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The manuscript journal of Jehan de Tournay contains an account of his Journey from Valenciennes to the three major shrines of Christendom, Rome, Jerusalem and Santiago. H eý. followed the. merchants' route down the Rhine and over the Reschen Pass, through Northern Italy to Rome. The description of mediaeval Rome is taken almost entirely from one of the ecclesiastical guide books, the Mirabilia. Armed with the Pope's licence to travel to heathen lands, our pilgrim proceeded to Venice, via the shrine of Loreto. He set sail on one of the Jaffa galleys, and passing through the perils of storms, pirates and Turks, faced the vexations of lawless Arabs and the fatigues of the fifteen day pilgrimage. The places visited and the prayers recited are duly recorded, reproducing almost textually the guide book, probably compiled by-, the Franciscans. Various adventures brought our pilgrim to Otranto and thence to Rome to receive a bull of ingulgence for himself and his family. Then, via the South of France, the shrines of Saint Antoine-en-Dauphine and the Sainte-Baume to Santiago in Spain. On the last lap of the journey through Northern France, Johan was thrown in the midst of the protracted wars which Louis Xl waged against the border towns of Burgundy. In an introduction, footnotes and indexes, an effort has been made to present the narrative in its context, bringing to light the author's originality, as well as his deficiencies. While his reliable. observations make this a useful document in many fields, his personality and style make it both lively and entertaining.

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We look at what we call 'universalism' through Mohammed Dib's writings, its origins, manifestations and implications, and find illustrations and applications of this 'philosophy' within other authors' works and observations. We start by defining a theoretical framework and a human context within which this concept can be grasped and traced. Having established that universalist aspirations tend to derive from a state of exile, we look into the historical origins of this disturbing experience which seems to permeate practically all of French literature from the Maghreb. We then see how Dib's personal life has influenced his vision and we examine the evolution of his ideological focus and writing technique. We analyse the major and recurrent themes in a number of his novels, as we wish to demonstrate that they are all interdependent within the coherent system of thought that is universalism. We attempt to identify what this concept might correspond to, either in reality (past and present) or in definitions and theories available today. We thus are led to analyse what we feel compelled to call 'anti-universalism', as it seem to constitute, in its manifestations, an antithesis of universalism. We argue that the two movements, although opposite, seem to stem from similar aspirations and are linked in so far as they are different responses to the same stress that situations of exile and exclusion cause. Finally, we formulate some hypotheses concerning the future of these opposing forces and attempt to answer a few questions. We advocate a cultural strategy within French literature to promote universalism and 'true francophony' as a safeguard against what we conclude to be its perilous alternative: 'anti-universalism' and 'false francophony', which amounts to disinformation and demagogy, France, Europe, the 'Western World' might not be able to continue to hold onto a narrow definition of universal literature.

Reading in Proust has long been a subject of critical enquiry. Some critics consider the Narrator's discussion of the topic in <I>A la recherche du temps perdu</I>; others examine it in the workings of the text. A number of Proustians note Albertine's importance to the (mis)reading problematic; this thesis follows their example in relation to Oriane de Guermantes. Having presented the background against which Proust's thematic of reading is explored, and various models of reading (from reader-response theory, psychoanalysis, and deconstruction), I discuss the relevance of seminal critical works to the topic of (mis)reading (Ellison, de Man, Genette, Deleuze), and works on Oriane. The tendency in previous analyses of Oriane is to view her (once Marcel's infatuation has ended) as little more than a social figure who teaches him to distrust the social world; I argue that her role is central to the larger themes explored in the novel - particularly reading, knowledge and desire. The third and main section begins with a discussion of Marcel's reading experience in 'Combray'; then Oriane's presentation in the context of the reading problematic is explored at length. This examination is divided into two broad categories: Oriane as Marcel's 'image', and as a social figure. The first involves a detailed discussion of idolatry, myth-making (imaginative and -paradoxically- scientific) and aesthetisisation; the second concentrates on the two major encounters between Marcel and Oriane in the social world, preceded by her encounter in similar circumstances with Swann. The same complex impulses (erotic, hermeneutic ) drive the construction and interpretation of Oriane throughout the novel, in spite of any declarations of indifference, disillusionment or increased 'objectivity'. My conclusion is that Oriane is yet another sign of unreadability for Marcel. Like Albertine, she is always open to reinterpretation; Marcel can never make a definitive reading of her. Reading (a text or character) proves to be unreliable idiosyncratic, and interminable.

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