Casanova: la mémoire du désir par Cyril Francès (review)

of the book, this chapter provides an appropriate coda to an essay that endeavors to challenge the status quo and redefine the Mediterranean ethos. To be sure, the book does not pretend to be exhaustive in its reach. It does not, for instance, address some key intercultural relations, such as those experienced by Jews in the Mediterranean. In its effort to question the notions of limits and frontiers, one may also wish it had invoked thinkers like Étienne Balibar. But, Esposito’s book remains an engaging piece of scholarship of most urgent relevance. Princeton University André Benhaïm Francès, Cyril. Casanova: la mémoire du désir. Paris: Garnier, 2014. ISBN 978-28124 -2139-6. Pp. 681. 59 a. Casanova represents one of the most intriguing figures of the eighteenth century. His reputation as the archetypal seducer has endured in numerous literary, artistic, and popular forms, as recently evidenced by Albert Serra’s film Story of My Death. The macabre, ironic title alludes to Casanova’s posthumously published memoir, Story of My Life. Francès, too, has of late issued a lengthy interpretation of Casanova’s Histoire de ma vie, which he based on his doctoral dissertation. The resulting work comes across as an obtuse text of dry literary analysis which purports to view the infamous lover’s work as a reflection of such Enlightenment concerns as sensibility, self, imagination , and consciousness.Aside from the impenetrable commentary,the author’s premise does not seem to present original insights on the Casanova story. Nonetheless, there are lucid and appealing sections that figure as introductions in the customary tripartite argumentation of an academic thesis. Francès is at his best as a writer and scholar when he describes rather than interprets Casanova’s text. This is especially evident if the reader has some degree of familiarity with this memoir. The first part contemplates the believability of the work as manifested in Francès’s choice of title: “Une mémoire fabuleuse” (31). It is questionable whether a man was physically capable of so many sexual adventures and lived a life filled with so many implausible coincidences. In fact, the New York Times critic of the above film refers to the memoir as “extravagant, improbable.”In this regard, Francès makes the distinction between memoir and autobiography , the former emphasizing personal impression over straightforward account expressed by the latter. He incorporates the aspect of temporality into this work of sensual memory with the story of the lover Thérèse Imer who appears in three different European capitals, as three distinct personages during three stages of Casanova’s life. This technique of melding time periods allows Casanova and the reader the illusion of re-experiencing reminiscent pleasures in the present moment. Francès introduces the second part with the description of Casanova’s earliest memory, which is again, fabuleux, that is, mythical, magical, and imaginative. He describes the surreal scene of a child suffering from nosebleeds taken to a witch for treatment, after which he recalls 220 FRENCH REVIEW 89.4 Reviews 221 the appearance of a fairy-like apparition. The moment marks the conscious realization of his existence, his “moi casanovien” (337). Compared with Rousseau’s Confessions, Casanova’s Histoire de ma vie does not rely solely on the recollection of specific events and concurrent feelings to retell his story. The Venetian’s memoir, which reads like a novel, defies the autobiographical convention of his century by incorporating the “merveilleux” (209), marrying memory with imagination. Casanova’s “je” (328) constitutes a metaphorical rather than literal representation of self. Francès opens the third and final section with a recounting of Casanova’s incredible escape from the Leads prison. This episode defined his persona, granting him the freedom to become an actor on life’s stage and to eventually compose his own theatrical memoir, an “autobiographie rococo” (405) of sensuality. Independent Scholar Ivy Dyckman Francis, Cécilia W., et Robert Viau, éd. Trajectoires et dérives de la littérature-monde: poétiques de la relation et du divers dans les espaces francophones. Amsterdam: Rodopi, 2013. ISBN 978-90-420-3685-1. Pp. 607. $133. Les littératures d’expression française...