L’Autre lointain en dialogue: la quête de la voix idéale au siècle des Lumières by Audrey Guitton (review)

whole that makes the dictionary a significant complement to Ionesco studies. Guérin’s preface stresses Ionesco’s originality as well as his sometimes awkward relationship with the intellectual milieu of his time. Guérin differentiates between the varied aspects of Ionesco’s personality, writings and attitudes by calling him by different names. The use of “Eugène”vs.“Ionesco”(11) and“Eugen Ionescu”vs.“Eugène Ionesco”(16) calls to mind characters in Ionesco’s plays (the Bérengers, the Bobby Watsons) and serves as an excellent introduction to the ambiguous nature of the world as seen by this author. A different dimension of the dictionary comes into view if one reads the preface with a willingness to refer to the entries themselves during the process. For example, Guérin’s mention of Ionesco’s resistance to the Garde de fer (14) is greatly enriched by a quick read of the entry “Garde de fer” (253–54). The reference to Ionesco’s“contestation du code langagier”(11) is clarified by the long entry“Langage” (343–46). This approach to the dictionary is playful and is one that Ionesco might have enjoyed, a sort of bouncing about that creates an overview specific to each reader. Be it as an academic resource or as a set of clues for a treasure hunt, this Dictionnaire reminds us of Ionesco’s significance and of his participation in twentieth-century art and thought. Metropolitan State University of Denver Ann Williams Guitton, Audrey. L’Autre lointain en dialogue: la quête de la voix idéale au siècle des Lumières. Paris: Garnier, 2012. ISBN 978-2-8124-0396-5. Pp. 531. 48 a. This work will appeal primarily to specialists in the eighteenth century. The author studies the depiction of the Other in dialogues with representatives of European civilization. This Other is the spokesperson for the values of nature, the noble savage, or some form of Utopia. In each case, the Other expresses a spontaneous but critical judgment about western society. The latter is condemned for its political inequalities and economic inequities, its materialism and artificiality, and sometimes its religious practices. The comments about French society voiced by the native Brazilians visiting Rouen in Montaigne’s essay“Des cannibales”are an anticipation of the kinds of remarks to be made again during the Enlightenment. Guitton’s special focus is on the language used by these Others in their criticisms of modern western mores. Besides the other aspects of European culture already mentioned,the authors of these dialogues,through their interlocutors, castigate the French language as used in Paris for its lack of sincerity and transparency. There is no longer a genuine link between words and things; people do not know what words mean; and they do not express their true feelings. This breakdown of language is blamed by some, like Rousseau in his Essai sur l’origine des langues, on the written word. Writing has replaced the natural directness of orality with an imposed collective speech that is repeated parrot-like by an unthinking herd. In some works, an ideal of expression was sought beyond words in the natural cries 230 FRENCH REVIEW 88.1 Reviews 231 and gestures inspired by spontaneous feelings. The difficulty faced by the authors of these dialogues is that they were using the very same French language and written word they condemn in order to promote their opposing ideal. The challenge was to give the impression of naturalness and transparency through artificial literary fabrications. Among the works receiving particular attention from Guitton are the Dialogues of Lahontan with a native North American chieftain,Delisle de la Drevetière’s play Arlequin sauvage, Diderot’s Supplément au voyage de Bougainville, and several dramatic works by Marivaux. It is surprising that the author makes no mention of Madame de Grafigny’s Lettres d’une Péruvienne, which not only presents the perspective of an outsider on French society but explores in some depth the issues of language and communication.Although an epistolary novel, there are extended passages in the form of dialogue. The last part of Guitton’s study deals with works that opposed the so-called pursuit of...