B. Roukhomovsky, Lire La Bruyère. Morale et littérature dans Les Caractères - Literary Theory, Linguistics and Stylistics

French Literature Reviews - 2026

B. Roukhomovsky, Lire La Bruyère. Morale et littérature dans Les Caractères
Literary Theory, Linguistics and Stylistics

Bernard Roukhomovsky

Lire La Bruyère. Morale et littérature dans Les Caractères

Presses universitaires de Rennes

ISBN 978-2-7535-7870-8

ISSN 1763-2196

Published: November 21, 2019

La Bruyère strictly subordinates the use of a form of expression (a "turn of phrase") that earns him his status as a writer to the strictly moral purpose (the "design") that requires it and alone, in his view, justifies it. But how is the relationship between this turn and this design forged? What does the former tell us about the nature of the latter?

In various formulations, this question underlies the history of the critical reception of Les Caractères, from the fierce polemics that accompanied or followed its initial successes to the numerous studies that, over recent decades, have profoundly renewed its study. It thus provides the guiding thread for this work, which strives to systematically combine localized analyses with global perspectives.

Without overlooking the irreducible and formidable complexity of a work situated at the crossroads of multiple philosophical and rhetorical traditions and influences, without giving up on accounting for the tensions (apparent or underlying) at work within it, the shifts affecting its genesis through successive expansions (1688–1696), or the singularity of a writing style that owes as much to the worldly model of conversation as to the pervasive influence of the pictorial paradigm, this book aims to highlight the coherence of a literary and moral project, as it reveals itself particularly in the various components of the paratext and the protean outcrops of the figure of the moralist.

Table of Contents

Introduction. The Turn and the Design

The Writing of Morality and the Morality of Writing

Declarations of Public Utility

Part One. From Theophrastus to La Bruyère: The Making of a Work

Chapter 1. The Legacy of Theophrastus: "A New Way of Instructing"

1. From the Prescriptive to the Descriptive: A Rhetoric of Paintings

– The Internal and the External

  • Pirouette and Parallel
  • Argyre, or the Temptation of the Caractère

– Socrates' Workshop

  • Theophrastus, or the Other Path
  • Monsters or Chimeras?

2. The Reply to the Théobaldes: A Reading Protocol

– Caractère and Portrait

  • The Confusion of Genres
  • Verisimilitude and Resemblance

– Knowing How to Read

  • Autopsy of a Misinterpretation
  • From Reading to Exegesis

Chapter 2. The "New Caractères" or the Modernity of an Ancient

1. From Invariance to Plasticity: The Modulations of Brevity

– Poetics of the Remark: brevitas and varietas

  • In Praise of Variety: The Double Abundance of Words and Things
  • A Nested and Protean Genre

– The Reinvented Caractère: Metamorphoses of a Genre

  • From Fixed Form to Polymorphism
  • From Character to Epigram: An Underlying Model?

2. From Les Caractères to Mœurs de ce siècle: La Bruyère's Purpose

– Characters and Types

  • The Memory of the Theater
  • The Approximations of Taxonomy

– Characters and Mores

Part Two. From Saying Well to Seeing Well: The Pedagogy of a Moralist

Chapter 3. Between Socrates and Democritus: The Dual Voice of the Philosopher

1. The Familiar and the Pleasant: Portrait of the Moralist as an Honnête Homme

– The Trivial Philosopher

– The Bias Toward the Natural

  • An "Imperceptible Progression": In Praise of Negligence
  • The Time of Homilies, or the Eloquence of Simplicity

– The Spirit of Conversation

  • The Politeness of Wit, or "Ingenious Satire"

– Instructing While Jesting: "Both the Atticisms of the Greeks and the Urbanity of the Romans"

2. Counterpoints: From the Smile of Socrates to the Laughter of Democritus

– The Philosopher and His Doubles

– From Conversation to Diatribe: Cynical Outbursts

  • From Banter to Invective
  • Democritus the Moralist

– The Showman of Characters

  • Lilliputian Meditations
  • Prodigies and "Rare Pieces"

Chapter 4. Perspectives and Reflections: Educating the Gaze

1. The Lesson in Perspective

– The Connoisseur's Eye: Elements of Moral Optics

– The Strategies of Decentering

2. The Reflexive Gaze

– Self-Knowledge and the Regulation of Conduct

  • The Measure of the Possible
  • The Unreason of Telephus

– The Duplicity of Mirrors: Vanity and Truth

Bibliography

Index

This volume examines the relationship between literary expression and moral purpose in Jean de La Bruyère's work, Les Caractères. Bernard Roukhomovsky investigates how stylistic choices serve ethical aims, tracing the critical reception history surrounding the text. The study navigates tensions within a work influenced by multiple philosophical and rhetorical traditions, considering its successive expansions between 1688 and 1696. By analyzing paratextual elements and the figure of the moralist, the book highlights the coherence of La Bruyère's project.

The discussion incorporates both localized textual analyses and broader perspectives, addressing the legacy of Theophrastus, the evolution of brevity, and the interplay between character portraiture and moral observation. Attention is given to the worldly model of conversation, the influence of pictorial paradigms, and the dual philosophical voices of Socrates and Democritus as they shape the pedagogy of the moralist. Readers interested in classical French literature, seventeenth-century moralists, and the rhetoric of character writing may find this study relevant to their pursuits.