Saint-John Perse: poète et critique by Abdelhak Bel. Lakhdar

Abstract

dig to the literary crypt of the Rougon-Macquart: “Il existe toujours, sous les grandes œuvres littéraires […] une œuvre de fondation(s) [...] qui est à l’œuvre publiée et visible ce qu’est la crypte à la cathédrale” (27). His genealogy entails a reading of the avant-textes informing the theoretical framework of Zola’s project, and an analysis of “la mémoire mythique,” mythical echoes that resonate through the novels, such as the Girardian theme of sacrificial violence in Germinal. The next section, “Les lieux et le sens,” provides theoretical musings on the concept of space as it applies to the novels of Zola. Drawing on contemporary urban and architectural critics, such as Anthony Vidler, Mitterand studies the way in which Zola’s works juxtapose a rational, “modern” space to a whimsical, postmodern one. In Le Ventre de Paris, for instance, Florent’s view of Les Halles as a Maigre muddles an otherwise pristine urban logic by engaging in an antiHaussmannian counter-discourse and thereby paradoxically questioning the very positivist foundation upon which naturalist discourse rests: “On assiste donc à la mise en pièces du positivisme par le positiviste lui-même” (89). “Dépassements” offers an uncanny portrayal of Zola’s realism, identifying moments in the banal recording of reality which actually reveal surrealist abysses. For instance, Renée’s haunting vision in La Curée of an advertisement for a hat seller depicting “une tête de diable ricanant,” quickly becomes an incongruous symbol in the Parisian landscape, foretelling the character’s demise and adding a surreal dimension to an otherwise trivial scene. The last section, entitled “Vérités,” presents two meticulous exposés of Zola’s biography. The first essay traces his myriad political involvements during the Second Empire and the Third Republic before the Dreyfus Affair, thus dispelling the oft-repeated myth that Zola was apolitical until the writing of “J’accuse” in 1898. The collection closes with a piece entitled “Mise au point: Zola et Cézanne,” an essay sure to provide grist to the mill for the controversy surrounding the relationship between the two famous artists. Mitterand maintains quite forcefully that their rift after 1886 has suffered from misinformation, usually casting Zola in a negative light. Through a minutely constructed chronology and pointed references to their correspondence, he tries to balance the record and concludes that their friendship withstood the trials of time: “Par-delà les fractures , ou simplement les fissures caractérielles et esthétiques, avait subsisté, vacillante parfois, mais inextinguible, la flamme de la fraternité, d’une fraternité unique dans l’histoire de la littérature et de la peinture” (203). Mitterand assumes that his readers are well acquainted with Zola’s corpus and the collection is thus directed to specialists and advanced graduate students. That said, the essays are well crafted and characterized by Mitterand’s erudition. His obvious affinity for the naturalist master is contagious as the reader discovers in these essays a Zola, tel qu’en lui-même. Simmons College (MA) Eduardo A. Febles BEL LAKHDAR, ABDELHAK. Saint-John Perse: poète et critique. Paris: L’Harmattan, 2009. ISBN 978-2-296-07557-3. Pp. 290. 28 a. Abdelhak Bel Lakhdar focuses on one author, but his approach can apply to countless others. Saint-John Perse, like many poets, was notoriously reticent about discussing his work (he would not even read his poems aloud), and if he 390 FRENCH REVIEW 84.2 had offered commentaries, critics would undoubtedly have been wary. Instead, they have sought clues to the poetry by reading Perse’s prose writings, notably his two dozen poetic tributes to other creators, including Dante, Valery Larbaud, Léon-Paul Fargue, Jacques Rivière, Paul Claudel, André Gide, Georges Braque, Jorge Luis Borges, and René Char. After all, giving praise often reveals the qualities one most values. Armed with this insight, Bel Lakhdar has written the first book-length study of Perse’s homages, with extensive examples and exhaustive analysis. His arguments are painstakingly detailed and the reading is sometimes arduous, but it yields a new view of the interplay between the œuvre and the occasional pieces. Reversing the usual process of mining prose...