Critical Analysis of De La Fayette’s Princesse De Cleves as a Royal Exemplary Novel Kings, Queens, and Splendor

Description

The present study shows that most of the so-called digressions and marginal historical figures play an integral role in the proper interpretation of La Princesse. More than mere background, these are examples for the heroine to follow or avoid. The lessons that Diane de Poitiers, Mary Stuart et al fail to master warn the Princess of the dangers of foolish behavior. Drawing on the kings and queens we show how the examples play on the heroine’s (and perhaps the reader’s) mind, first subconsciously, then consciously. The work also speculates through analogy and textual examples on various problems posed by the author/narrator’s silences: how long did the heroine live, what is her first name, and how stable is the Valois society. The critical work draws on criticism from various methodologies and attempts to integrate them within the scope of narrative and mythic history. Other Literature: Multiple Categories Books 2004 – Landscape, Writing and The Condition of England – 1878-1917. From Ruskin to Modernism 2007 – Bilingual Edition of Jean D’arras’s Mlusine or Lhistoire De Lusignan 2008 – King Sisebut and the Culture of Visigothic Spain, with Translations of the Lives of Saint Desiderius of Vienne and Saint Masona of Mrida: Vita Vel Passio Sancti Desiderii a Sisebuto Rege Composita and Vita Sancti Masonae Emeretensis