Dans le vague des sentiments : l’expression du flou comme spécialité des romancières d’une période esthétiquement indéfinie, 1780–1820 ?

The word “flou” only appears in French-speaking romantic literature around 1830, but the notion is very present in literature from the end of the 18th century, with the idea that blur is linked to the feminine, with less decided lines and with more volatile energy. We are therefore interested in thi...

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Main Author: Florence Boulerie
Format: Article
Language:ces
Published: Univerzita Karlova, Filozofická Fakulta 2024-12-01
Series:Svět Literatury
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Online Access:https://svetliteratury.ff.cuni.cz/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/01/Florence_Boulerie_108-120.pdf
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author Florence Boulerie
author_facet Florence Boulerie
author_sort Florence Boulerie
collection DOAJ
description The word “flou” only appears in French-speaking romantic literature around 1830, but the notion is very present in literature from the end of the 18th century, with the idea that blur is linked to the feminine, with less decided lines and with more volatile energy. We are therefore interested in this article in the treatment of vagueness by female novelists of the period 1780–1820, with the hypoth esis that female writers would be, more than their male counterparts, specialized in the expression of vagueness. However, we discover that authors like Genlis, Krüdener, Cottin and Staël are not very inclined to describe blurred landscapes or objects. If they develop a poetic of vagueness in their novels, it is above all to signify the disturbance of emotions and passions, very often attributing this uncertainty of perception to male characters, more inclined to indulge in a sweet sadness dissolving the forms from outside for the benefit of an indeterminate state of the soul. Perceived as a way of perceiving the world borrowed from men, more than an originally feminine conception, vagueness, if it evokes a melancholic inclination of feeling, can nevertheless become, under certain authors’ pens, the source of a rapture of the soul.
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spelling doaj-art-e947504f5c09402b8d32cc1bad17b9f02025-08-20T02:45:46ZcesUniverzita Karlova, Filozofická FakultaSvět Literatury0862-84402336-67292024-12-0134SI108120https://doi.org/10.14712/23366729.2024.3.9Dans le vague des sentiments : l’expression du flou comme spécialité des romancières d’une période esthétiquement indéfinie, 1780–1820 ?Florence Boulerie0Université Bordeaux MontaigneThe word “flou” only appears in French-speaking romantic literature around 1830, but the notion is very present in literature from the end of the 18th century, with the idea that blur is linked to the feminine, with less decided lines and with more volatile energy. We are therefore interested in this article in the treatment of vagueness by female novelists of the period 1780–1820, with the hypoth esis that female writers would be, more than their male counterparts, specialized in the expression of vagueness. However, we discover that authors like Genlis, Krüdener, Cottin and Staël are not very inclined to describe blurred landscapes or objects. If they develop a poetic of vagueness in their novels, it is above all to signify the disturbance of emotions and passions, very often attributing this uncertainty of perception to male characters, more inclined to indulge in a sweet sadness dissolving the forms from outside for the benefit of an indeterminate state of the soul. Perceived as a way of perceiving the world borrowed from men, more than an originally feminine conception, vagueness, if it evokes a melancholic inclination of feeling, can nevertheless become, under certain authors’ pens, the source of a rapture of the soul.https://svetliteratury.ff.cuni.cz/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/01/Florence_Boulerie_108-120.pdfblurwave of passionsblurring of the sensesfemale sentimental novelists
spellingShingle Florence Boulerie
Dans le vague des sentiments : l’expression du flou comme spécialité des romancières d’une période esthétiquement indéfinie, 1780–1820 ?
Svět Literatury
blur
wave of passions
blurring of the senses
female sentimental novelists
title Dans le vague des sentiments : l’expression du flou comme spécialité des romancières d’une période esthétiquement indéfinie, 1780–1820 ?
title_full Dans le vague des sentiments : l’expression du flou comme spécialité des romancières d’une période esthétiquement indéfinie, 1780–1820 ?
title_fullStr Dans le vague des sentiments : l’expression du flou comme spécialité des romancières d’une période esthétiquement indéfinie, 1780–1820 ?
title_full_unstemmed Dans le vague des sentiments : l’expression du flou comme spécialité des romancières d’une période esthétiquement indéfinie, 1780–1820 ?
title_short Dans le vague des sentiments : l’expression du flou comme spécialité des romancières d’une période esthétiquement indéfinie, 1780–1820 ?
title_sort dans le vague des sentiments l expression du flou comme specialite des romancieres d une periode esthetiquement indefinie 1780 1820
topic blur
wave of passions
blurring of the senses
female sentimental novelists
url https://svetliteratury.ff.cuni.cz/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/01/Florence_Boulerie_108-120.pdf
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