This dissertation is devoted to an exploration of Baudelaire's correspondence from the sociopoetic perspective. Elements of form or style in the poet's letters, their unique pragmatics and social dimensions, are primary targets of inquiry. For Baudelaire, as for any epistolier, the writing of letters rests on the author's specific education, the traditions of his time, his philosophy, imagination and economic situation. As it is only through these different "filters" that Baudelaire's particular letter writing can be understood, the first part of this dissertation summarizes the main aspects of the socio-cultural history of epistolary practice in the nineteenth century. The second part focuses on the commerce of letters, what can be called the "economy" of Baudelaire's correspondence, wherein the letter is considered as an object of discourse. This section, which aims throughout to study how Baudelaire understood, considered and managed his own correspondence, also permits a close examination of the characteristic brevity of many of his letters. Without the self-indulgence of a diary, Baudelaire's correspondence is nevertheless related to this genre by the level of introspection it contains. Throughout his letters, for himself and the "Other", Baudelaire was preoccupied with defining his identity; increasingly this effort was concentrated on the creation of a persona, that of the Poet. The third and last part of this dissertation explores the staging and textualization of this ideal self.

Zugl.: Kiel, Univ., Diss., 2006

Texte remanié de: Thèse--Lettres--Paris--Faculté des lettres, 1954.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Bryn Mawr college, 1942. / "Notes" (bibliographical): p. 77-84.

Texte remanié de: Diss.--Kunsthistorisches Institut--Berlin--Freie Universität, 1990. Titre de soutenance : Les notions de "moderne" et de "modernité" dans la critique d'art française de Stendhal à Baudelaire, 1824-1863. / Bibliogr. p. 439-466.

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Nos proponemos demostrar que la experiencia del tedio (ennui, spleen) en la obra de Samuel Beckett, bajo una forma que identificamos como el spleen difícilmente conjurable, fragiliza gravemente la vieja idea de la ―melancolía poética‖, una de las ideas estéticas más importantes para entender el proceso de auto-comprensión emocional del genio artístico y literario moderno. Ello es así no sólo porque el escritor irlandés reelabora esporádica y negativamente las figuras y tipos más característicos de su imaginario tradicional, sino sobre todo porque la mayor negatividad que exhibe ese malestar temporal en su obra se transformaría en la fuente de una escritura paradójica, en la que persistencia en la escritura es indisociable de un sentimiento de aguda insuficiencia del lenguaje, la pérdida de evidencia de los materiales artísticos y la impotencia de la subjetividad creadora para elaborar o sublimar la tristeza que la moviliza. Proponemos reconocer en esto una ―melancolía poética‖ de signo nuevo y una formación particularmente negativa de la siempre frágil coyuntura entre la inspiración y el extravío, es decir, entre los aspectos positivos o productivos de la melancolía y sus aspectos negativos o improductivos

Thesis advisor: Kevin Newmark / Herein, the universe of Charles Baudelaire is explored in light of his relationship to the city of Paris. The circumstances of Baudelaire's life necessitated that he seek refuge from the realm of reality in a realm of imagination. The construction of this universe is examined through relevant historical discussion and analysis of several of Baudelaire's works. These works include selections from his Tableaux Parisiens as well as from his prose poetry. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2004. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: College Honors Program.

From the courtesan Esther in Honoré de Balzac’s Splendeurs et misères des courtisanes (1838-1847) to the femme sterile in Charles Baudelaire’s Les Fleurs du Mal (1857) to Edgar Degas’s nudes, women’s objectified bodies dominated artistic attention in nineteenth-century France. Appearance defined their roles, and tropes often replaced women in narratives centered on male desire. However, the women in these works resist erasure and challenge feminine passivity and marginalization. This dissertation explores their ambiguous female identities and their strategies of resistance. The tension in Balzac’s, Baudelaire’s, and Degas’s works between objectifying women and their textual importance emerges through the relationships among subject, object, and the abject self (as defined by Judith Butler) and among the narrator, the work, and sometimes the reader or viewer. The male gaze limits women’s identities within the subject-object-abject framework. In turn, these women exercise soft power to alter their status and identities. Joseph Nye defines soft power as attracting others and co-opting their power to achieve one’s goals. Through gender theory, I redefine these women, not only as objects of desire, but also as narrative subjects. In Balzac’s novel, Esther negotiates social dynamics to define her identity. She progresses from passive object to untenable abject self to literary subject. By using her body, creating documents, and crafting ritualized social encounters, Esther claims ownership of herself. In Les Fleurs du mal, Baudelaire often portrays women as a pretext for poetics. Yet, “La Chevelure,” “La Beauté,” “L’Homme et la mer,” and “Le Serpent qui danse,” display signs of feminine power. Baudelaire stages interactions between the poet-narrator and the sexualized woman and counteracts the subject-object binary through the gaze. Both the poet-narrator and representations of the feminine are necessary to advance the text. Degas’s nudes hinge upon voyeurism, objectification, and self-representation. Degas’s women are ambiguous, as shown in selected brothel monotypes, bather pastels, lithographs, and sculptures. Through Caroline Armstrong’s and Kathryn Brown’s readings of the monotypes, I demonstrate how these works challenge the male gaze and grant the female nude at least partial status as narrative subject. Tracing these works across media elucidates a female interiority that resists objectification.

Le but de ce travail est d’étudier le parcours mythologique qui structure l’œuvre poétique de Charles Baudelaire. Envisager les diverses occurrences textuelles renvoyant à la tradition gréco-romaine aussi bien que biblique permet de dégager un corpus mythologique qui confère à la poésie baudelairienne une dimension symbolique et incontestable.Notre propos est d’analyser ce corpus dans une œuvre où imagerie biblique et mythes antiques se mêlent et se complètent, dans un intéressant syncrétisme. Cette analyse mytho-critique nous permettra de déceler des archétypes majeurs sous-jacents à l’écriture et d’observer l’ambiguïté d’un langage complexifié mais en même temps structuré par ces schèmes archétypaux.Ce corpus mythologique répond-il à une exigence spécifique du poète ? Acquiert-il un statut particulier dans un XIX ème siècle par ailleurs riche en efflorescences mythiques ?Il s’agira donc d’observer comment ce corpus fonctionne dans le texte baudelairien et comment le poète procède à une réécriture singulière pour élaborer sa propre mythologie.Cette dernière prenant forme et sens dans une écriture poétique dont elle souligne les enjeux essentiels. / The aim of this work is to explain the mythological plan which structures Charles Baudelaire's poetic work. Considering the various texts that refer to the Greco-Roman tradition, as well as the biblical one, will enable us to release a mythological corpus which confers to Baudelaire's poetry a symbolic and irrefutable dimension. Our purpose is to analyse this corpus in his poetic work where a biblical imaging and ancient myths mix and complement each other within an interesting syncretism. This mythocritical analysis will enable us to reveal some major archetypes underlying the style and to observe the ambiguity of a convoluted language which is at the same time structured around this archtypal plan. Does this mythological corpus respond to a specific requirement of the poet? Does it acquire a particular status in a 19th century which is also rich in mythical efflorescences? Therefore, we should observe the way this corpus works within Baudelaire's text and how the poet rewrites it in order to elaborate its own mythology. Thus acquiring a form and a sense within a poetic style of which it highlights the essential stakes.