Une « Babel » moderne dans les cimes : cité sanatoriale et utopie thérapeutique dans Les « Heures de silence » de Robert de Traz et dans Siloé de Paul Gadenne
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Date
2021
Authors
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Publisher
Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski Jana Pawła II, Wydawnictwo Werset
Abstract
Souvent perçu comme le fruit de spéculations empiriques, le sanatorium, destiné dans la première moitié du XXe siècle à la prise en charge des tuberculeux, se présente de prime abord comme une utopie thérapeutique émanant du corps médical. Dans ce lieu clos s’exerce en effet l’autorité du docteur, dont les préconisations ont valeur d’injonctions. Pourtant, deux romans, Les « Heures de silence », de l’écrivain suisse Robert de Traz (1884-1951) et Siloé, de Paul Gadenne (1907-1956), auteur français qui fut lui-même un habitué des établissements de soins, mettent en scène un renversement. Dans ces œuvres, l’unité de lieu sanatoriale devient en effet un artifice commode pour questionner le monde des bien-portants à trois niveaux : l’ego, la relation aux autres et le rapport à l’espace naturel. Parce que la « condition tuberculeuse » pondère les différences entre les individus, elle remet en cause le primat de la santé et esquisse paradoxalement un mode de vie équilibré, fondé sur l’expérience idiorythmique de l’alternance entre solitude, vie sociale et immanence.
Often perceived as the result of empirical speculation, the sanatorium, intended for the treatment of tuberculosis patients in the first half of the 20th century, was at first sight a therapeutic utopia originating in the medical profession. In this enclosed space, it is the doctor that exercises the authority and their recommendations have the value of injunctions. However, a reversal of this order is depicted in two 20th-century novels: Les “Heures de silence” by the Swiss writer Robert de Traz (1884-1951), and Siloé by Paul Gadenne (1907-1956), a French author who was him-self a regular visitor to such care institutions. In these works, the unity of place – the sanatorium – becomes a convenient device for questioning the world of the healthy on three levels: the ego, the relationship to others and the relationship to natural space. 146Claire Augereau Because the “tubercular condition” neutralises the differences between individuals, it questions the primacy of health and paradoxically outlines a balanced lifestyle based on the idiorhythmic alternation between solitude, social life and immanence.
Often perceived as the result of empirical speculation, the sanatorium, intended for the treatment of tuberculosis patients in the first half of the 20th century, was at first sight a therapeutic utopia originating in the medical profession. In this enclosed space, it is the doctor that exercises the authority and their recommendations have the value of injunctions. However, a reversal of this order is depicted in two 20th-century novels: Les “Heures de silence” by the Swiss writer Robert de Traz (1884-1951), and Siloé by Paul Gadenne (1907-1956), a French author who was him-self a regular visitor to such care institutions. In these works, the unity of place – the sanatorium – becomes a convenient device for questioning the world of the healthy on three levels: the ego, the relationship to others and the relationship to natural space. 146Claire Augereau Because the “tubercular condition” neutralises the differences between individuals, it questions the primacy of health and paradoxically outlines a balanced lifestyle based on the idiorhythmic alternation between solitude, social life and immanence.
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Keywords
Robert de Traz, Paul Gadenne, sanatorium, utopie, maladie, tuberculose, montagne, utopia, disease, tuberculosis, mountain
Citation
"Quêtes littéraires" 2021, nº 11, s. 134-146