Balzac and Theory, Balzac as Theory
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4389723 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Owen Heathcote (corresponding author) |
| Year | 2009 |
| Volume | 32 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 197-213 |
| Publication date | 2009-07-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Paragraph (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0264-8334 • E-ISSN: 1750-0176 |
| Publisher | Edinburgh University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.3366/e0264833409000534 |
| OpenAlex | W2123209663 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 4 |
This article considers the changing relationship between Balzac and theory from the 1970s onwards when Balzac was a favoured, if disparaged, object of theorization, as in Barthes's S/Z. More recent critics, however, see the multi-layered énonciations of/in his texts as evidence of their ability to theorize their own relationship to history, society, sexuality - and literature. In the same way, moreover, as texts such as Sarrasine and Une passion dans le désert critique their own relation to literature, ostensibly theoretical Balzac texts such as Une théorie de la démarche turn theory into a form of fiction. Whether moving from literature to theory or from theory to literature, Balzac - or 'Balzac'/Balzac - is thus shown to be (at) a nexus of literature, theory and literary theory
Art · Linguistics · Literary criticism · Literary theory · Literature · Passion · French Literature and Criticism · French Literature and Poetry · Literature and Culture Studies · Philosophy · Psychology · Social Psychology
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |