L’Idée et ses fables: le rôle du genre ed. by Geneviève Artigas-Menant, et al (review)

ARTIGAS-MENANT, GENEVIÈVE, ALAIN COUPRIE, et ELISABETH PINTO-MATHIEU, éd. L’Idée et ses fables: le rôle du genre. Paris: Champion, 2008. ISBN 978-2-7453-1721-6. Pp. 339. 70 a. This volume is based on conference presentations and undertakes the Herculean task of writing about the literary illustration of ideas, hopefully concluding that a new field of study has been identified. It includes analyses of authors ranging from the Greek and Roman periods to the nineteenth century, and treats numerous genres including fables, letters, dreams, eulogies, and stories. While the editors examine the link between genre and idea, the association of form and content is not a new discovery. Juxtaposing fact and fable, misinterpretation and ambiguities created by literary conventions, and a possible, meaningful evolution in the role of ideas in literature are topics the editors propose to explore. The conclusion states that “la littérature d’idée [...] use de la forme comme d’un véhicule, contrairement, par exemple, à la poésie” (331). Yet, among the texts treated are fables, usually considered a form of poetic expression. One might ask how the subjects were selected. If there is literature based on ideas, then, is there also ‘idea-less’ literature? Indeed, does not every text include or at least suggest an idea? Such questions fall doubtless into the further areas of reflection designated by the editors. Unlinked, diverse, and varying in length, the essays contain intriguing kernels of ideas and invite further thought. The book is divided into six parts. “Langage de philosophes” includes Jean Dagen’s analysis of Fontenelle which concludes that the récit is a kind of imperfect logical discourse with its own internal logic. Jean-Pierre Séguin’s text is perhaps the most pertinent to the theme, demonstrating how the story made the idea and vice-versa. Paul Mengal treats the evolution of the concept of the idea from the model of soul and body to organism and environment. In the “Langage de moralistes,” we find studies on two Catholic texts written 30 years apart demonstrating how time changes the messages, a conte by Latran, fables used to illustrate morals, and legal discourse and morality. Gerhardt Stenger claims he will prove Lester Crocker wrong by demonstrating that Diderot’s novels and stories have as objet, le débat. Without mentioning Jacques le fataliste and barely nodding at Le Neveu, this ten-page essay does little more than summarize the Entretien d’un père avec ses enfants while contradicting his own thesis by saying that the narrator’s presence might indicate the presence of a superior point of view. Sylviane Bokdam’s work on the “genre du songe” stands out for its thoughtful discussion of the depiction and perception of dreams and reality, allegory and truth, myth and history. In “Textes idéologiques, textes de combat,” we find essays ranging from the eighteenth to the twentieth century and texts ranging from dictionaries to eulogies. Here, text and context (the timing of the publication) both merit consideration. In “Fables de fabulistes,” Cyril Le Meur maintains that the THE FRENCH REVIEW, Vol. 84, No. 4, March 2011 Printed in U.S.A. REVIEWS Literary History and Criticism edited by Marion Geiger 802 intersection of law and literary studies constitutes one of the most popular areas of literary studies “là-bas” (in the United States) and concludes with a lovely sentence in which moralists appropriate the silence “nécessaire à la résonance des substantifs, qui ayant absorbé les récits du monde, s’érigent en bornes de l’action des hommes” (123). Imagine the effect of adjectives! Laurent Versini describes how the narrator recounts and employs repetition, allegory, metaphor and fantasy to provide both morality and mythology. Jean-Noël Pascal briefly demonstrates how eighteenth-century fable writers either critique or copy La Fontaine, offering examples of political or social messages. Some essays include bibliographies and notes. Some respond to others. All provoke thought and perhaps, in the end, this work is less about “l’idée et ses fables,” than “les fables et les idées” that they provoke. Carleton University (ON) (Canada) Roseann Runte TAMINIAUX, PIERRE. The Paradox of Photography...