La présente recherche est une approche transdisciplinaire et pluridisciplinaire qui a pour objet principal, la réévaluation et la redéfinition du concept du mythe littéraire, en abordant la vision des sciences biologiques, plus précisément la génétique dont les instruments et concepts servent de notre point de vue à la reconfiguration des structures déjà classiques de l'imaginaire. Nous avons comme objectif de proposer une définition du mythe qui rend compte de son évolution dans les cultures, non pas une définition statique, immobile ; mais une définition qui suppose l'idée de l'évolution. Le biologiste anglais, Richard Dawkins, écrit en 1976 Le Gène égoïste, dans lequel il explique que «toute vie évolue en fonction des chances de survie des entités répliquées». Selon lui, le gène est la principale unité de sélection dans l'évolution. Dawkins invente aussi le concept de « mème » comme étant l'unité de l'évolution culturelle par analogie avec le gène. Donc, il estime qu'il y a un rapport très fort entre la génétique et la culture humaine, autrement dit, entre le monde physique, le cerveau humain et l'imaginaire. Claude Lévi-Strauss dans, Roger Caillois, Gilbert Durand et Richard Dawkins voyaient une liaison forte entre l'imaginaire et la biologie. Mais, leurs recherches n'aboutissent pas à présenter un modèle concret. Ce que nous essayerons de présenter dans notre recherche, est un nouveau parcours vers ce but avec le nouvel outil de la génétique. Nous étudions quelque domaine crucial de l'imaginaire tel que l'origine ou le Big Bang de l'imaginaire, la frontière dans l'imaginaire et le réel, le tableau des gènes littéraires et les codes des gènes littéraires. C'est une sorte de redécouverte de l'imaginaire basé sur le gène et mythe littéraire. Pour prouver notre point de vue, nous appliquons la méthode du repérage des gènes littéraires sur un récit. Cette recherche transdisciplinaire veut mettre en évidence que le mythe, comme il est défini par les mythologues, les ethnographes, les anthropologues etc., n'est pas seulement un phénomène culturel, religieux, historique, ou déterminé par les représentations littéraires, mais il est en fait, déterminé par les structures génétiques qui préparent l'homme à la propension et la compétence de raconter des « histoires »/ des « récits ». / This research is an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approach has the main purpose, reassessment and redefining the concept of literary myth, addressing the vision of Biological Sciences, specifically the genetic tools and concepts which serve as our point of view reconfiguration of the structures already classics of the imagination. We aim to offer a definition of myth that reflects its evolution in the cultures, not a static definition, motionless, but a definition that implies the idea of evolution. The British biologist Richard Dawkins wrote The Selfish Gene in 1976, in which he explains that "all life evolves according to the survival of replicated entities. He said the gene is the main unit of selection in evolution. Dawkins also invented the concept of "meme" as the unit of cultural evolution by analogy with the gene. So he sees a strong relationship between genetics and human culture, between the physical world, the human brain and “imaginaire”. Claude Levi-Strauss, Roger Caillois, Gilbert Durand and Richard Dawkins saw a strong link between “imaginaire” and biology. But their researches fail to present a concrete model. What we try to the present research, is a new route to this goal with the new tool of genetics. We study some crucial area of the imaginaire as the origin or the Big Bang of imaginaire; and the borders into imaginaire and the real; and the table of literary genes and codes of literary genes. It is a kind of rediscovery of imaginaire, based on the literary gene and myth. To prove our point of view, we apply this method of identification of the genes on a literary text. This interdisciplinary research will highlight the myth, as defined by the mythologies, ethnographers, anthropologists etc., is not only a cultural phenomenon, religious, historical, or determined by literary representations; but it is in fact, determined by the genetic structures that prepare the human propensity and ability to tell "histoires" / "récits".

The diploma thesis Author's Myth in the Postmodern Novel concerns the issue of myth and mythologization in modern literature. The theoretical portion of the thesis focuses on the concept of "author's myth". The conception of primitive myth is interpreted with regard to its features and functions in archaic societies. The first chapter discusses the relation of myth to literature and the characteristics of mythological aspects in contemporary literature. In terms of literary theory, it examines the issues of memory and history and its influence on the author's myth. The second, analytical part of the work, follows the application of the concept of author's myth. It specifically examines this concept in the novels "I Served the King of England" by Bohumil Hrabal, "The Erl-King" by Michel Tournier and "The Tin Drum" by Günter Grass and as well as a comparative analysis of mythological elements of these novels. Considerable attention is paid to the character of the narrator; the space, time and language of the texts; the process of remembering and the meaning of history in the selected novels.

The life of Henri-Pierre Roché (1879 – 1959), art collector, journalist, writer, finds its singular rhythm in a continual meandering between dispersion and the search for unifying harmony. This dispersion – moral and physical – appears to represent a necessary evil for him since he considers his vocation to be the gathering of human experiences from as wide a spectrum as possible in order to create a work that would be useful to society, that would lead to better understanding of issues such as political harmony, eroticism and polygamy. The dissertation consists of a detailed biographical study which covers Roché’s formative years until the publication of his first literary works (1879 – 1907). A biographical summary of the remainder of his life is followed by a chapter on his first major publication, Don Juan et... , which has not formed the subject of any literary analysis prior to this. The third chapter consists of an interpretation of Roché’s novel Deux Anglaises et le Continent as both a work of initiation and an initiation to his work, illustrating how it introduces themes that recur in two further novels, Jules et Jim and Victor. Through his way of life, Roché’s life becomes his most extensive and involved œuvre. This dissertation traces the roots of his propensity for dispersion and lack of unity, to his childhood and specifically to the form of education advocated by his mother Clara Roché. This attribute surfaces again in Roché’s keeping of a personal diary, spanning almost sixty years, in which he compulsively observes and notes his own behaviour and that of those around him. The diary emphasises and prepares the fragmentary, compressed style and open-ended writing which would later become Roché’s trademark. Abandoning his studies in political science, Roché sets out on a career which has much in common with the lives dilettante intellectuals fashion for themselves towards the end of the 19th century. His first human project, formulated around 1902, is an attempt to understand the mystery of erotic love and the possibilities of sexual relationships. To this end, he transforms his own life into a kind of laboratory. At a time when France has hostile inclinations towards Britain and Germany, Roché undertakes extensive journeys to these countries, learning the languages and opening himself to literary, social and philosophical influences. The dissertation pays particular attention to the analysis of these influences, an area which has not yet been covered by any other research. Through a detailed interpretation of Don Juan et..., the nature of seduction and desire is examined in the context of the literary myth of Don Juan and the association between fragmentation and desire is emphasised. In conclusion, the association between desire and its written expression is examined and found to be reflected in Roché’s fragmentary writing, through which he appears to find a solution/ compromise in the form of voluntary incompleteness compensating for his failure in the impossible quest for unity. / Thesis (DLitt)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Modern European Languages / unrestricted

Paris a fourni à des écrivains et à des peintres polonais de multiples motifs textuels et iconiques. Il a été transformé, voire déformé, représenté sans cesse par des générations de créateurs slaves qui ont contribué à la naissance du mythe d’un Paris polonais. Si tout mythe apparaît comme irrationnel, s’il ne se préoccupe pas de la vérité historique, il n’en a pas moins un lien nécessaire avec l’Histoire et une fonction sociale. Leur connaissance reste fondamentale pour le déchiffrage du symbole, de l’allégorie et de la métaphore du Paris polonais qui revêt plusieurs significations. Il témoigne du fait que la nation polonaise s’y est créée au XIXe siècle sa « capitale » - le lieu de refuge et de rassemblement des exilés voulant reconquérir l’indépendance de la Pologne dès la fin du XVIIIe et tout au long du XIXe siècle. Plus tard, Paris devient une patrie spirituelle pour des paysans venus en France pour des raisons économiques ou politiques. Mais Paris en lui-même a également exercé sur les Polonais une influence profonde. Si le Paris cosmopolite a éduqué les Sarmates du XVIIe au XVIIIe siècle, il s’est imposé en tant que foyer de culture universelle et d’innovation dans tous les domaines de la création dans les années 1890-1939. Certes, le Paris des Polonais a une place légitime parmi les représentations nationales slaves. Toutefois, son exploitation dans une classe de Français Langue Etrangère permet l’étude des relations franco-polonaises sous le double signe de la fascination et de la désillusion. Tandis que l’Esprit français reste synonyme d’élégance et que le langage parisien témoigne d’un art de vivre, Maria Walewska demeure l’emblème de la relation affective franco-polonaise. A son tour, la représentation de l’émigré polonais rappelle l’exil, et Paris occupé par les nazis, le combat pour « notre liberté et la vôtre ». Quant aux artistes slaves de l’Ecole de Paris, ont-ils réussi à réinventer le Paris polonais ? / Paris has provided writers and Polish painters, multiple textual and iconic motifs. It has been transformed or deformed, constantly represented by generations of Slavic artists who contributed to the birth of the myth of a Polish Paris.If every myth appears as irrational, if it is not concerned with historical truth, than there is not a necessary link with history and a social function neither. Their knowledge remains fundamental to deciphering the symbol, allegory and metaphor of the Polish Paris that has several meanings.It reflects the fact that the Polish nation has created in the XIXe century his “capital” - the place of refuge and ingathering of the exiles wanting to regain the independence of Poland abroad since the late XVIIIe and all throughout the XIXe century. Later, Paris becomes the spiritual capital of peasants polish who came in France for economic and political reasons. But Paris had also a profound influence over Poles. If the Paris cosmopolitan has educated the Sarmatians of the XVIIe and XVIIIe centuries, it has established itself as a universal center of culture and innovation in all areas of creation in the years 1890-1939.Certainly, the Polish Paris has a rightful place among the Slavic national representations. However, his use in a class of French as a foreign language allows the study of Franco- Polish relations under the double sign of the fascination and disillusionment. While the French Spirit remains synonymous with elegance and the Parisian language reflects a lifestyle, Maria Walewska remains the emblem of the Franco-Polish emotional relationship. In turn, the representation of the brave Polish immigrant reminds the exile and the occupied Paris - the struggle for “our freedom and yours”. As for the Slavic artists of the Ecole de Paris, did they manage to reinvent the Polish Paris?

Arthur de Gobineau est un auteur qui a suscité de nombreuses controverses engendrées par ses théories raciales. Ces théories ont cependant contribué à brouiller l’image de cet auteur, souvent présenté comme le père des dérives racistes. Ce n’est pas à l’essayiste que nous avons souhaité consacrer cette thèse, mais bien à l’écrivain, fin connaisseur de l’Orient, humaniste, parce que curieux de l’autre, et surtout méconnu.Par delà ces théories sur les races, Gobineau est l’auteur d’une oeuvre littéraire qui, sous les apparences d’un classicisme parfois hiératique nous donne la vision d’un homme d’une extrême complexité. Il est l’un des derniers représentants de la littérature de l’analyse que l’on considère comme une spécificité française. Mais il s’est également positionné en marge de la vision orientaliste de son époque.Son cheminement vers l’Orient s’est opéré d’abord par une approche toute subjective faite de sensation et d’émotion avant que la passion ne finisse par l’emporter sur les préjugés. Les Nouvelles Asiatiques opèrent une transfiguration du mythe personnel en mythe littéraire : la quête personnelle des origines se traduit par le retour au berceau de l’humanité. La fiction littéraire fait sa matrice là où tout a commencé.L’auteur met à l’épreuve de l’Orient des motifs et des figures qui lui viennent du corpus occidental en transposant dans cet ailleurs des réminiscences de sa culture d’origine. Une pensée qui évolue au gré de la fiction, ou bien un ensemble d’obsessions qui reviennent dans les replis du récit comme en contrebande ? C’est à cette question que nous avons tenté de répondre pour sonder le mystère oriental d’un auteur méconnu. / Arthur Gobineau is an author who sparked controversy over his racial theories. These theories, however, have contributed to blur the image of the author, often described as the father of racist tendencies. This thesis is not concerned with the essayist, but with the writer, as a knowledgeable of the East, humanist, curious of the other, and especially unknown.Beyond these racial theories, Gobineau is the author of a literary work which, under the appearance of a hieratic classicism, sometimes gives us a vision of a highly complex man. It is one of the last representatives of the analysis literature, which is peculiar to French. But he is also positioned on the margins of the orientalist vision of his time.His journey to the East was operated first on an approach that was based upon subjective sensation and emotion before that the passion would eventually outweigh prejudices. The New Asians operates a transfiguration of the personal myth into a literary myth: the personal quest for origins is reflected in the return to the cradle of humanity. Literary fiction made its matrices wherein it all began.Transposing to the East reminiscences of his native culture, the author puts to the test of this elsewhere western patterns and figures. Is it the thought that grows with the fiction or the same obsessions that come back into the folds of the story as contraband? It is this question that we tried to answer by probing the eastern mystery of an unknown author.

Le point de départ de ce travail réside d’une part dans la découverte d’une différence considérable de nature entre le héros du Cid et les protagonistes du théâtre contemporain ; et d’autre part sur l’intuition que l’analyse littéraire utilise presque exclusivement Rodrigue comme personnage représentatif du premier XVIIe siècle. Notre première démarche a été de chercher à confirmer ces impressions en démontrant le statut particulier de ce personnage. Nous avons étudié la réception du Cid et de son héros au fil des siècles dans cette optique, jugeant que les réactions des spectateurs, des lecteurs et des critiques construisaient progressivement notre image actuelle de Rodrigue. Nous avons cherché à voir comment depuis janvier 1637 jusqu’au début du XXIe siècle la pièce et son héros ont été accueillis. Nous avons ainsi établi la longévité du texte, ainsi que les exceptionnelles réactions d’engouement qu’il a pu rencontrer. Cela nous a permis d’établir la mythification de la pièce et de dégager sa portée universelle. Ces premières conclusions nous ont invité à rechercher les causes d’un tel succès. C’est à nouveau l’étude de la réception qui nous a permis de découvrir que cette unanimité tenait essentiellement au personnage de Rodrigue. C’est lui qui semble d’abord retenir l’intérêt des lecteurs et des spectateurs. Nous avons donc cherché dans une deuxième partie à comprendre ce qui fascinait tant en Rodrigue. Pour cette raison, nous l’avons confronté à l’idée de héros. La coïncidence saisissante que les réactions publiques révèlent entre ce personnage archétypal et le protagoniste du Cid nous a permis d’aboutir à un premier stade de compréhension : la pièce est accueillie avec enthousiasme au XVIIe siècle parce que son personnage principal actualise l’idéal humain tel que l’époque se le représente. Cependant, l’engouement des siècles suivants repose sur le même motif : c’est parce que Rodrigue incarne le héros du XVIIe siècle que le spectateur du siècle des Lumières, du Romantisme, de la Troisième République ou de l’entre-deux-guerres l’apprécie. Le protagoniste du Cid apparaît comme un héros révéré mais regretté car appartenant à une époque révolue. Au sein de l’œuvre de Corneille, il est également envisagé comme un paradigme héroïque et incarne le modèle dont tous les personnages masculins du théâtre cornélien ne seraient que la déclinaison. Il est l’élément fondateur du mythe du « héros cornélien ». Cependant, l’unanimité de réception face à Rodrigue pose question : Le Cid a-t-il réellement eu une place à part sur le théâtre du premier XVIIe siècle ? À l’ouverture de notre troisième partie, une brève étude de ce théâtre permet de révéler l’écart entre l’image de Rodrigue façonnée par la réception et la réalité dramaturgique des années 1630-1650. La tragi-comédie de Corneille n’est pas la seule pièce à connaître le succès et son héros n’est pas l’unique incarnation sur scène de l’homme tel qu’on se le représente alors. De nombreux autres dramaturges connaissent de réelles réussites. Toutefois, la réception critique les oublie. L’histoire littéraire semble ne vouloir retenir que Corneille pour la postérité. Elle impose Le Cid comme pièce modèle ; mais, se faisant, elle fausse l’appréciation que nous nous faisons du théâtre et des mentalités du XVIIe siècle. Nombre de théories critiques se sont en effet élaborées sur l’idée d’un premier XVIIe siècle glorieux à l’image de Rodrigue et d’une seconde moitié de siècle déclinante et sombre. C’est le cas de Paul Bénichou et de sa « démolition du héros ». Mais peut-on en garantir la véracité si elles reposent pour affirmer la grandeur des premières décennies du siècle sur le seul exemple de Rodrigue ? Une relecture de la littérature de cette période permet pour finir de revenir sur des conceptions altérées notamment par l’éclat du succès incomparable du Cid et d’envisager le premier XVIIe siècle sous une autre lumière. / The basis of this work lies primarily in the discovery of a huge nature difference between the hero in “Le Cid”, and the far less glorious contemporary drama protagonists. On the other hand, it is based upon the intuition that most literary analysis almost exclusively use Rodrigue as the character of the first decades of the17th century.The first step of our work was therefore to try to confirm these impressions by conveying the very special status of this character. We have studied the treatment of “Le Cid” and its hero throughout the centuries with this goal in mind, assessing that the way audiences, readers and critics reacted to the play steadily built our perception of Rodrigue. We have tried to understand how the play and its hero were welcomed from January 1637 to the outcome of the 21st century. We have thus established the longevity of the text as well as the outstanding praise reactions it met with. This enabled us to substantiate the mythification of the play and bring into light its universal scope.From these first conclusions, we then tried to find out the reasons why the success of the play has never been denied. Here again it is the study of the critic treatment that quickly showed us that the unanimous public feeling was essentially due to Rodrigue as a character. For it is he mainly who seems to captivate the audience and the readers’interest. In the second part, we therefore tried to understand why Rodrigue is so mesmerising. With this purpose in mind, we confronted our character to the very hero notion. The stiking coincidence that public reactions convey between this archetypal character and “Le Cid” protagonist brought us to a first conclusion: the play is enthusiastically welcomed in the 17th century because the main character updates the human ideal as it was viewed at the time. Yet, the passion that the play generated in later periods is based on the same principle: it is because Rodrigue embodies the 17th century hero that the public from the age of enlightenment, from the great romantic era, from the French 3rd Republic or the interwar period do feel fond of him. “Le Cid” protagonist appears both as a revered and missed hero because he belongs to days gone by, a past example of the ideal man. In Corneille’s entire works, he is also regarded as a heroic paradygm and is viewed as the Cornelian male reference from which other male characters are derived in the works of the playwright. He is the very source of “the Cornelian hero” myth.However, Rodrigue’s unanimous critic treatment brings forward another issue: does “Le Cid” really stand apart in the early 17th century drama? At the outset of our third part, a brief survey of the period drama reveals the gap between Rodrigue’s image as it was made by the critic treatment and the dramatic reality of the 1630-1650 era. Corneille’s tragicomedy is not the only successful play and its hero is not the only stage embodiment of the male figure as it was then represented. Several other playwrights were successful too. Yet, the critic treatment does not take them into account. It seems as if Corneille is the only author to be remembered in the history of literature. Thus, “Le Cid” is the play reference. But it alters our vision of the 17th century drama and mentalities.In fact, scores of critic theories were based on the idea of a glorious early 17th century (impersonated by Rodrigue) as opposed to a gloomier and declining period at the end of the century. But can one guarantee their truthfulness if they are only based on the character of Rodrigue to assert the grandeur of the early 17th century decades?To conclude, a precise and detailed reading of the period literature allows one to study many misinterpretations, particularly because of “Le Cid” unmatched success, and to consider the early 17th century with a brand new perspective.

In her doctoral thesis the author would like to present the play Yoshitsune and the Thousand Cherry trees (Yoshitsune senbonzakura) as a unique piece of Japanese drama which has a great complexity and an outstanding place within the corpus of Japanese literature. Even if the play can be compared to Chushingura mono in its importance, Yoshitsune senbonzakura has not been widely translated to western languages. There are two exceptions, however: the English translation (Jones, Jr. 1993) and the German translation (Klopfenstein 1982). While comparing the two translations and using the most full original texts available (as preserved in Takeda Izumo and Namiki Sosuke Joruri Collection and Yuda Yoshio's Bunraku Joruri Collection), the author's goal is to present the play to Czech readers and its interpretation to Czech scholars. As for the flow and structure of the interpretation of Yoshitsune senbonzakura the author begins with the historical background of the legend of Minamoto Yoshitsune, capturing the life of Yoshitsune from the time of Heiji rebellion (1159) when he was born to his death in 1189. Next the author concentrates on the legend itself as it evolved within the course of Japanese literature. With a shift from the court literature of Heian period towards the battlefield stories and...

In her doctoral thesis the author would like to present the play Yoshitsune and the Thousand Cherry trees (Yoshitsune senbonzakura) as a unique piece of Japanese drama which has a great complexity and an outstanding place within the corpus of Japanese literature. Even if the play can be compared to Chushingura mono in its importance, Yoshitsune senbonzakura has not been widely translated to western languages. There are two exceptions, however: the English translation (Jones, Jr. 1993) and the German translation (Klopfenstein 1982). While comparing the two translations and using the most full original texts available (as preserved in Takeda Izumo and Namiki Sosuke Joruri Collection and Yuda Yoshio's Bunraku Joruri Collection), the author's goal is to present the play to Czech readers and its interpretation to Czech scholars. As for the flow and structure of the interpretation of Yoshitsune senbonzakura the author begins with an analysis of the historical background of the legend of Minamoto Yoshitsune, capturing the life of Yoshitsune from the time of Heiji rebellion (1159) when he was born to his death in 1189. Next the author concentrates on the legend itself as it evolved within the course of Japanese literature. With a shift from the court literature of Heian period towards the battlefield...