L’« histoire véritable de la planète Mars » 

The definition of « foreigner » is unavoidably connected with the definition of « space ». The foreigner is a person who is, first of all, « strange » to a political space, to a physical space, our space. But he is also, or specifically, the one who is strange to an imaginary, mythical and symbolic...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Maria Luísa Malato Borralho
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Association Portugaise d'Etudes Françaises 2014-05-01
Series:Carnets
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/carnets/1230
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The definition of « foreigner » is unavoidably connected with the definition of « space ». The foreigner is a person who is, first of all, « strange » to a political space, to a physical space, our space. But he is also, or specifically, the one who is strange to an imaginary, mythical and symbolic space that is called « individual » or « national culture ». For those reasons, it seems to us important to talk about a peculiar and rare book, published in Lisbon, in the year of 1921: The Truly Story of the Planet Mars, allegedly attributed to a French traveler, Henri Montgolfier. The description of the planet, written « in loco », would be finally translated by a Portuguese, José Nunes da Matta, also seduced by space travels (and adapted by Modesto Brocos, a painter born in Galicia, which impels us to cross also political, physical, imaginary and symbolic spaces, in France, Portugal and Mars, to redefine « foreigner », and to considerer its functions in utopia.
ISSN:1646-7698