This thesis constitutes an analysis of Raymond Queneaus' reflections on the <I>métier d'écrire</I> and his fictionalisation of it throughout the 1930s. Its dual objective is to re-evaluate the set of cultural influences and issues which affected Raymond Queneau, and to highlight the myths and rationalisations related to writing both as an art form and as a profession which inform his early fiction and criticism. The writer's vocation is a central theme in Queneau's early fiction, and the handling of this theme reflects on key literary and social issues of the period, such as the reshuffling of the hierarchy of the literary genres, the role of the avant-garde and the fear of decadence. A sustained discussion of the collection of articles <I>Le Voyage en Gréce</I> underscores the relationship between his polemical strategies and the debate over the Romantic inheritance, and shows how Queneau, very much an outsider in the Parisian élite, approached the competition for intellectual authority. The firm and univocal pronouncements on literature, poetry, and the place of the writer in society which are found in <I>Le Voyage en Gréce</I> are then examined in the context of the ambiguous and ironical images contained in the fiction. Caught up in both the major and the mundane intellectual crises of his times, Queneau engaged in an indirect dialogue with the main role-models of his generation, Paul Valéry and André Gide. The thesis therefore examines the extent to which (and the ways in which) Queneau's early works provide a "portrait of the artist as a young man" which has both historical and literary interest.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:593605 |
| Date | January 1995 |
| Creators | Voilley, P. R. |
| Publisher | University of Aberdeen |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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