Christophe Martin: "De la théorie du moment à l'hypothèse du viol: romanciers et romancières face à un topos romanesque jusqu'à La Nouvelle Héloïse"

Abstract:

The topoi of «good fortunes » are recurrent in the erotic fantasy of the XVIIth century. They are central in the so-called libertine novels, and particularly in Crébillon's where the term «moment» is frequently used. Now, quite paradoxically, such a topos also exists in contemporary novels written by women: not only can it be found in some of Madame Riccoboni's fictions (Lettres de Milady Juliette Catesby, Histoire du marquis de Cressy), but also in Madame de Tencin's Le Siege de Calais or in Madame de Puisieux's L'Education du marquis de ***. These female novelists, however, seem to turn the topos in a rather specific direction, as though they were first of all trying to bring out the question of rape, which is constantly denied in libertine fiction.

AsK, jan 2011

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