À partir de l'examen des maisons réalisées à flanc de coteaux par Bernard Maybeck (1862-1957) durant la période comprise entre 1892 et 1904 aux États-Unis à Berkeley, dans l'État de la Californie, l'auteur aborde comment s'est créé un langage architectural unique inspirée de le mouvement Arts and Crafts et plus particulièrement des écrits théoriques de l'auteur et critique John Ruskin (1819-1900). Sous l'influence de Maybeck, l'ensemble bâti des maisons « gothiques » devient un outil d'influence majeur dans la mise en place d'un nouveau mode de vie centré autour de l'architecture et de la nature. Le site lui-même influence substantiellement les recherches plastiques par leur liaison importante au site d'implantation. Comprenant ce développement architectural comme étant une interprétation du paysage et de l'esprit gothique théorisé par Ruskin, l'architecte affirme la nécessité de revenir à une vie plus « simple » où l'immixtion entre l'homme et la nature est en harmonie. / Using residential architecture constructed by Bernard Maybeck (1862-1957) in the hillside of Berkeley (United States of America, California) during the period comprised between 1892 and 1904, this thesis shows how was articulated a unique architectural language inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement and more specifically the English author, theorician and critic John Ruskin (1819-1900). Under Maybeck's guidance, the architectural ensemble that he affectionately called his « gothic houses » became an important tool helping the establishment of a new way of life centered around architecture and nature. Berkeley's hillsides and landscape influenced considerably the artistic research, as the houses had to reflect their surroundings. Understanding this architectural development as an interpretation of the landscape and of the nature of Gothic as defined by Ruskin, Maybeck shows the necessity to go back to a « simpler » life where man and nature are in harmony.

Scholars and storytellers alike have deemed George MacDonald a great mythopoeic writer, an exemplar of the art. Examination of this accolade by those who first applied it to him proves it profoundly theological: for them a mythopoeic tale was a relational medium through which transformation might occur, transcending boundaries of time and space. The implications challenge much contemporary critical study of MacDonald, for they demand that his literary life and his theological life cannot be divorced if either is to be adequately assessed. Yet they prove consistent with the critical methodology MacDonald himself models and promotes. Utilizing MacDonald’s relational methodology evinces his intentional facilitating of Mythopoesis. It also reveals how oversights have impeded critical readings both of MacDonald’s writing and of his character. It evokes a redressing of MacDonald’s relationship with his Scottish cultural, theological, and familial environment – of how his writing is a response that rises out of these, rather than, as has so often been asserted, a mere reaction against them. Consequently it becomes evident that key relationships, both literary and personal, have been neglected in MacDonald scholarship – relationships that confirm MacDonald’s convictions and inform his writing, and the examination of which restores his identity as a literature scholar. Of particular relational import in this reassessment is A.J. Scott, a Scottish visionary intentionally chosen by MacDonald to mentor him in a holistic Weltanschauung. Little has been written on Scott, yet not only was he MacDonald’s prime influence in adulthood, but he forged the literary vocation that became MacDonald’s own. Previously unexamined personal and textual engagement with John Ruskin enables entirely new readings of standard MacDonald texts, as does the textual engagement with Matthew Arnold and F.D. Maurice. These close readings, informed by the established context, demonstrate MacDonald’s emergence, practice, and intent as a mythopoeic writer.