Elements of the Libertine Chronotope: Jealousy in Claude Crébillon's Les Heureux orphelins

Elements of the Libertine Chronotope: Jealousy in Claude Crébillon's Les Heureux orphelins Karen McCloskey The study of jealousy in Claude Crébillon's works reveals a number of insights into the libertine figure and the types of scenarios in which he acts. Given that Mikhail Bakhtin suggests that "any motif may have a special chronotope of its own," it would be possible to adopt a strictly bakhtinian approach to the analysis of the libertine chronotope. (After all, he first coined the literary term, defining it as "time space").1 However, the goal of this collection is to refocus on the circumstances in which libertine scenarios occur. Therefore, the objective of this study is to consider elements of time and space in a novel where a reconfiguration of jealousy is revealed in order to contribute to a better understanding of the libertine genre. Because of the variety of forms implicated within the somewhat nebulous definition of the roman libertin,2 we will narrow our scope to focus on Claude Crébillon's hybrid novel, Les Heureux orphelins? This text is situated at the intersection of three forms: a third-person narrative, a memoir novel, and an epistolary novel. Crébillon's style lends itself particularly well to a study of chronotopes, since time and space are not individually emphasized, serving more as the backdrop for the author who was critical of too much detail in the novel.4 This narrative is particularly useful in identifying weapons in the libertine arsenal and how they are exercised, since the tale of the seduction of three women is related first by the loving Mme de Suffolk and secondly, in the third and fourth parts of the novel, in the words of the libertine, lord Chester.5 The juxtaposition of the victim-libertine perspectives demystifies the libertine ruses and their effects. Examples from other authors will confirm the recurrence of the reconfiguration of jealousy in libertine scenarios and aid in better defining Crébillon's influence upon the genre. In the preface to the Lettres de la marquise de M *** au comte de /?***, Madame de *** explains to M. de *** that themes such as jealousy (and associated terms such as fear and fury) recur throughout the love letters exchanged between the marquise and the count: quelque bien que des lettres amoureuses soient écrites, les mêmes termes y sont souvent employés, les mêmes situations reviennent; c'est toujours le même objet présent aux yeux du lecteur: brouilleries, raccommodements, caprices, fureurs, larmes, joie, jalousie, craintes, désirs. Vol. XLIII, No. 4 39 L'Esprit Créateur désespoir; et quoique ces mouvements soient variés en eux-mêmes, c'est l'amour qui les fait naître, c'est l'amour qui les détruit [( ].6 The predominance of jealousy and the emotions that accompany it in this epistolary narrative (fear, fury) also characterizes the rest of Crébillon's writings -jealousy appears in some form or another in all of his novels. However, a concentration of jealousy emerges in the epistolary novels, including the hybrid Les Heureux orphelins, since letters afford a regular commentary on the frustrations of entering into a relationship with a libertine. Scenarios of jealousy in epistolary texts or hybrids like the one at the center of our study flourish in public space. Although this emotion may worsen in private , due to ruminations about a previous public experience, it emerges and its fire is more often stoked in public spaces. In this space, characterized by the watchful eye of others, the mere presence of a rival may be enough to incite this volatile passion. Space in the libertine novel is generally thought of in terms of private locations: the bedroom, the intimate grove, places in which the libertine can accomplish his seduction.7 In Laclos's Les Liaisons dangereuses, for example , which extends Crébillon's work, no key event is situated in public places.8 Private space makes up a good part of the libertine chronotope, but it is the theme of jealousy that dictates our opposing approach. To examine the public space in which the libertine acts, we will look at the broad category...