L’armée, livre des hommes : passeurs de symboles et personnages liminaires dans Servitude et grandeur militaires d’Alfred de Vigny
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Date
2019
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Abstract
Pendant son passage dans l’armée, Vigny a constaté la lente et inévitable disparition des vieux grognards. Ces hommes au caractère antique lui apparaissaient à la fois archaïques et nobles, c’est pourquoi, avec Servitude et grandeur militaires, il cherche à la fois à critiquer l’institution militaire et à conserver les enseignements de ces vétérans. Ces hommes sont présentés comme des maîtres à penser d’une nature particulière, ils sont à la fois des exemples à suivre et à dépasser. Suivant la logique des rites initiatiques, nous proposons une lecture ethnocritique de la poétique vignyenne qui s’attarde à reconstruire l’architecture narrative d’une expérience pédagogique. Celle-ci se structure autour de la présence de personnages liminaires servant de passeurs. Nous nous penchons ensuite sur l’appropriation critique de ces enseignements par le narrateur, appropriation que nous lisons comme une mise en abyme de l’attitude critique auquel Vigny convie ses lecteurs. Nous faisons ainsi ressortir la visée formatrice de l’écriture romanesque de l’écrivain romantique.
During his time in the army, Vigny noticed the slow and inevitable disappearance of the old grumblers. For him, these antique men are both archaic and noble, which is why, with Servitude et grandeur militaires, he tries to criticize the military institution, and record the teachings of these veterans simultaneously. These men represent a particular type of master, as their teachings must be both received and surpassed. Following the logic of rites of passage, we propose an ethnocritic reading of Vigny’s poetic, and try to reconstruct the narrative architecture of a pedagogical experience. We believe the latter is organized around the presence of liminal characters which serve as transmitters. We then study the narrator’s critical appropriation of these teachings, which we read as a mise en abyme of the critical attitude to which Vigny invites his readers. This way, we bring out the formative value of the fiction of that romantic writer.
During his time in the army, Vigny noticed the slow and inevitable disappearance of the old grumblers. For him, these antique men are both archaic and noble, which is why, with Servitude et grandeur militaires, he tries to criticize the military institution, and record the teachings of these veterans simultaneously. These men represent a particular type of master, as their teachings must be both received and surpassed. Following the logic of rites of passage, we propose an ethnocritic reading of Vigny’s poetic, and try to reconstruct the narrative architecture of a pedagogical experience. We believe the latter is organized around the presence of liminal characters which serve as transmitters. We then study the narrator’s critical appropriation of these teachings, which we read as a mise en abyme of the critical attitude to which Vigny invites his readers. This way, we bring out the formative value of the fiction of that romantic writer.
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Keywords
Alfred de Vigny, Servitude et grandeur militaires, ethnocritique, passeur de symbole, personnage liminaire, rite de passage, ethnocritic, symbol transmitter, liminal character, rite of passage
Citation
"Quêtes littéraires" 2019, nº 9, s. 44-55