Mémoire numérisé par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

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This thesis examines the model(s) of reading proposed by J. Poulin's novels. On the one hand, a phenomenological analysis enables us to observe textual strategies, such as intertextuality and photographs, which guide the empirical Reader through his readings. On the other hand, the representation of fictional Readers' act of reading, another textual strategy, is also analyzed. / As the phenomenological approach to the act of reading has not often been put into practice, our essay allows us to evaluate the reliability of different contemporary theories of the act of reading, particularly that of Iser in his The Act of Reading.

This thesis analyses the intratextual literary symbols of Jacques Poulin's writings, and illustrates the autorepresentative characteristic of his production. Inspired by the three levels for the analysis of autorepresentation established by Janet M. Paterson, this essay demonstrates how Poulin's writings do, in fact, compose a system. / The author's choice to stage a character writer experiencing difficulties in his creative effort, is representative in itself: Poulin obviously wished to attract the reader's attention to the literary discourse of his writings. The concrete circumstances of the act of creation are therefore revealed by the fictitious writer. This essay suggests that the presence of auctorial figures complexify the text and generate a theory of the act of writing inherent to Poulin's works. If it shows how the author's discourse corresponds to an autotheorisation of the act of writing, it also shows how the reader's discourse works as instruction. The fictitious reader, by revealing his conception of the act of reading, indicates how Poulin's novel's should be read. / Finally, this essay suggests that Poulin's production is not only filled with literary references, but also with numerous references to itself. This network of autoreferences implies that Poulin's writing must be considered and studied as a whole.

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Everyone would agree that there is little action in Jacques Poulin's works. This minimalism, which characterizes his writing, is based on solitary individuals who share similar difficulties with social interactions. In Poulin's novels, every interaction seems like an event in itself, as if communicating with others was an adventure. Poulin places the interactions at the heart of his narrative writing. This thesis studies the similarities of these social interactions throughout his eleven novels published to date. The interaction will be analyzed in three phases: as recurring ritual, in connection with the representation of the reader, and with regard to the very language.

On examining novels written in Quebec after the 1950s, surprisingly some common themes emerge. One finds progressively increasing references to the themes of the book, the library, and the author. In this thesis, we study the fictional work of Gerard Bessette and Jacques Poulin, two authors who make abundant references to the universe of the book. Their characters read, write, work and even live in libraries and bookshops. / We will discuss the concept of the library, in order to clarify various key issues. Our definition of the library will include any place where books are read or stored. In other words, we do not intend to limit our study only to the traditional library, but rather to extend it to any place which shelters books. The concept of the library is thus taken in its broadest definition and includes the bookshop, the office, or even the bus. / These books were selected because each author gives an account of contemporary Quebec history. In addition, the opposing themes in these fictitious worlds, seem to be at the core of the concept of the library. Indeed, it is at the same time both closedness and openness, both hoarding and lending. We will examine how the paradoxical realities are presented in these novels.

This thesis offers a critical study of Gabrielle Roy's presence in Jacques Poulin's works. Roy is a character, a reference and an inspiration; her books and her brilliant green eyes enthral Poulin and his protagonists. She is present through intertextual references---the mention of her name, her books, her characters or her quotes---but also, in a more abstract sense, through influence. In order to study the relationship between the two authors, a set of themes common to their literary works are analysed: their North-American identity (americanite), and their ambiguous treatment of sexuality.

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