French Literature Reviews - 2026

A. Giroux, From the Fictional Character to the Moral Subject: Literature as the Other of Philosophy
Philosophy, Anthropology and Ideas

Aline Giroux, From the Fictional Character to the Moral Subject: Literature as Chargers of Philosophy

Montreal: Liber, 2013

EAN 9782895783626.

208 p.

Price: 23 EUR

Publisher's Description:

What is the relationship between literature and philosophy? Between emotion and reason? Between the fictional character and the moral subject? The connections between the worlds evoked by these terms have always been subject to opposing views in Western thought—incompatibility for some (such as Plato), and complementarity for others (as early as Aristotle). Even in the twentieth century, both logical positivism and the "end of man" ideologies reaffirmed, if not a complete divorce between these two worlds, at least their distant autonomy. At the same time, however, some of the greatest writers as well as numerous humanist thinkers have continuously demonstrated their continuity. This book firmly aligns itself with this latter tradition. Narrative literature thus emerges here as a laboratory for thought and sociological research, as an experience of concrete philosophy, and as a space for self-reflection and inquiry into man's becoming a subject. Guided by the works of Saul Bellow, but also Musil, Proust, Azar Nafisi, and other narrators of the becoming-self, the author finds within the novel the complexity, openness, and critical reflection of a moral philosophy in action.

Aline Giroux is a retired professor from the University of Ottawa (Canada), where she taught the philosophy of education and fundamental ethics. With Liber, she has published Le pacte faustien de l’université (2006) and Reconnais-toi toi-même (2009).

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

PART ONE: Moral Philosophy and Literature

CHAPTER 1: Parallel Paths

CHAPTER 2: Common Destination

PART TWO: Saul Bellow: A Path from Self to Self

CHAPTER 3: Joseph, or Awakening

CHAPTER 4: Augie March, or Inventing Oneself

CHAPTER 5: Moses Herzog, or Surviving

CHAPTER 6: Charles Citrine, or Liberating Oneself

CHAPTER 7: Albert Corde, or Committing Oneself

CHAPTER 8: Abe Ravelstein, or Recognizing Oneself

PART THREE: The Work: The Other of Moral Philosophy

CHAPTER 9: Another Way of Thinking

CHAPTER 10: Other Horizons

CONCLUSION

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Aline Giroux examines the enduring tension and dialogue between narrative literature and moral philosophy, situating her study within a rich Western tradition that views storytelling as a vital complement to abstract reasoning. Drawing on philosophical inquiry and literary analysis, the book positions the novel as an experimental laboratory for human self-reflection, emotion, and ethical formation. Rather than treating philosophy and literature as entirely separate domains, the author highlights how fiction offers a concrete, lived experience of moral questions that purely theoretical frameworks often fail to capture.

This thoughtful study will appeal to scholars, students, and readers interested in literary theory, ethics, and the intersections of philosophy and narrative art. By engaging closely with writers such as Saul Bellow, Robert Musil, and Marcel Proust, the book illuminates how the trajectory of the fictional character mirrors the broader human quest for selfhood and moral awareness. It serves as a valuable resource for anyone exploring the ways in which imaginative literature acts as an active, critical extension of philosophical thought.