<p>"Sentimental Manipulations: Duty and Desire in the Novels of Sophie Cottin" examines four novels by Sophie Cottin, from 1798 until 1806. A forgotten but once-popular novelist, Cottin used the theme of motherhood to develop the relationship between women and desire and duty. These novels use the sentimental novel in different ways that challenge the limits of genre and confront social perceptions of motherhood. The generic transitions reveal subversive representations of women's sexuality and choice. The author's rewriting of motherhood and genre thus plays a crucial role in understanding the complex and developing notion of the sentimental novel in a period of transition after the Revolution. The eighteenth century gave rise to more structured gender divisions in society that provided little space for women's freedom outside of the patriarchal dictates of the family and motherhood. Jean-Jacques Rousseau's 1761 publication of <italic> Julie; ou la Nouvelle Héloïse</italic> and his 1762 publication of <italic> Emile; ou de l'éducation</italic> are thought to have defined social roles for women in relation to their reproductive abilities. The novel, as a site of social production, was understood to have influential moral implications and was used to confront and maintain socially accepted behavior. Mother-child depictions in literature, therefore, reveal socially acceptable behavior for women. My first chapter examines the development of motherhood as a form of social duty imposed on women. I explore the Rousseauian themes in Cottin's first sentimental epistolary novel, <italic> Claire d'Albe</italic>, published in 1978. The representation of adultery reveals the complex relationship between women's duty, virtue, and sexuality. In my second chapter, I analyze how Cottin manipulates the epistolary sentimental genre in <italic> Amélie Mansfield</italic>, published in 1802. Cottin creates narrative spaces that privilege women's expression and redefine women's choice through a violent and controversial depiction of the protagonist's suicide. I explore the social implications of the removal of the suicide scene from all publications of the novel after 1805. My third chapter examines the incorporation of elements of the travel narrative into the sentimental genre in <italic> Malvina </italic>, published in 1800, and <italic>Elisabeth; ou les exilés de Sibérie</italic>, published in 1805. Through the description of travel, I explore Cottin's representations of duty and women's education at two distinct moments in her publishing career.</p> / Dissertation

<p>This dissertation explores the ways in which British popular novels of the eighteenth century functioned as commodities. "Novel Addiction", the title of this dissertation has a double meaning: Addiction was a new conceptual framework developed during the eighteenth century in order to manage the increasing anxiety brought upon the culture of consumption, and the novel, one of the most popular commodities of the same period, was addictive. Both as successful commodities and efficient cultural agents, popular novels that were categorized as the sentimental or the gothic participated in the process of creating and disseminating models of addiction that warranted perpetual discipline. However, this discipline does not aim at preventing or eliminating addiction. It rather manages addiction as "habit" in a way that guarantees proliferation of the market economy. By employing the framework of addiction, I intend to reconfigure the role of the novel in the construction of individual and collective models of consumption-oriented subjectivity. </p><p>The first chapter begins with Eliza Haywood's Present for Women Addicted to Drinking where the author proposes novel-reading as the best cure for alcohol addiction, which allows me to explore a parallel between the phenomenon called the "gin craze" and the proliferation of print commodities. The second and third chapter discuss the sentimental novel and the gothic novel respectively focusing on the characteristics of each genre that make them addictive. The fourth and final chapter discusses Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey and Sense and Sensibility, which address and attempt to manage "novel addiction," a problem posed by the popular novels of her contemporaries.</p> / Dissertation

Le roman sentimental est un des genres les plus lus, les plus traduits et les plus diffusés. Malgré sa mauvaise réputation, il est étonnant de constater le nombre de ces romans vendus, tous pays confondus. Dans les Antilles, ce phénomène est particulièrement palpable : la présence, et la réception de ces œuvres témoignent de l’engouement pour le genre. Notre étude a pour objectif de dégager d’un corpus sentimental antillais les aspects les plus significatifs. Nous analyserons, d’une part, le schéma narratif élaboré en marge de celui proposé par le roman sentimental classique et, d’autre part, l’esthétique du quotidien mise en place pour créer un sentiment d’appartenance chez le lectorat. Il nous sera ainsi possible de mettre en évidence le discours socioculturel propre à ce genre et plus spécifiquement aux femmes antillaises. Par ailleurs, cette recherche postule que l'appropriation des invariants romanesques et l'élaboration d'une visée didactique participent à l'intégration du roman sentimental antillais dans la sphère des littératures « sérieuses ». Enfin, ce mémoire défend l’idée selon laquelle l’écriture romanesque des auteures étudiées contribue au projet littéraire antillais de réappropriation identitaire. / The sentimental novel is one of the most read, translated and accessible literary genres. Considering its sales rating, its frivolous reputation seems to be a misleading one. Indeed, in the Caribbean, the overall presence and reception of the novels is an indicator of its phenomenal popularity. We consider that the following aspects of the Caribbean sentimental novel are the most significant ones. Firstly, we underline that the specificity of the narrative patterns of these novels is due to its singularity vis-à-vis the canonical sentimental novel. Secondly, these novels tend to create a very strong sense of nationhood for the readers which are generated by a careful depiction of the everyday life. These previous aspects allow us to underscore the fact that the studied novels interact with the Caribbean social-cultural discourse while insisting on the topic of the female condition. This research brings to light the fact that the appropriation of the novelistic schemes as well as the didactic within allows to consider the Caribbean sentimental novel as a part of the institutionally recognized literary productions. Finally, our essay demonstrates that the novels of these “female writers” contribute to the consolidation of the national identity.

Cet ouvrage est basé sur l’analyse les quatre premiers romans de l’écrivain brésilien Machado de Assis (1839-1908) – Ressurreição (1872), A mão e a luva (1874), Helena (1876) et Iaiá Garcia (1978) – avec l’intention de comprendre la relation de ces livres avec le mouvement romantique brésilien. Bien qu’ils aient été écrits à une époque où le romantisme au Brésil touchait à sa fin, ces livres ont été considérés par les critiques du début du XXe siècle comme étant des romans romantiques étant donné la récurrence d’éléments narratifs qui ont structuré ce mouvement lequel a vu le jour au Brésil en 1836. Pourtant, bien que la présence de tels éléments dans l’œuvre de la jeunesse de Machado de Assis puisse être constatée, ils n’obéissent pas la démarche technique de ce mouvement littéraire. Il est donc nécessaire de discuter dans quelle mesure et sous quelle forme ces éléments sont présents dans les premiers romans de l’écrivain. Pour cela, la discussion sur le processus de création du mouvement romantique brésilien, directement lié à l’affirmation d’une identité nationale propre à l’Empire brésilien (1822-1889), représente un thème clé pour comprendre l’importance de la couleur locale, et plus particulièrement du paysage brésilien, dans le noyau esthétique du mouvement romantique dans ce pays. À partir des grandes lignes de ces éléments structurants du romantisme brésilien, l’analyse des premiers romans de Machado de Assis met au jour une révision critique de la tradition romantique par l’auteur, dans son projet de développer une littérature originale, créative, indépendante et universelle. / This work analyzes the first four novels of the Brazilian writer Machado de Assis (1839-1908) – Ressurreição (1872), A mão e a luva (1874), Helena (1876), and Iaiá Garcia (1978) – aiming to understand the link between these books and the Brazilian romantic movement. Although the novels were written at a time when Romanticism in Brazil was coming to an end, they were classified by critics of the early 20th century as romantic works because they contained recurrent narrative elements based on that movement which began in Brazil in 1836. Nevertheless, although such elements can be observed in the early work of Machado de Assis, they do not meet the technical procedure of the overall romanticist literary movement. It is thus necessary to discuss the extent to which these elements are deployed in the writer's initial novels. In order to do that, this work analyzes the process of creation of the Brazilian romantic movement, which is directly associated with the Empire of Brazil (1822-1889). This is important to understand the role of the local color, and more specifically of the Brazilian landscape, in the aesthetic basis of the Brazilian romanticism. From the outline of this basic structure of Brazilian romanticism, the analysis of the early novels of Machado de Assis shows that the author critically reviewed the romantic tradition to develop an original, creative, independent and universal literature. / Este trabalho analisa os quatro primeiros romances do escritor brasileiro Machado de Assis (1839-1908) – Ressurreição (1872), A mão e a luva (1874), Helena (1876) e Iaiá Garcia (1978) – com a intenção de compreender a relação destes livros com o movimento romântico brasileiro. Apesar de terem sido escritos na época em que o romantismo no Brasil chegava ao seu fim, esses livros foram classificados pela crítica do início do século XX como obras românticas dada a recorrência de elementos narrativos aparentados a este movimento que, no Brasil, teve início em 1836. No entanto, ainda que se possa observar a presença de tais elementos nas obras de juventude de Machado de Assis, eles não obedecem ao proceder técnico desse movimento literário. Então, cumpre-se discutir em que medida e de que maneira esses elementos estão presentes nos romances iniciais do escritor. Para tanto, a discussão sobre o processo de criação do movimento romântico brasileiro, diretamente associado à afirmação da identidade nacional e do Império brasileiro (1822-1889), consiste numa questão relevante a fim de se compreender a importância da cor local, e mais especificamente da paisagem brasileira, no cerne estético do romantismo nacional. A partir do delineamento desse elemento estrutural do romantismo no Brasil, a análise dos primeiros romances de Machado de Assis permite constatar de fato o seu intuito de revisitar de forma crítica a tradição romântica no intento de desenvolver uma literatura original, criativa, independente e universal.

Le roman sentimental est un des genres les plus lus, les plus traduits et les plus diffusés. Malgré sa mauvaise réputation, il est étonnant de constater le nombre de ces romans vendus, tous pays confondus. Dans les Antilles, ce phénomène est particulièrement palpable : la présence, et la réception de ces œuvres témoignent de l’engouement pour le genre. Notre étude a pour objectif de dégager d’un corpus sentimental antillais les aspects les plus significatifs. Nous analyserons, d’une part, le schéma narratif élaboré en marge de celui proposé par le roman sentimental classique et, d’autre part, l’esthétique du quotidien mise en place pour créer un sentiment d’appartenance chez le lectorat. Il nous sera ainsi possible de mettre en évidence le discours socioculturel propre à ce genre et plus spécifiquement aux femmes antillaises. Par ailleurs, cette recherche postule que l'appropriation des invariants romanesques et l'élaboration d'une visée didactique participent à l'intégration du roman sentimental antillais dans la sphère des littératures « sérieuses ». Enfin, ce mémoire défend l’idée selon laquelle l’écriture romanesque des auteures étudiées contribue au projet littéraire antillais de réappropriation identitaire. / The sentimental novel is one of the most read, translated and accessible literary genres. Considering its sales rating, its frivolous reputation seems to be a misleading one. Indeed, in the Caribbean, the overall presence and reception of the novels is an indicator of its phenomenal popularity. We consider that the following aspects of the Caribbean sentimental novel are the most significant ones. Firstly, we underline that the specificity of the narrative patterns of these novels is due to its singularity vis-à-vis the canonical sentimental novel. Secondly, these novels tend to create a very strong sense of nationhood for the readers which are generated by a careful depiction of the everyday life. These previous aspects allow us to underscore the fact that the studied novels interact with the Caribbean social-cultural discourse while insisting on the topic of the female condition. This research brings to light the fact that the appropriation of the novelistic schemes as well as the didactic within allows to consider the Caribbean sentimental novel as a part of the institutionally recognized literary productions. Finally, our essay demonstrates that the novels of these “female writers” contribute to the consolidation of the national identity.

Les études consacrées à la représentation du mariage dans les textes narratifs au XVIe siècle cherchent le plus souvent à mettre en rapport l’image du lien conjugal construite par les récits avec les débats de l’époque. Nous avons voulu combiner cette approche, relevant davantage de l’histoire des idées, à une analyse des formes littéraires en nous interrogeant sur le rôle joué par le thème du mariage dans les évolutions du genre narratif à la Renaissance.Nous menons notre enquête sur un ensemble de douze fictions narratives en prose, de composition française, écrites entre 1515 et 1559. Durant cette période, le mariage se trouve au cœur de nombreuses controverses théologico-politiques et les regards portés sur la vie conjugale se modifient. En nous appuyant sur un travail de contextualisation historique, nous croisons une approche thématique avec une réflexion sur la poétique narrative pour étudier la structuration des intrigues, la construction des personnages et les dispositifs didactiques et herméneutiques des textes. La comparaison de nos récits à d’autres œuvres – contemporaines ou antérieures, françaises ou étrangères – fait apparaître, au cours de notre période, un renouvellement de la matière narrative autour du mariage. L’accent mis sur certaines situations matrimoniales et les enjeux spécifiques qui leur sont associés à l’époque se révèlent être un ferment favorable à l’apparition de structures narratives innovantes. Le mariage joue en particulier un rôle déterminant dans l’orientation des récits brefs vers le genre de l’histoire tragique et dans l’apparition de formes romanesques originales à travers lesquelles on voit s’élaborer le genre du roman sentimental. / In most cases, studies devoted to the representation of marriage in narrative texts of the 16th century aim to link the image of the marriage bond as elaborated in the narratives to the controversies of the time. In order to show how the theme of marriage has played a part in the development of the narrative genre in the French Renaissance, we have decided to combine such an approach, which is rather based on the history of ideas, with an analysis of literary styles.We have conducted our survey on a set of twelve prose narrative fictions written in French between 1515 and 1559. Marriage was then at the heart of many theological-political controversies and married life started to be seen in a new light. Basing our work on historical contextualization, we have intertwined a thematic approach with a reflection on narrative poetics so as to study the plot structure and characterization as well as the didactic and hermeneutic systems of the texts. Comparing these narratives with other literary works – contemporary or prior, French or foreign – has enabled us to highlight a renewal of the narrative matter related to marriage themes during that period. The emphasis put on certain matrimonial situations and the related specific challenges in those days created favourable grounds for the advent of innovative narrative structures. Marriage stories have particularly contributed to orienting short stories towards the style of tragic stories and to giving birth to original novelistic forms in which the early stirrings of the style of the sentimental novel can be seen.

Cette étude propose de réviser le postulat selon lequel le roman américain ne naît que dans les années 1820, pour suggérer que cette forme émerge plus tôt, entre 1789 et 1819. La période qui suit la fin de la guerre d’Indépendance n’est pas favorable à la naissance du roman : les élites craignent alors la déchéance de la jeune République, et la fiction risque de faire basculer le pays dans l’anarchie. Les œuvres des premiers auteurs américains sont fortement façonnées par l’impératif de didactisme et d’utilité sociale et morale qui pèse alors sur la création littéraire. Toutefois, le roman qui émerge dans les années 1790 demeure une forme sombre, plurielle et paradoxale qui résiste à toute tentative de recadrage et de maîtrise, comme en témoigne particulièrement l’œuvre de Charles Brockden Brown. Alors qu’une première tradition littéraire a commencé à se mettre en place au tournant du siècle, le roman subit une transformation esthétique majeure au cours des années 1800 et 1810. Il dépeint à présent avec nostalgie, dans une forme lisse, mesurée et linéaire, une Amérique qui n’existe plus ou qui n’a jamais existé, dans laquelle tout est perpétuellement ordonné et transparent. Ces ouvrages ne marquent pourtant pas l’avènement du roman américain, car leur équilibre est artificiel et les éléments sombres sont toujours lisibles au cours de ces deux décennies. Nous concluons qu’un roman spécifiquement américain se développe effectivement entre 1789 et 1819, qui, au moyen de deux esthétiques opposées mais complémentaires, s’interroge sur l’individualité, le temps et l’écriture, dans une quête perpétuelle d’équilibre et de maîtrise qui ne se réalise jamais vraiment. / Although critics still widely consider the American novel only emerges in the 1820s, this dissertation invalidates this assertion and suggests that it rises between 1789 and 1819 and has specific aesthetic characteristics. The period that follows the close of the Revolution is not favorable to the development of the novel: the elites fear the fall of the early Republic, and the novel might precipitate the nation into anarchy. The first American authors’ works are fashioned by the social and moral imperatives that influence writing at that time. Despite these measures, the novels published in the 1790s are dark, fragmented and paradoxical and resist any attempt at order and control, as Charles Brockden Brown’s works show. While the 1790s seem to witness the development of a specifically American tradition, the novel undergoes a major aesthetic change at the beginning of the 19th century. Long fictions now depict, with nostalgia and in a smooth, balanced, strongly linear form, an ordered and transparent American nation that is no more or that never existed. Yet these works do not indicate that the American novel has reached its mature form, as their balance is purely artificial and unruly elements are still at work during those decades. We conclude that a specifically American novel emerges during the thirty years following the Revolution: under two different but complementary aesthetics, this genre questions matters linked to individuality, time and writing, and is haunted by a quest for control and balance that never really comes to completion.

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