This thesis studies the theme of laughter in the works of Victor Hugo, distinguishing two topical networks: that of perverse gaiety and that of forced laughter. Part One (La Gaiete perverse) shows how Hugo, drawing various commonplaces related to cruel laughter in the gothic novel, creates a first family of characters whose laugh derives from their demented nature (the monster, the headsman, the priest, the outlaw, the mob, the court jester). Part Two (La Tristesse des justes) concerns the Hugo which, between 1845 and 1862, fashions a mythology of the People renewing with commonplaces related to perverse gaiety, which he now links to characters seen as pillars of the Second Empire (the tyrant, the soldier, the police officer). While the wicked laugh, the just man cries, and the laughter of the oppressed (the convict, the prostitute, the street urchin) is constrained. Part Three (Le Rire de force) considers three works dating from Hugo's exile, including L'Homme qui rit, where the author clearly defines what constitutes forced laughter: a victim's exultation caused by the perversity of his social torturer, the tyrant. This transition from perverse gaiety (which stems from individual perversion) to forced laughter (the result of society's perversion) will be interpreted as the reflexion of a shift in the identity of Hugo's implied reader. While the first Hugo wrote about the people, the later Hugo aspires to write for the people, which considerably affects the meaning conferred to various commonplaces used throughout his writing career.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.37816 |
| Date | January 2000 |
| Creators | Prévost, Maxime. |
| Contributors | Duquette, Jean-Pierre (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: 001807012, proquestno: NQ70132, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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