French Literature Reviews - 2026
A. Trouvé, Reading Marguerite Yourcenar's Memoirs of Hadrian
Novel and Narrative Prose
Alain Trouvé, Reading Marguerite Yourcenar's "Memoirs of Hadrian"
144 pages
12.00 €
Issue: ISBN: 978-2-13-063367-9
PUF, "Major" Collection
Publication date: 11/06/2014
By transgressing the conventions of historical biography and having a Roman emperor narrate his own life story, Marguerite Yourcenar created an original literary genre with Memoirs of Hadrian: the fictitious autobiography.
Consequently, in this remarkable novel—prescribed for the agrégation exams in classical and modern literature—the question of "self-writing" is peculiarly refracted. Unlike traditional autobiography, which presupposes an identity between author, narrator, and character, the "self" here can refer just as much to the emperor telling his story as to the writer who, through her character, explores her own identity.
The author of this study thus offers an analysis of this subtle "staging" of self-writing in a work that deliberately straddles the boundary between reality and fiction, and whose modernity lies precisely in shattering the conventional distinctions between novel, biography, and autobiography.
The fictitious autobiography occupies a distinct place within modern narrative prose, blurring boundaries between historical research and creative invention. By adopting the voice of a historical figure rather than maintaining the traditional triadic identity between author, narrator, and character, Marguerite Yourcenar engaged with long-standing traditions of historical fiction and introspective prose. This approach invites readers to reconsider how narrative form accommodates both historical distance and contemporary psychological inquiry, particularly within twentieth-century French literature where the limits of genre are frequently tested.
Alain Trouvé examines the staging of self-writing in Memoirs of Hadrian, focusing on the interplay between reality and fiction and the blurring of distinctions between novel, biography, and autobiography. Readers interested in twentieth-century French fiction and the evolution of narrative autobiography may find this study relevant to their reading of the novel.