In this book, Eva Yampolsky explores the questions of identity,
illusion and suicide in the works of Guy de Maupassant. Utilizing a
historical context which stimulated numerous social, technological
and scientific transformations and developments during the 19th
century, Dr. Yampolsky identifies two defining aims. Firstly, she
examines the various figures of the double, such as visual
representations of the subject through painting, mirror reflection,
generational proximity and resemblance, and the relation between
self-perception and social norms. She seeks to show the complex and
often conflicting relation between the individual and society, and
more specifically the attempts and frequent failures to manipulate,
control and embody a unique definition of self. This divergence
between the social norms, such as class, profession, gender and
honor, and the characters' notion of self is what drives the
narrative. Secondly, Eva Yampolsky analyzes the consequent
psychological turmoil, madness and even suicide of many
Maupassantian characters. This impossible task of embodying an
identity that is sole and unique, as it is lived and perceived by
the subject and others, in most short stories and novels leads to
the characters' disillusionment and, in a great number of texts,
violence or suicide. This book draws on the social, political and
economic revolutions that redefined the individual. New forms of
visual representation and communication, namely with the invention
of photography and the developments of the press, bring forth
questions of authenticity, doubling, and a new distinction between
private and public spheres. Finally, the birth of psychiatry at the
turn of the 19th century and the emergence of new disciplines, such
as sociology and psychoanalysis, inscribe passions, illusions and
suicide in new discursive and disciplinary frameworks. These
transformations and developments are pervasive and, in many cases,
explicit in Maupassant's work, influences that have aided and
nourished the literary analysis of his texts.
General
| Imprint: |
Peter Lang Publishing
|
| Country of origin: |
United States |
| Series: |
Currents in Comparative Romance Languages & Literatures, 213 |
| Release date: |
April 2017 |
| Authors: |
Eva Yampolsky
|
| Dimensions: |
225 x 150 x 14mm (L x W x T) |
| Format: |
Hardcover
|
| Pages: |
130 |
| Edition: |
New edition |
| ISBN-13: |
978-1-4331-2147-0 |
| Categories: |
Books >
Language & Literature >
Literature: history & criticism >
General
|
| LSN: |
1-4331-2147-6 |
| Barcode: |
9781433121470 |
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