Le Paris modianien, chimères d'espace

Abstract

ABSTRACTPatrick Modiano's narrative is guided by a topographical imaginary and offers a singular narrative phenomenon: a mutual assimilation of the evocation of Paris and the memorial vision present in each of his stories. His knowledge of the city weaves a complex and sometimes problematic fabric that lies between the romantic form of urban space and the initial narrative project: the prism of memory. Governed by the process of reminiscence (Benjamin), the chimera of the memorable or primitive mythology of childhood, the vision for the city betrays a deep and authentic homology between the subject's identity and the consciousness of the object, the image of the self and the search for place, pedestrian wanderings and the imaginary of the city. With Modiano, the poeticization of Paris centers on a lacuna that signals an irremediable lack, while also revealing an unacceptable founding experience: The absence of self.