Intimate, Intrusive, and Triumphant: Readers in the "Liaisons Dangereuses" - Couverture souple

Conroy, Peter V.

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 0915027720 ISBN 13 : 9780915027729

Editeur : John Benjamins Pub Co, 1986

A propos du livre

Présentation de l'éditeur

In both the real and the symbolic sense, the action of the Liaisons is writing letters, which is to say, giving the phrase an ontological twist, that writing is its own subject. Letters in an epistolary novel recount and reenact simultaneously, without distinction. Doing and telling are congruent, interchangeable, identical activities. The Marquise de Merteuil and the Vicomte de Valmont are the principal characters in this novel because they know best how to use the word. They control and direct others through their writing. From our perspective, however, to listen well is an even more critical and fundamental activity than writing well. The ultimate victor in this novel of seduction and deception is not necessarily the one who writes best but rather he, or she, who reads best. Concentrating on the reader places the entire epistolary exchange in a new light and accentuates the use of the word as an instrument of power and the letter as a tool for domination.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: John Benjamins Pub Co
• Date d'édition: 1986
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 0915027720
• ISBN 13: 9780915027729
• Reliure: Broché
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible