French Literature Reviews - 2026
A. Cl. M. de Jesus Cabral (eds.), L'Étranger
Other Literary Studies
Ana Clara Santos, Maria de Jesus Cabral (eds.), L'Étranger, Paris, Le Manuscrit, "Exotopies" series, 2016, 324 p.
ISBN 9782304045369
Price: 31.90 €
Digital book: ISBN 9782304045376
About the Book
Feeling like a stranger (to oneself or others) or being perceived as such involves a complex interplay of perceptions and perspectives that art and literature have frequently explored. Indeed, a significant portion of literary history is rooted in the sometimes ambiguous notion of the stranger.
The essays gathered here examine the various manifestations of the foreign dimension and its impact on the French and Francophone cultural landscape, where the figure of the writer-artist acts as a mediator, bridging foreign and national cultures. The aim is thus to acclimatize the foreign and make it new.
This volume offers a fresh perspective on the deconstruction of traditional binaries—such as here/there, foreign/national, and center/periphery—highlighting concepts like hybridity, polyphony, and diaspora.
Table of Contents
Introduction
The "Foreign Dimension" as a Field of Research in General and Comparative Literature, by Daniel-Henri Pageaux
On Some Literary Uses of the "Strange Stranger", by Jean-Marc Moura
Being a Stranger: A Matter of Attitude?, by Maria de Fátima Marinho
Who Is the Stranger? – The Author (with Regard to the Persian Letters), by João Domingues
The Stranger in Marivaux's L'Île des esclaves, by María Teresa Ramos Gómez
The Stranger and Their Speech: A Poetic Binomial in the Work of Quinet, by Encarnación Medina Arjona
Legacy of a Foreign Model: The "Théâtre Français" in Lisbon and the Renewal of Portuguese Theatre, by Ana Clara Santos
Louis Duchosal's Novel Strangeness Within the French-Language Symbolist Concert, by Maria de Jesus Cabral
Literature of Emigration, or Immigritude and Literature? A Decisive Choice, by Jeannine Paque
Immigration and the Quest in Désert and Poisson d’or, by Elena Meseguer Paños
The Stranger in Le Clézio: An Exploration of Onitsha and L’Africain, by Françoise Ugochukwu
Toward an Alterity Without Strangeness in "World-Literature", by Hélène Rufat
Estranhos estrangeiros somos! (Ficções, imigração e identidades em trânsito), by Isabel Pires de Lima
The Series: Exotopies
The Exotopies series, edited by Ana Clara SANTOS and Maria de Jesus CABRAL, originates from the work of APEF (Portuguese Association for French Studies). The series offers new insights into various perspectives on writing, art, and language. It champions a comparative approach that reveals the fruitful dialogue maintained by languages and cultures within the European space.
This collection explores how literature and art represent the experience of feeling or being perceived as a stranger. Spanning diverse periods and genres, the essays investigate the foreign dimension within French and Francophone cultural landscapes. Contributors examine concepts such as hybridity, polyphony, and diaspora, while questioning traditional binaries like center and periphery. By analyzing works ranging from the Enlightenment to contemporary literature, the volume highlights the role of the writer-artist as a cultural mediator bridging national and foreign traditions.
Published in the Exotopies series by Le Manuscrit, the volume emerges from the collaborative research of the Portuguese Association for French Studies. It will appeal to scholars and students of general and comparative literature, cultural studies, and modern languages. The comparative framework sheds light on migration, alterity, and world literature, making it a valuable resource for those interested in how texts negotiate identity, displacement, and intercultural dialogue across European and global spaces.