In this thesis, I propose an analysis of Julien Gracq's fictional works, based upon a dual methodological approach inspired by Genettian naratology and the phenomenological theories of reading. I argue that "derealization" is an important element of Julien Gracq's writing, which is often perceived in binary terms (classical and/or modern, alternately real and unreal, realistic and magical). This hypothesis leads me to develop a conceptual framework for a notion that, while it has on occasion been invoked by critics, has never been properly defined. In this framework, derealization is defined both as a textual product and a reading effect. As a textual product, it is primarily an interstitial phenomenon insofar as it operates between the different levels of the text (enonciative levels, temporal levels, referential levels), creating confusion, competition, and what I have called "subordinating inversion". As a reading effect, it tends at once to disturb the reader's horizon of expectations, to prevent referential stability (defined as a textual construct and in relation to the reading experience), and to introduce a tension in the reading process without completely hindering the reader's progress. This tension manifests itself in the form of uncertainty, a blurring or subverting of diegetical content, persistent instability or a powerful determinism whose limits are unclear. In the final analysis, derealization can be described as a syncretic concept that reconciles, on the one hand, the immanent structures of the text and the phenomenological experience of reading, and, on the other hand, the stable, "ureassuring" dimension of the traditional novel and its modernistic undermining. Seen in this light, the concept of derealization could prove to be a useful tool for the study of certain contemporary works that seek to rejuvenate traditional literary forms without rejecting them entirely. Julien Gracq's works are a perfect example of just su
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.82910 |
| Date | January 2002 |
| Creators | Laval, Cédric |
| Contributors | Mercier, G. Lane (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | French |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Doctor of Philosophy (Département de langue et littérature françaises.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001982893, proquestno: AAINQ88506, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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