« Excès et pénurie dans Middlemarch : le cas de M. Casaubon »
This paper offers a study of Reverend Casaubon in terms of want, as a counterpoint to excess. First, Casaubon’s deficiencies are clearly physical : at the beginning of the novel, Dorothea Brooke’s family and friends manifest vehement opposition to her contemplated match with the pale, ageing scholar...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Presses Universitaires de la Méditerranée
2006-12-01
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| Series: | Cahiers Victoriens et Edouardiens |
| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/cve/12584 |
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| _version_ | 1832581321662136320 |
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| author | Sylvie Jougan |
| author_facet | Sylvie Jougan |
| author_sort | Sylvie Jougan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper offers a study of Reverend Casaubon in terms of want, as a counterpoint to excess. First, Casaubon’s deficiencies are clearly physical : at the beginning of the novel, Dorothea Brooke’s family and friends manifest vehement opposition to her contemplated match with the pale, ageing scholar. Then the text frequently intimates that Casaubon’s deficiencies are also of a sexual order. Thirdly, Casaubon is sadly lacking in mental and intellectual energy : the scholar’s intellect is unable to « digest » the voluminous notes amassed over the years to produce his « Key to all Mythologies », an excessive project if ever there was one. Lastly, Casaubon is found to lack presence, tending towards absence, and even death. Thus, the text is permeated with a sense of the character’s sheer impotence. But this portrait of the failed scholar can also be read as a form of self-caricature, through which George Eliot was trying to exorcize her fear of failure in writing Middlemarch. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-abfa4ec00ecf4b0e8a55f530591f4f3b |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0220-5610 2271-6149 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2006-12-01 |
| publisher | Presses Universitaires de la Méditerranée |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Cahiers Victoriens et Edouardiens |
| spelling | doaj-art-abfa4ec00ecf4b0e8a55f530591f4f3b2025-01-30T10:21:01ZengPresses Universitaires de la MéditerranéeCahiers Victoriens et Edouardiens0220-56102271-61492006-12-016310.4000/cve.12584« Excès et pénurie dans Middlemarch : le cas de M. Casaubon »Sylvie JouganThis paper offers a study of Reverend Casaubon in terms of want, as a counterpoint to excess. First, Casaubon’s deficiencies are clearly physical : at the beginning of the novel, Dorothea Brooke’s family and friends manifest vehement opposition to her contemplated match with the pale, ageing scholar. Then the text frequently intimates that Casaubon’s deficiencies are also of a sexual order. Thirdly, Casaubon is sadly lacking in mental and intellectual energy : the scholar’s intellect is unable to « digest » the voluminous notes amassed over the years to produce his « Key to all Mythologies », an excessive project if ever there was one. Lastly, Casaubon is found to lack presence, tending towards absence, and even death. Thus, the text is permeated with a sense of the character’s sheer impotence. But this portrait of the failed scholar can also be read as a form of self-caricature, through which George Eliot was trying to exorcize her fear of failure in writing Middlemarch.https://journals.openedition.org/cve/12584 |
| spellingShingle | Sylvie Jougan « Excès et pénurie dans Middlemarch : le cas de M. Casaubon » Cahiers Victoriens et Edouardiens |
| title | « Excès et pénurie dans Middlemarch : le cas de M. Casaubon » |
| title_full | « Excès et pénurie dans Middlemarch : le cas de M. Casaubon » |
| title_fullStr | « Excès et pénurie dans Middlemarch : le cas de M. Casaubon » |
| title_full_unstemmed | « Excès et pénurie dans Middlemarch : le cas de M. Casaubon » |
| title_short | « Excès et pénurie dans Middlemarch : le cas de M. Casaubon » |
| title_sort | exces et penurie dans middlemarch le cas de m casaubon |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/cve/12584 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT sylviejougan excesetpenuriedansmiddlemarchlecasdemcasaubon |