstemmed | La Fin de La Princesse de Clèves comme fait divers |
| title_short | La Fin de La Princesse de Clèves comme fait divers |
| title_sort | la fin de la princesse de cleves comme fait divers |
| topic | novel chance Madame de Lafayette The Princess of Clèves end Descartes |
| url | http://journals.openedition.org/episteme/7393 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT davidlsedley lafindelaprincessedeclevescommefaitdivers |