Sylvie Thorel-Cailleteau (review)

Abstract

MLR,96.3,200 I 835 central to thecreation of meaning. Once thistheoretical groundhas been established, thebooksets outtodemonstrate theunity ofBaudelaire's works. The first stepis an exploration ofthenature oftheBaudelairean selfand,more speciScally, thecombination ofunity andfragmentation as 'twointerdependent forces opposing eachother' (p.35)intherelationship between theartist andthe world, theSelf andtheOther. Babuts then emphasizes theimportance ofthe prose poems inthe development ofthe interaction between self andother (and,therefore, their centrality toanystudy ofidentity), before examining thetension created by thedoubleallegiance to God and Satanand underlining thecentrality ofthe mnemonic potential ofthenarrator in hisinterpretative strategies. Chapter 3 concentrates on theSabatier poems,drawing on de Maistreand Gautieras important intertexts inthevariation onthelovelyric, while Chapter 4 establishes linksbetween 'Une Mortheroique', T. S. Eliot'sMurder in theCathedral, and Anouilh's Beckett, andseestheprose poemas a 'demonstration ofthedynamics of the cognitive relation between subject andobject andofthe limitation ofthe process ofcognition itself' (p.86).Babuts next turns toCLe Cygne', analysing Baudelaire's creation ofthemyth ofexileinorder totranscend it,andto'Le Voyage' which he relates totheepictradition ofHomer, Dante,Tennyson andothers. Thisleadsto ananalysis ofthe theory ofcorrespondences anda conclusion exploring the question ofidentity, central tocognitive analysis, as revealed through thetransformative dimension ofartandthe interaction between biography andpoetry. Babuts's cognitive approach proves tobe most relevant tothecloseanalysis of Baudelaire's texts. Itsheds a newlight ontheintertextual readings andinterpretations which form a large partofthebookandgivefresh, useful, interdisciplinary readings ofsome ofBaudelaire's key texts. Theclose study andcomparative analyses ofselected poems bring scopetoBabuts's readings (particularly enlightening inthis respect aretheaccounts of'UneMort heroique' and'LeVoyage'). Inaddition, the cognitive approach provides him with akey tothe unity ofBaudelaire's works which isbasedontheconcept ofself. However, given theoverall concern with unity, the chosen corpus maynotappearas broadas onemight wish. The bookisfirmly focused on thepoetry anddoesnotmakereference totheParadis artificiels, the criticism, orthetranslations. In fact, itreads likea collection ofessays onspecific poemsrather thana cohesive whole.Thissenseofdivision is reinforced bythe rather vague title, andthe decision todivide the chapters into (sometimes very short) sub-sections with (insomecases)rather disruptive sub-titles which do notalways seemrelated tothemain text ('MadameSabatier incyberspace', p. 74,isprobably themost extreme ofsuchtitles, with noreference tocyberspace norindication ofa possible metaphoric useoftheterm inthebodyofthetext). Despite these points, Baudelaire. Atthe Limits and Beyond, offiers an interesting reading ofkeytexts anda most welcome newangle onBaudelaire's works. MIDDLESEX UNIVERSITY EMILY SALINES Dieu,la chair etleslivres. Uneapproche dela decadence. Ed. by SYLVIE THORELCAILLETEAU . (Romantisme et modernites, 37) Paris:Champion. xooo. 672PP. + I2plates.430F. While this isnota rigorous thematic exploration ofthe fin desiecle period like Mario Praz'sWhe Romantac Agony, this impressive volume will beessential reading for many years tocomefor allscholars interested inthis era.Itcontains twenty essays, which are prefaced by a succinct and highly informative analysis by Sylvie ThorelCailleteau ofthemain issues involved inthe study oftheart, literature, andspirit of 836 Reviews theage.Thereisa widerange ofapproach, andthecollection includes thereprint ofthecrucial theoretical study byVladimir Jankelevitch on'la decadence', which first appeared in I950, butto which so manyofthecontributors refer thatit becomes a leitmotifwhich helps assure the internal coherence ofthe volume. Those concerned with thelinks between literature andartwill want toconsult twomajor studies ontheaesthetic cross-currents oftheperiod: Evanghelia Steadsheds new light ontheSalomeimageas shetraces thegenesis ofa number ofcollaborative works, notably those produced byOscarWilde with Aubrey Beardsley, andGustavAdolf Mossawith J.-F. LouisMerlet, while JeandePalaciolooks atthelegacy left bytheimage ofSalammbo (both thenovel anditseponymous heroine) totheprose, poetry, painting andsculpture ofthelatenineteenth century. Insimilar vein, Nelle Arambasin surveys the ways inwhich the plastic arts arereproduced inthe literature ofthetime, with special reference toRodin, whose friendship with a number of contemporary writers is well-documented. Outstanding amongthosetaking the literary historian's approach areJoelle Prungnaud andJacques Noiray: the former offers animpressively documented evocation ofthecritical reception oftheBritish Gothic novel, shown tohaveauthentic followers inBaudelaire, Mallarme, Villiers del'Isle-Adam andHuysmans, andthelatter brings intosharp focus themultiple interpretations ofthepost-Romantic symbol ofhuman aspiration inthework of Jarry. DanielSangsue takesBristram Shandy ashisstarting point andfocuses onthe breakdown ofthenarrative form inthe works oftheGoncourt brothers, Huysmans andJeanLorrain, while Jean-Louis Cabanesexamines thelinguistic repercussions ofthefin desiecle crisis. Two scholars adopta medical slant: inhisessaywhich concentrates mostly on thework oftheGoncourt brothers, Pierre-Henri Castel considers theextent towhich their novels madea direct contribution toknowledge abouthysteria andneurosis atthis time, while Adolfo Fernandez-Zoila traces the eXect ofconditions suchas epilepsy andneurasthenia ona number ofRomantic andPost-Romantic writers. Although someessays arehighly specialized (suchas that ofMarie-Josephine Strich, whomaintains that theconvicted murderer JeanBaptiste Troppmann wasusedinpartasa model for Lorrain's Monsieur dePhocas), there issomething...