Obermann (Noumena Classics) - Couverture souple

Senancour, Aetienne Pivert De

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 0976706237 ISBN 13 : 9780976706236

Editeur : Noumena-Press, 2010

Synopsis

"I have seen a valley suffused with mellow light beneath a lovely veil of morning mist . . . I have seen it change and tarnish; the devouring orb passed over it, scorching and exhausting it with its glare, and leaving it burnt up, sapless, and pitifully barren. So the happy veil of our days is slowly lifted and dispersed . . . "

Obermann, first published in 1804, is the best known work of French writer Étienne Pivert de Senancour. Usually described as an epistolary novel, the letters that constitute this volume are much closer to being a series of interlinked essays. Supposedly written by the melancholy recluse Obermann, whom critics have generally seen as a thinly disguised stand-in for Senancour himself, the letters contain the emotional outpourings of a man forever searching the depths of his innermost self in the hopes of overcoming his despair and finding a place for himself in the world, yet never quite succeeding. The letters cover a multitude of topics such as the hypocritical morals of the time, the failings of religion, the poor treatment of women in society, and the futility of existence. But while these writings are always overshadowed by an inescapable sense of brooding and pessimism, there are also passages that contain striking descriptions of Obermann's Alpine refuge that are almost mystical in their sense of union with nature. The work is similar in some respects to Rousseau's Reveries of the Solitary Walker, his Confessions, the Essays of Montaigne, and even to Thoreau's Walden, yet it is wholly original in its form, and there is nothing else quite like it in the history of French literature. Though virtually unknown in America and largely forgotten in France, Obermann should nonetheless be seen as an essential text of early Romanticism whose rightful place is next to Goethe's Sorrows of Young Werther and Chateaubriand's René.

Étienne Pivert de Senancour (1770-1846) as a French essayist who spent most of his life in obscurity, surviving primarily by his pen. He finally attained some notice in 1827 after he was accused of slandering religion in the second edition of his Résumé de l'histoire des traditions morales et religieuses. The successful defense of his case and the resulting publicity saw reissues of his earlier works including Obermann, De l'Amour (1806), and Libres Méditations d'un solitaire inconnu (1819).

A propos du livre

Présentation de l'éditeur

This book an EXACT reproduction of the original book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR?d book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Noumena-Press
• Date d'édition: 2010
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 0976706237
• ISBN 13: 9780976706236
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 518
• Éditeur: Allinson R. J.
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: gpsr@libri.de; gpsr@libri.de; ; Europaallee 1; Bad Hersfeld; 36244; Allemagne