The purpose of this thesis is to focus on an often neglected aspect of Maupassant's short stories, namely the nature of the relationship they trigger between the author, the text, and the reader. After examining the reception of Maupassant's works from a historical viewpoint, I concentrate on their appareil démarcatif, or key-points in terms of structure. This leads me to consider the impact of the paratext (titles, subtitles, epigraphs, and dedications), framing devices - a pattern that recalls the oral tale from which the written short story is derived - and closure on Maupassant's wide range of readers. The analysis concentrates mainly on the Contes et Nouvelles because their brevity and their characteristics make them ideal for a detailed study of the appareil démarcatif which governs their structure. The second major articulation of my thesis is to focus on the recurring themes and characters used by the author to make his fictional writings plausible. Because Maupassant did not prove exceptionally original in his use of these thematic devices, this leads me to explore the conventions that rule his fictional universe. Basing my approach on Jonathan Culler's Stucturalist Poetics, I undertake to demonstrate that the vraisemblance at stake in Maupassant's texts proceeds from four levels of conventions, each linked to a particular thematic object. While the notion of 'cultural vraisemblance' concerns characters, who remain highly stereotypical in both an attempt to familiarise the reader with the contextual content and a conscious wish to maintain the concision of the story, that of the 'conventionally natural' depends heavily on metalanguage ; the plot and themes are in turn affected by the genericity of the text. The fourth level, constituted by the ironic content, is set apart as a level which contaminates the other three.

Thesis (M.A.)--Boston University / It is the purpose of this Thesis to analyze and examine the Institutional Economics of Rexford Guy Tugwell. Tugwell is a product of the change in economic thinking that was witnessed at the beginning of the twentieth century. Through the means of such economists as Thorstein Veblen and Simon Nelson Patten, economic thinking underwent its great reformation. The economic heterodoxy that permeated American thinking was in sharp contrast to that which had prevailed, before the turn of the century. There had come into being a greater empiricism, a more rational outlook, and a more practical application. While closing the gap between economic theory and practice, these heterodox economists provided a significant challenge to what had been known as economic orthodoxy. The Institutional Economists find their strength in the fact that their theorizing is quite relevant to the problems that face the American economy. Adopting a pragmatic outlook, relying upon cultural sciences for support, and penetrating deeply into the individual's thinking, Institutional Economists have been able to present a body of doctrine which has the public's welfare as its goal [TRUNCATED]

Thesis (M.A)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1984. / Typescript. Title from title screen (viewed Mar. 19, 2007). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 76-81). Online version of the print original.

Texte remanié de: Th. doct.--Lettres--Lausanne, 2003. / Bibliogr. p. 521-532. Index.

Thèse--Heidelberg--Ruprecht-Karls-Universität, 2003. / Bibliogr. p. 413-420.

Inaug. diss. - Greifswald. / Vita. Bibliography: p. [6].

Thése--Paris, 1952. / Bibliography: p. [128]-130.

Thesis (M.A.)--Kutztown State College, 1975. / Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 45-06, page: 2851. Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaf [63]).

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