Du Paria à l’Émigré : une typologie des vagabonds post-révolutionnaires
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Date
2014
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski Jana Pawła II, Wydawnictwo Werset
Abstract
The «great detention» analysed by Michel Foucault shows the fear societies have of wanderers and tramps. During the whole classical period, political and religious elites try to lock up people who don’t have neither home nor work, thinking that they are a danger to society’s order. Arts and literature represent this threat, reinforcing the negativity of wandering and mobility in minds. However, there is a time in French history leading to question this doxa. A political revolution turns these representations round. The French Revolution changes the camp of suspicion towards wandering. Starting from 1789, old elites, ironically, find themselves out in the streets with nothing. These people, the Émigrés, are the ones creating literature during the revolutionary period. This phenomenon affects writing at this time, and arises ethical and aesthetic questions. The texts written in exile trying to answer these questions create a new sensibility which is going to influence the minds of the 19th century.
Description
Keywords
representations of exile, French revolution, Emigration, outcast, walking, wandering
Citation
"Quêtes littéraires" 2014, nº 4, s. 18-27