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Reviews 237 explain how this secular “comedy of social existence” (289) leads ultimately to the spiritual renewal of the protagonist. Thiher’s book, an insightful and intelligent guide for both new and experienced readers, is a welcome addition to the critical works currently available that examine the network of cultural, artistic, social, intellectual— and now religious—connections underpinning Proust’s oeuvre. Brandeis University Hollie Markland Harder Thompson, C.W. Explorations stendhaliennes: d’Armance à la “Fraternité des arts”. Paris: Hermann, 2013. ISBN 978-2-7056-8717-5. Pp. 477. 30 a. This collection of essays, divided into pleasantly readable sections, explores sources and influences that shaped Stendhal’s works, with particular emphasis on Armance. Thompson traces these influences through themes and structures, even through Stendhal’s use of underlining in books, in a broad spectrum of the author’s works, many of which are rarely discussed. A master of this traditional type of scholarship, he provides a kind of engaging detective story, as he tracks down clues in answer to his questions and builds his case. He writes in a highly readable, elegant style and enjoys an encyclopedic knowledge of Stendhal’s works. Some of the essays are reconsiderations of his past work, which benefits from knowledge recently obtained. One of the main assertions in the collection is that, if Stendhal improvised as he wrote, he also responded to the particular context of his time and included learned references, despite his seemingly offhand style. Furthermore, if De l’amour seems confusing and poorly organized, this lack of design reflects one of the basic themes of the text, the game of chance and the possibility of new beginnings, which also appears in other works. The repetition of themes and structures throughout Stendhal’s works receives consistent attention, such as the opposition between the priest and the soldier, the ambiguities of gender, and doubling and repetition. Thompson also analyzes the neglected use of the myths of Don Juan and Casanova, and he speculates on the reasons why critics neglect these icons and the liberty and self-invention that they represent. One theme that appears repeatedly in Stendhal’s works is that of the drowning of the writer. Entangled with Stendhal’s own fantasy of this death are the near drownings of Byron and Shelley, and Julie and Saint-Preux, as well as the real death of Shelley. A theme of interest to current literary analyses is Stendhal’s fascination with the androgyny and bisexuality associated with Byron, Custine, and Girodet-Trioson. Other themes investigated include hunchbacks in literary and political contexts, and excessive eating in Féder and contemporary culture. One section of the book deals with the importance of the other arts for Stendhal and his opinions about their interrelation. Thompson shows that Stendhal influenced the art criticism of his time, that he was for the freedom of art, and that he found merit in certain contemporary French painters whose reputations have endured. Stendhal believed that one art should not be transposed into another, but that similar suggestions or feelings could be inspired by or reflected in the different arts. The final section of the book looks at Stendhal’s use of footnotes, underlining, and markings in his manuscripts and his books, and also in other authors’ books. In the latter we see Stendhal creating himself while absorbing others. For Stendhal lovers, this book provides useful and enriching information as a backdrop to the author’s works. Boston University Dorothy Kelly Tsimbidy, Myriam. La mémoire des lettres: la lettre dans les Mémoires du XVIIe siècle. Paris: Garnier, 2013. ISBN 978-2-8124-0902-8. Pp. 348. 39 a. The early modern memoirist tells or re-tells a bit of history from a specific, personal point of view, and often from a position of disgrace. Tsimbidy argues that letters embedded in a memoir shape and advance the narrative constructed by the memoirist, and furthermore, that the placement and editing of those letters serve the fundamental purpose of the memoir: to justify the actions of its author. In her first chapter, Tsimbidy describes the criteria she used in determining which memoirs to include in her study. She selected memoirs dealing with...

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