A literary perspective on the notion of le hasard in twentieth century France
Robertson, Jean Ellen
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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/23428
Description
Title
A literary perspective on the notion of le hasard in twentieth century France
Author(s)
Robertson, Jean Ellen
Issue Date
1995
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Gray, Stanley E.
Department of Study
Literature, Romance
Philosophy
History, Modern
Discipline
Literature, Romance
Philosophy
History, Modern
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Literature, Romance
Philosophy
History, Modern
Language
eng
Abstract
Through an examination of works from Dada and Surrealism, of Malraux's La Condition humaine, of some examples of the New Novel, and of Tournier's Vendredi ou les limbes du Pacifique I observe the occurrence, over the course of the twentieth century, of a shift in attitude toward events which occur by chance (which I define as events which exceed human control). From a tentative and fearful attitude there is a demonstrable move toward a decidedly open and positive one. In addition to the literary texts examined, I demonstrate the importance of such events to the philosophies of Georges Bataille and Jean-Paul Sartre. This shift in attitude is emphasized through a contrastive study of Diderot's Jacques le fataliste et son mai tre, Zola's Therese Raquin and Huysmans' A Rebours. The study leads to discussion of the possible sources of this phenomenon as well as implications for the individual and for society.
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