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  • La Politique du cardinal de Retz: Passions et factions
  • Richard Parish
La Politique du cardinal de Retz: Passions et factions. By Malina Stefanovska. (Collection Interférence). Presses Universitaires de Rennes, 2008. 216 pp. Pb €16.00.

This attractive and timely reappraisal of the writings of the Cardinal de Retz affords both a readable introduction to the Mémoires and a persuasive interpretation of their nature and impact. Malina Stefanovska uses as a focussing device the relations that Retz established with others at a social, political and personal level, as well as stressing from the outset that, despite his familiarity with the writings of Pascal, Hobbes and, above all, Machiavelli, 'c'est un homme d'action et non un théoricien'. The study begins with an examination of the early Conjuration de Fiesque, in which the key concept of the faction comes into play, alongside the insistence that the mystical pact between the monarch and his subjects is predicated on personal links, manoeuvres and encounters as much as on any more abstract notions of authority. There is then a careful exploration of the mysterious addressee of the Mémoires, simply apostrophized as 'Madame'; but whereas possible identities are entertained, Stefanoska sees the figure as first and foremost the locus of a further pact, now founded on sincerity, between [End Page 457] narrataire and destinataire, and as a channel to her subject's eventual posthumous readership. She then goes on to consider the various political figures with whom Retz was involved, and underlines his capacity for embarking on a process of self-analysis through the analysis of others: Richelieu, as the 'père symbolique'; Mazarin, to whom he is linked by a mutual degree of hatred; the Princess Palatine, as the epitome of a skilful negotiator; and a whole cast of what Stefanovska refers to as 'demi-habiles'. The next chapters deal explicitly with two central concepts: factions, with their inherent tendency to fragmentation; and (to use an anachronism) networking, or 'l'art du lien', in which context the intricate political geography of Paris during the Fronde(s) is sketched out, with its friendships and enmities, its plots and propaganda. The work ends with an examination of Retz's relationship to the Church, in the light of the loosely named 'fronde ecclésiastique' which closes the Mémoires. There are substantial quotations provided at key points (which is helpful, given the relative unfamiliarity of the texts cited), but despite some perceptive asides, there is little sustained stylistic analysis. A more serious problem with the work is the tendency to exploit and indeed play on a nexus of key terms, which are either defined too late (such as 'faction') or indeed never receive any explicit elucidation. The first of these is 'pacte', which is presumably an amplification of Philippe Lejeune's 'pacte autobiographique'; but the exact lineage is never made clear. The second, more problematic again, is 'baroque'. Thus attention is given to the theatricality of the political arena, the role of imagination, the difficulty of establishing and maintaining equilibrium and the place occupied by violence, secrecy and ostentation. These seem to constitute what the author calls 'la machine politique baroque', but the equation is once again left to her readers to solve. If they are prepared to make that effort, this is a rewarding and insightful survey.

Richard Parish
St Catherine's College, Oxford
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