French Literature Reviews - 2026
B. Papasogli, Le Sourire de Mentor
Novel and Narrative Prose
Review published in Acta Fabula (March 2017, vol. 18, no. 3): Of the Harmony of Contraries: Mentor at the Heart of the Palimpsest by Sophie Feller
Benedetta Papasogli, Le Sourire de Mentor, Paris: Honoré Champion, "Lumière classique" collection, 2015.
EAN13 : 9782745329745.
272 p.
55 EUR
Publisher's overview:
Mentor's smile, in which several traditions converge (philosophical, biblical, mystical), is one of Fénelon's most original inventions. It is in the light of this ideal of harmonization that the intricate web of connections between the imaginary and spirituality—so rich in Fénelon's work—can be re-examined. The smile of wisdom imprints itself upon the beauties of nature just as it does upon those of culture; it shines through every image, endowing it with pedagogical value. This inscrutable smile is closely tied to the dynamics of meaning-construction in Télémaque, balancing what is explicitly stated against what remains unsaid yet perceptible between the lines, traced by the vanishing points of allusion.
Benedetta Papasogli is a professor at LUMSA (Libera Università Maria Ss. Assunta, Rome). A specialist in classical moralists and spiritual literature, her publications include Le « fond du cœur ». Figures de l’espace intérieur au XVIIe siècle (Champion, 2000); La mémoire du cœur au XVIIe siècle (Champion, 2008); an edition of Father Surin's Cantiques spirituels (Olschki, 1996); and an Italian translation of Pascal's Pensées (2003).
Fénelon occupies a prominent place in the landscape of seventeenth-century French literature and religious thought, bridging classical aesthetics and profound spiritual inquiry. His works, particularly Les Aventures de Télémaque, have long invited multifaceted interpretations that connect didactic intent with narrative art. Studies in this tradition frequently examine how moral philosophy and Christian humanism inform the architecture of classical texts, exploring the subtle relationships between explicit doctrine and implicit meaning within early modern prose.
Readers interested in seventeenth-century French literature, the works of Fénelon, and the intersections between spirituality and aesthetics in classical prose may find this volume relevant. The text discusses how Mentor's smile serves as a unifying motif across culture and nature, and considers its function in the construction of meaning in Télémaque.