Le théâtre de Pierre : espace urbain et (inter)textualité dans Pierre, ou les ambiguïtés

Abstract

This article, which explores the textuality, intertextuality and fictionality of urban space in Melville’s Pierre aims at challenging the apparent opposition between urban and rural spaces in the novel. The hero’s departure from Saddle Meadows does not put an end to his distorted and distorting vision of reality: the urban space Pierre is confronted with is nothing but a new imaginary construct filtered through his readings. The persistence of intertextual references once Pierre moves to the Apostles testifies to his attempt at encoding urban space, but also reveals the growing gap between the hero and the environment he lives in, his perception of the city being that of a fragmented world which turns out to be an illegible text as well as a labyrinthine theatrical space.