Seducing the eighteenth-century French reader
Subtitle: reading, writing, and the question of pleasure
By: Paul J. Young.
Publisher: Ashgate
Published: 2008
Place of publication: Aldershot, England; Burlington, VT
Language: eng
Number of pages: 167
ISBN-13: 9780754664178
Subjects: French literature -- 18th century -- History and criticism
Description: "As he demonstrates that narratives of seduction function as a master plot for French literature in the eighteenth century, Paul J. Young argues that the prevalence of this trope was a reaction to a dominant cultural discourse that coded the novel and the new practice of solitary reading as dangerous, seductive practices. Situating his study in the context of paintings, educational manuals, and criticism that caution against the act of reading. Young considers both canonical and lesser-known works by authors that include Rousseau, Sade, Bastide, Laclos, Crebillon fils, and the writers of two widely read libertine novels. Ultimately, Young argues, the seduction not in the text, but by the text raised questions about the nature of pleasure in eighteenth-century French literature and culture."--BOOK JACKET.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [151]-158) and index.
Table of contents: title: Reading, writing, and seduction; title: Moving beyond pleasure : writing (in) the libertine novel; title: Looking inside : the ambiguous interiors of La petite maison; title: Seducing the reader? : perversion and disruption in La nouvelle Héloïse; title: When excess isn't enough : secrets and silences in the Sadean text.