French Literature Reviews - 2026
B. Coste, Cette époque de doute : Walter Pater et la question de la croyance
Literary Theory, Linguistics and Stylistics
Bibliographic reference: Bénédicte Coste, « Cette époque de doute » : Walter Pater et la question de la croyance, Presses universitaires de la Méditerranée, collection "Present Perfect", 2017. EAN13 : 9782367812519.
This book examines the question of belief in the essays and novels of Walter Pater (1839–1894), paying particular attention to Gaston de Latour, in order to contextualize his stance within the turbulent intellectual and spiritual landscape of late nineteenth-century Britain. Engaging in a dialogue with Freudian and Lacanian psychoanalysis, this study—the first dedicated entirely to the theme of belief in Pater—reveals the rigorous logic and subtlety of a thinker whose insights remain profoundly relevant today. Pater was a keen observer of the shifting relationship between belief and the subjectivity that expresses it; behind his daring historical reconstructions, he emerges as a perceptive analyst of his era, a century of upheaval where Kant's fundamental question, "What may I hope?", is compounded by another pressing inquiry: "What can I believe?"
Bénédicte Coste is a professor of Victorian literature and culture at the University of Burgundy. Her research focuses on the works of Walter Pater and Victorian essayists. Major publications include: Walter Pater, esthétique (2011); Walter Pater, critique littéraire. « The Excitement of the Literary Sense » (2010).
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Late nineteenth-century British literature and culture often reflected profound shifts in spiritual and intellectual life, as writers and thinkers grappled with the erosion of traditional dogmas and the emergence of new modes of subjectivity. Within this complex landscape, the intersections of aestheticism, philosophy, and personal conviction attracted considerable critical attention. Studies focusing on this era frequently explore how Victorian prose navigates the tensions between historical consciousness and individual doubt, engaging with the evolving relationship between cultural heritage and modern identity.
Bénédicte Coste's study examines the question of belief in the essays and novels of Walter Pater, paying particular attention to Gaston de Latour. The book contextualizes his stance within the turbulent intellectual and spiritual landscape of late nineteenth-century Britain. Readers interested in Victorian literature and the intellectual history of the late nineteenth century may find this volume relevant to their pursuits.
E-mail: pulm@univ-montp3.fr