(review)

Abstract

2i 6 Reviews works on Rimbaud and a note bibliographique sourcing each of the articles to its origi? nal appearance. In their avant-propos the three editors pay rich tribute to the scholarly rigour, perceptiveness, and objectivity that characterize all of Sacchi's work. Steering away from the straitjacket of biographical interpretation on the one hand, and also the cul-de-sac offered by those who cling to the alleged illisibilite of Rimbaud's poetry, Sacchi emphasizes the key theme of childhood. This does not imply any allegianceto psychoanalytical approaches but rather the critic's relentless attention to the minutiae of the texts, a feature that is evidenced over and over again in the studies of individual poems. The three general pieces are illustrative of Sacchi's sensitivity to the origina? lity of Rimbaud's poetic voice, to the poet's proclivity forthe role of parodist, and to the central role of dreams in his work along with its mythic nature. Turning to the twelve individual studies, one is impressed on every occasion by the attentiveness and perceptiveness of Sacchi's analyses. In Apres le deluge' he sees Tangoisse de 1'homme devant le Temps' (p. 63), while he identifies 'Enfance' as illustrative of 'cette perpetuelle "mutation" qui est l'un des traits typiques des Illuminations' (p. 76). One is equally struck by Sacchi's familiarity with Rimbaldian criticism, which enables him at any point in his discussions to reach foran utterlyapposite critical perspective from Susanne Bernard, Jean-Pierre Richard, Guyaux, and many others. How well put is his conclusion that 'Conte' dramatizes 'la parole du conteur , etat de grace musical ? et ses limites' (p. 109) and how adept is Sacchi in every instance at finding patterns and structures hidden beneath the ostensibly fragmentary texture of Rimbaud's prose poems ('Vies', 'Phrases')! Equally, his description ofthe scene evoked in 'Ville' as 'une sorte de Waste Land avant la lettre' (p. 185) is very characteristic of his felicitous turns of phrase. Allied to a flairforpicking up all sorts of thematic implications in the Illuminations is a fine sense both of poetic structure and of the interpenetration of poetry with theatre, music, and the visual arts. All of these virtues make this volume indispensable material for the Rimbaud scholar. University of Ulster Gerald Macklin Palimpseste et merveilleux dans Vozuvre de Marcel Schwob. By Agnes Lhermitte. Paris: Champion. 2002. 565 pp. ?88. ISBN 2-7453-0602-2. A standard criticism of Schwob is that he lacks an individual voice: Paul Leautaud's judgement on his tales in 1903 as 'de la marqueterie' assembled from his vast reading has often been echoed. Agnes Lhermitte prefers to see the reprise of pre-existing works in terms of the tension between erudition and writing/imagination. She ex? amines the relationships between (in Genette's terms) the hypotexts, which range in nature from legal archives to literary works and folk tales, and various forms of hypertext , from translation through pastiche and parody to the Vies imaginaires, where the works of individual writers and artists become the source of a reinvented life. She examines only part of Schwob's output: the merveilleux (albeit interpreted loosely; there are excellent discussions of realistic tales like 'La Terreur future' and 'MM. Burke et Hare, assassins'). She brings out the extent of Schwob's reworking: even when a tale seems to have a single acknowledged source, as with the Satyricon in 'Les Striges', what is advanced as genuine borrowing often turns out to be invented, what is borrowed?from other authors?is disguised. Mimes is 'un pot-pourri antique' (p. 80) owing little to the ostensible model, Herondas. 'Documentation' is often invented: the 'fifteenth-century' quotations of 'Le Papier-rouge' are pure fiction,a key hypotext is Merimee's Carmen. Lhermitte's detailed analyses persuasively demonstrate Schwob's individual con? tribution, what she terms 'perversion': changes of tone, the elimination of key ele- MLRy ioo.i, 2005 217 ments in the hypotexts, the role ofthe young girl, shifts of meaning. The reworkings of Perrault are not tales of adjustment to reality (Bettelheim is judiciously used) but the dangerous indulgence of fantasies; 'La Barbe-bleue' becomes a tale of masochism in 'La Voluptueuse...