Nowhere is perfect : French and Francophone utopias/dystopias / edited by John West-Sooby.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

West-Sooby, John.

Series:

Monash Romance studies (Newark, Del.)

Monash Romance studies

Language:

English

French

Subjects (All):

French literature--History and criticism.

French literature.

Utopias in literature.

Dystopias in literature.

Physical Description:

vi, 252 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Newark : University of Delaware Press, [2008]

Language Note:

Essays in English and French.

Summary:

Utopian imaginings undoubtedly satisfy a desire for fantasy and escape. At the same time, however, they are generally anchored in the real world, whose shortcomings they criticise, implicitly or explicitly, and for which they purport to offer solutions. The creation of perfect imaginary worlds therefore serves as a means of acting on the imperfect present. This is a particular feature of French utopian writing, whose rich tradition continues to grow, inspiring authors from all parts of the Francophone world. As the essays in this volume demonstrate, the utopian-and dystopian-imaginings which constitute that tradition find expression through all genres and modes of creation. What they have in common, though, is a dissatisfaction with contemporary society and a determination to explore possibilities for a better life. A non-existent place the utopia may be. But it is precisely because there is nowhere perfect that we continue to seek the perfect nowhere.

Contents:

I The Politics of Utopia

Montesquieu's anti-utopian political theory / Philip Gerrans 11

Expiation in the Antipodes: A Utopian Endeavour for the French? / Jacqueline Dutton 27

Biribi: histoire d'un non-lieu de l'imaginaire francais / Dominique Kalifa 44

Philippe Henriot's Utopia: Propaganda and the Last Days of Vichy / Kay Chadwick 61

II Utopia and Ideology in the Nineteenth Century

Fourier, Gautier, Banville: Utopisme et textes litteraires / Peter Hambly 71

Un poeme utopique de Baudelaire: "J'aime le souvenir..." / Peter Hambly 100

Mecenes de l'utopie fin-de-siecle: le cas de Paul Adam et d'Emile Zola / Jean Fornasiero 108

Regeneration: Time, Place and Gender in Fin-de-Siecle Utopian Narrative / Penny Boumelha 123

III Utopia and the Modern Novel

Escaping from Gide's Dystopia / William Jennings 139

The New Frontier: the Human Utopia of Romain Gary / David Bellos 152

The Competing Caribbean Utopias of Edouard Glissant and Patrick Chamoiseau / Peter Poiana 168

Utopia and Dystopia in Gisele Pineau's L'Exil selon Julia and Fleur de Barbarie / Bonnie Thomas 180

IV The Utopia/Dystopia of Modern Life

"Du verre, rien que du verre": Negotiating Utopia in Playtime / Ben McCann 193

La "maison de verre": utopies corporelles et arts de guerir dans Le Protocole compassionnel d'Herve Guibert / Francoise Grauby 211

L'Invention du Troisieme Peuple: the Utopian Vision of Philippe Grandrieux's Dystopias / Greg Hainge 228

"Tu reves?": utopies, dystopies et heterotopies dans quelques ecrits beurs / Helene Jaccomard 240.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN:

9780874130485

0874130484

OCLC:

225874604