French Literature Reviews - 2026

C. DUFLO and L. RUIZ, De Rabelais à Sade. L'analyse des passions dans le roman de l'âge classique
Novel and Narrative Prose

Bibliographic reference: C. DUFLO and L. RUIZ, De Rabelais à Sade. L'analyse des passions dans le roman de l'âge classique, 2018.

Colas DUFLO and Luc RUIZ, De Rabelais à Sade. L'analyse des passions dans le roman de l'âge classique, PU de Saint-Etienne, 131 p., 20 .

The major philosophies of the classical age placed reflection on the passions—their description, analysis, and comprehension—at the very heart of their thought. At the same time, it was within the initially undervalued genre of the novel—whose plasticity allowed for every kind of experiment, from the detached gaze of a narrator judging his characters to the deep introspection of epistolary fiction—that an active depiction of passionate phenomena emerged. This depiction goes hand in hand with, and presupposes, an analysis (sometimes formulated prior to and elsewhere, sometimes concurrently) that puts the fictional experience to the test within and through the novel. Are the tools of philosophical analysis effective for describing, analyzing, and understanding the "real" workings of the passions? In a sense, the classical-age novel serves as a testing ground for this very question. What does the discourse of the novel reveal about the passions? What role do they play? Through its unique methods, the novel offers an understanding of the passionate life that must be examined to fully comprehend the classical era.

A review by S. Feller in Acta Fabula: "Between Theory and Fiction: Passions in the Classical Age" (Spring 2004).

The major philosophies of the classical age placed reflection on the passions—their description, analysis, and comprehension—at the very heart of their thought. At the same time, it was within the genre of the novel—whose plasticity allowed for every kind of experiment, from the detached gaze of a narrator judging his characters to the deep introspection of epistolary fiction—that an active depiction of passionate phenomena emerged.

Colas Duflo and Luc Ruiz examine the novel of the classical age, noting how narrative prose served as a testing ground for philosophical concepts and the analysis of the passions. Readers interested in the history of the classical-age novel and the intersection of literature and philosophy during the early modern era may find this overview relevant to their studies.