Jacques Rivière by Karen D. Levy (review)

274ROCKY MOUNTAIN REVIEW perceived as a Republican sympathizer. The chapter closes with an assessment of his last book, El Padre Las Casas: Su doble personalidad (1963) , a personal and highly polemical attempt to discredit Fray Bartolomé, whose Brevísima relación de la destrucción de las Indias was allegedly responsible for the rise of the leyenda negra which pictured Spain as an inhumane colonial power. Chapter 5 (86-101) reviews RMP's varied contributions to literary criticism. Chapter 6 ( 102-115) introduces some of RMP's best-known students andsummarizes French and British criticism of his theories on the origins of Spanish lyric and epic poetry. A brief concluding segment (116-119), Notes, and a Bibliography of primary and secondary sources, as well as of Festschriften in honor of RMP round out this book. (Add to the list of homage volumes Revista de la Universidad de Madrid, 18 (1969), and 19 (1970) — Homenaje a Menéndez Pidal.) Hess has written a useful introduction for the non-specialist. He successfully emphasizes the blending of philology, literature, and history in RMP's research. But an in-depth analysis of his life and work and their relation to the intellectual and political climate of Spain would still constitute a major contribution to the history of humanistic scholarship in Spain. STEVEN N. DWORKIN University of Michigan Karen D. Levy. Jacques Rivière. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1982. 184 p. The name of Jacques Rivière, as every major study including the present one has shown, remains inevitably linked to the Nouvelle Revue Française. He had been one of its original collaborators before becoming secretary in 1911; when the NRF resumed publication in 1919 (after the hiatus imposed by World War I), he was chosen director, a post he held until his death in 1925. His career as a writer (critic, essayist, novelist), and as the guiding spirit of a leading literary magazine has been very well analyzed by Professor Levy; a complicated task not only because of the varied nature of his writings and his relationships with major literary figures of his times such as Claudel, Copeau, Gide, and Proust, but also because of the format prescribed by the Twayne World Series. The material is organized in six chapters and a very brief conclusion, preceded by a preface and chronology. A bibliography and index are also provided. The approach is chronological; Riviere's life and works are segmented into periods entitled "A sketch of Riviere's life: from the calm ofBordeaux to the cultural activity of Paris" (Chapt.I); "From dreams to reality: Riviere's early development and experience with Claudel"(Chapt.II); "Quest for personal autonomy: Riviere's relationship with Gide" (Chapt.III); "Commitment to excellence: Riviere's first years with the NRF" (Chapt.IV); "The war years: spiritual renewal and commitment to literary and social reform" (Chapt.V); and "Dedication to tolerance and understanding: Riviere's mature years with the NRF" (Chapt.VI). The ensemble provides an excellent overview ofl'homme et l'oeuvre, especially chapter five which discusses in detail the war notebooks and Riviere's activities in Switzerland in 1917-1918, two domains often overlooked or treated perfunctorily by critics. Good accounts are given of how Claudel and Gide influenced Rivière; his contributions as an art and music critic are examined, as well as his attempts at fiction. In regard to the critical theories, Professor Levy justly criticizes Rivière for his biased view in L'Allemand, but should have kept in mind that Rivière himself Book Reviews275 admits that he needed "un repoussoir" in order to emphasize the qualities of "Ie génie français"(L'Allemand, Paris: Gallimard, 1919, p. 10). Other major essays (especially Le roman d'aventure and the articles on Proust) are treated with insightand sensitivity. Professor Levy skillfully points out Riviere's strongest side as a man of letters, a concern synonymous with the NRF's raison d'être: his unfailing interest in, and his contribution towards, an aesthetics of the novel. One minor inaccuracy appears on p. 78 where it is stated that "He does not seem to have been at all aware of the profoundly innovative efforts of poets...