La poétique du roman historique de Eveline Hasler

The work of Eveline Hasler, who stands as a leading influence in contemporary Swiss-German literature, is examined through the latest narratological models, among which Ansgar Nünning’s. Through a corpus of six novels, a systematic analysis of Hasler’s poetics of the historical novel is undergone on the basis of 1) the narrative techniques, 2) the marginality of the characters in society, 3) the perception of History, 4) the critical views of Switzerland that are brought forth.   From the analysis emerges a nuanced portrait of Hasler’s work, principally due to the fact that the author combines a rather traditional realistic narrative – at times inspired from a cinematographic language – with metahistoriographic passages, where the narrator offers her own reflections on History using “I”. Although these few brief passages suggest a resolutely historian position, they nonetheless pertain to fiction and the past is revitalised into present for the contemporary reader’s historical perspective. Hasler’s work thus brings together a skilful mixture of poetic liberty and care of historical veracity, the latter being compounded by the insertions in the novel of original texts in italic character.   Furthermore, the issue of the marginality in society plays a leading role in Hasler’s work. In essence, her main characters are all outsiders, Außenseiter. This issue highlights the limits of the Aufklärung in that its tenants, the outsiders’ opponents, most often claim to be led by the  Enlightenment, but only to pervert it even more. From this results the exclusion of those unwanted individuals: the so-called witch, the giants and the women who question the patriarchal organisation. Yet, some of Hasler’s outsiders succeed in finding a piece of freedom at the edge of society, however not without paying it to the price of their Helvetian roots.    Hasler therefore aims to rectify History by giving their voice back to the outsiders. Most of them evolve only in circular fashion, individually speaking, since they never actually set foot outside the margin (except maybe Henry Dunant). The impression of going round and round opposes the linear continuum of human History, which is the result of yesterday’s exclusions foreshadowing those of today. Beyond this measure of time however, Hasler develops a conception of History that varies with the co-existing points of view. This association is more often than not imbued with pessimism, as in the case of Emily Kempin’s life and its association to the myth of Icarus.    To conclude, Hasler portrays a rather retrograde Helvetian background in which the historical actors evolve. This is done not only through the fictionalization of locations, but also through references to three Helvetian symbols: the Alps, the national redoubt and the legend of William Tell. These myths, which evoke the maintenance of freedom and the protection of the “shepherds’ nation”, are brought into trial by Hasler, who proves that Switzerland does not in fact bring any fresh solutions to the challenges faced by the Occident.

Keyphrases: Eveline Hasler, historical novels, narratology, Swiss literature, Switzerland’s representation in literature, Switzerland’s representation in literature