Balzac and the poetics of ignorance: La Vieille Fille.(Critical Essay)

From: The Modern Language Review | Date: October 1, 2005| Author: | Copyright information

ABSTRACT

This article argues that in La Vieille Fille (1836) Balzac is not content to produce a novel that reflects the non-novelistic nature of provincial life but allows his composition to be shaped by a constant recognition of the inherent limitations and emptiness of its subject matter. Instances of knowledge and ignorance are highlighted throughout in a self-reflexive text that focuses consistently on storytelling and the ways in which the various stories (including invented stories and non-stories) are received. Potential fictions are thwarted and undermined in a ...

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