Conjectures sur l’incipit des “Lettres portugaises”

Abstract

The Lettres Portugaises (1669) have always been at the heart of many debates, especially concerning the first line of the text: “Considère, mon amour”. Many critics state that the vocative “mon amour” refers to the male receiver of the letters, whereas others believe that the female writer is addressing her personified feeling. Currently, the problem remains unsolved, because there are valid arguments in support of both positions, even if none of them is entirely convincing. The article claims that the text could actually be incorrect and that the term “mon amour” could be replaced by “mon cœur”. If we make this replacement, all the contradictions that characterize the other interpretations seem resolved. Moreover, the presence of “cœur” in the first line would be more coherent with how the word is used in the rest of the text. The article seeks therefore to explain how the current version of the first line has come about: probably an error occurred, due to a printer’s distraction or it could be the free translation of a Portuguese text beginning with “Meu coração”. As a matter of fact, the Lettres Portugaises were published as if they had been translated from authentic correspondence, even if their origin was quickly called into question: the debate over the first line is therefore linked to the intricate discussion about the genesis of the text and the article suggests a possible solution.