« Je m’attache tristement, amèrement aux lieux que je vais quitter ». L’écriture autobiogéographique dans les Carnets du voyage en Égypte d’Eugène Fromentin

Abstract

“I am sadly and bitterly attached to the places I am about to leave”. Autobiogeographical Writings in Carnets du voyage en Égypte by Eugène Fromentin The present paper analyses Carnets du voyage en Égypte by a French painter and writer, Eugène Fromentin (1820-1876), using the concept of autobiogeography. The concept allows to examine how the author of a geographical description may be seen throughout this description and how s/he is influenced by the space. The paper argues that the personality of Fromentin emerges from his travel notes even though they are focused mainly on the description of the Egyptian space and the forms “I” or “we” appear there rarely. Three aspects of Fromentin’s personality may be seen through the analyses of his geographical descriptions of Egypt: the Orientalist painter enthusiastic towards the space; the traveler marked by his previous travels to Algeria who in Egyptian spaces sees Algerian ones; and the man who feels old and tired, refuses to discover the Egyptian space and who just wants to come back home.