RLFR 220 - Le mal-du-siecle: Disenchantment and Determination in the French Novel

Institution:

Williams College

Subject:

French

Description:

The nineteenth-century was a century of evolution, technological advances, and improvement in both working conditions and the quality of life. However, the century's many revolutions and political crises, and the crushing defeat of the Franco-Prussian War (1870) contributed to a personal sense of failure and a national sense of disenchantment. French literature reflected a persistent state of melancholy and a strong feeling of social decline. Romantic, decadent, and naturalist movements responded to this national feeling of moral decay by producing texts that focused on pathology, perversion, and morbidity. In this seminar, we will read novels and stories by Constant, Chateaubriand, Balzac, Huysmans, Maupassant, Flaubert and Zola. We will discuss topics such as boredom, adultery, failed marriages, bachelorhood, family, and suicide. Conducted in French.

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Seminar

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.williams.edu

Phone Number:

(413) 597-3131

Regional Accreditation:

New England Association of Schools and Colleges

Calendar System:

Four-one-four plan

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