Metamorphoses of Passion and the Heroic in French Literature - Corneille, Stendahl, Claudel

“This is a big book tackling big topics: heroism, passion, transcendence through love or glory, courage and renunciation. The close readings of the well known texts by Corneille, Stendhal and Claudel round these themes are supplemented by references to the lesser known works of each author. What works well throughout is the reflective and comparative method of mapping the themes in their historical and generic contexts and the attention to detail. This is a scholarly and impressive contribution to study of each of the canonical French authors as well as a major contribution to comparative criticism. The use of Jungian archetypes as a methodological underpinning is unobtrusive. The bibliography is extensive and a synopsis of some of the less well-known works will encourage wider reading.” – Forum for Modern Language Studies (Oxford)

Table of contents:
A Note on the Translations; Foreword; Preface
Part I - The Paths of Glory and the Pursuit of Love
1. Heroes, Heroines, and the Heart’s Desire: Why Corneille, Stendhal and Claudal? ; The Non-Redundancy of Courage; Death and Immortality – The Hero and the Poet; The Conquering Hero; The Dilemma of the Heroine; The Heroic, the Tender, and the Spiritual; From the Magnification of the Hero to the Humbling of the Heroic; Claudel – Journey’s End
2. The Sword of Courage and the Sword in the Soul: The New Hero – 1637; The Ethic of the Sword – The Duel; The Manly Virtues – Vertu and Générosité ; The Divided Self – Don Juan and Werther, Animus and Anima; Anima, the Heroine, and the Heroic; Heroism and Happiness – The Sword in the Soul
3. Corneille, Stendhal, Claudel – From Rodrigue to Rodrigue: From Corneille to Stendhal – Elective Affinities; Claudel – Outrageous Antipathies; The Climates of the Heroic, Spain and Italy Visited by Two Dramatists and a Novelist; Passion – the Décor and the Archetypes. Heroism and Happiness; From Rodrigue to Rodrigue. Love, Marriage, Passion and Transcendence
Part II - Corneille
4. From Liberation to Salvation: The Tetralogy – The Metamorphoses of the Sword and the Dilemmas of Anima; Le Cid – The Birth of the Hero, Rodrigue; The Conversion of the Hero – Chimène and the Dark Night of the Soul; The Challenges of Love and Heroism; The Emergence of the Heroine
5. Horace: The Faces of Heroism and the Despair of Anima, From Sacrifice to Salvation
6. Polyeucte – The Conversion of Animus
7. Rodogune – The Duel of Good and Evil, Two Women
8. Suréna – Elegy for the Hero
Part III - Stendhal
9. Irony and Elegy. From Octave de Malivert to Lucien Leuwen
10. Passion, the Promise, and the Paradoxes of Infidelity. From Armance to Lamiel: The Ambiguous Heroine
11. The Ethic of the Duel and the Martyr’s Crown. The Conversion of Julien Sorel
12. The Heroine in the World of the Duel. The Crime of the Duchess Sanseverina
Part IV - Claudel
13. The Sign of the Sword – Tête d’Or
14. The Sign of Fire – Partage de Midi
15. The Trilogy: The Way of the Cross – L’Otage; The Vale of Tears – Le Pain dur; The Kindly Light – Le Père humilié
16. Le Soulier de Satin: From Humiliation to Salvation
Conclusion
Appendix. Available translations. Synopses of other works. Bibliography. General Index