Seducing the Eighteenth-Century French Reader - Reading, Writing, and the Question of Pleasure (Hardcover, New Ed)

As he demonstrates that narratives of seduction function as a master plot for French literature in the eighteenth century, Paul Young argues that the prevalence of this trope was a reaction to a dominant cultural discourse that coded the novel and the new practice of solitary reading as dangerous, seductive practices. Situating his study in the context of paintings, educational manuals, and criticism that caution against the act of reading, Young considers both canonical and lesser-known works by authors that include Rousseau, Sade, Bastide, Laclos, Crebillon fils, and the writers of two widely read libertine novels. How these authors responded to a cultural climate that viewed literature, and especially the novel, as seductive, sheds light on the perils and pleasures of authorship, the ways in which texts interact with the larger cultural discourse, and what eighteenth-century texts tell us about the dangers of reading or writing. Ultimately, Young argues, the seduction not in the text, but by the text raises questions about the nature of pleasure in eighteenth-century French literature and culture.

General

Imprint:	Ashgate Publishing Limited
Country of origin:	United Kingdom
Release date:	September 2008
First published:	2008
Authors:	Paul J. Young
Dimensions:	234 x 156 x 11mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Hardcover
Pages:	174
Edition:	New Ed
ISBN-13:	978-0-7546-6417-8
Categories:	Books > Language & Literature > Literature: history & criticism > Literary studies > 16th to 18th centuries
LSN:	0-7546-6417-1
Barcode:	9780754664178

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