Narration in Nineteenth-century French Short Fiction, Prosper Merimee to Marcel Schwob (Heftet (myke permer))

Peter Cogman taught French at the University of Southampton

The short fiction that flourished in nineteenth-century France has attracted relatively little critical attention compared with the novel. This study focuses on some key stories by major authors of contes and nouvelles from the late 1820s to the 1890s, taking as a starting-point, aspects of narrative technique as a way of exploring not just characteristic strategies of short fiction, but also the ends to which they were put: recurrent themes, and the vision of mankind. Each chapter looks in some detail at three or four stories, referring briefly to other tales for illustration. The underlying point that emerges from this study is that the interest of a tale lies in the telling, not the events.

Introduction: Getting to grips with short fiction 1. Tellers and Listeners: 'making the frame part fo the story'. 2. Hesistant Tellers, Reluctant Listeners 3. Singular Things: prompting and focusing 4. Structure, patterning and point 5. Playing with the Kaleidoscope: repetition and patterning 6. Closed worlds Conclusion Glossary Bibliography