CODE | LAS1051 | ||||||
TITLE | An Introduction to the Nineteenth-Century French Novel | ||||||
UM LEVEL | I - Introductory Level | ||||||
MQF LEVEL | 5 | ||||||
ECTS CREDITS | 4 | ||||||
DEPARTMENT | Centre for the Liberal Arts and Sciences | ||||||
DESCRIPTION | 19th century French literature is bound to trigger a number of popular associations – Dumas’s The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo, Hugo’s Notre Dame de Paris and Les Misérables, the languishing adulteress Madame Bovary – works and figures that have become part of popular consciousness, mostly due to their numerous theatrical and cinematographic adaptations. This Unit will be going beyond these popular stereotypes in order to uncover the exciting and complex historical and literary movements that characterised this century of transitions and upheavals. After an overview of the numerous regime changes in the aftermath of the 1789 Revolution – Napoleon’s Empire, the Restoration and the other French Revolutions - this unit will focus on a number of influential novels that shed light on both the historical and literary context. This will be complemented by an introductory overview of key terms, concepts and movements such as Romanticism, Realism and Naturalism. Following such exposition, which will give an introductory overview of modern French literary culture, the Unit will turn to a selection of readings of specific texts. This both complements the description of literary movements and also introduces students to some major figures in French literary culture. An analysis of Victor Hugo’s Notre Dame de Paris (1831), as well as George Sand’s Indiana (1832), both written in the aftermath of the 1830 Revolution, will serve to highlight the Romantic literary movement and the vogue for the Gothic as a way of communicating the underlying tensions and anxieties of the time. Sand’s novel will also be examined for its portrayal of the strict limitations of the female condition under the Code Napoléon, and the difficulties of the female writer at the time. Students will then study Stendhal’s historical psychological novel, The Red and the Black: A Chronicle of the 19th Century (1830), both as a work at the cusp between Romanticism and Realism, as well as an incisive novel examining the French social order, bourgeois materialistic values and the prospects of social mobility during the Bourbon Restoration. The final part of the unit will deal with a selection of short stories, by Flaubert (Un Coeur Simple) and by Maupassant (Boule de Suif and La Parure), which will be discussed for their stylistic features pertaining to the movements of Realism and Naturalism. The historical backdrop of the Franco-Prussian war in Boule de Suif will also lead to an examination of the impact and literary representation of this key historical event. The overall aims and intentions of the Unit is to introduce students to key moments and movements in 19th century French literature, and situate these within the broader historical context of French culture. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the unit the student will be able to: - Identify the main literary movements in 19th century France; - Understand the numerous revolutionary upheavals that characterized 19th century France; - Identify and analyse key thematic concerns in the French novels and short stories studied; - Link these literary developments to the historical context. 2. Skills: By the end of the unit the student will be able to: - Express basic analytical skills for a selection of 19th century French novels and short stories; - Consider the impact of historical and sociocultural factors on literary production. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: - Jennifer Birkett and James Kearns. A Guide to French literature: from early modern to postmodern, Macmillan, 1997. - Gustave Flaubert, A Simple Heart, Penguin Little Black Classics, 2015. - Victor Hugo, Notre Dame de Paris, Oxford World Classics, 2009. - Guy de Maupassant, The Necklace and Other Short Stories, Dover Thrift Editions, 2000. - George Sand, Indiana, Oxford World Classics, 2008. - Stendhal, The Red and the Black, Penguin Classics, 2002. Supplementary readings: - D.G. Charlton (ed),The French romantics, Cambridge U.P., 1984. - Tim Farrant, Introduction to Nineteenth-Century French Literature, Bristol Classical Press, 2007. - Haig Stirling, Stendhal: The Red and the Black, Cambridge U.P., 1989. |
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ADDITIONAL NOTES | Pre-Requisite: An aptitude for literary analysis and an interest in French culture and history. | ||||||
STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | ||||||
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |