Un discours persuasif : Étude narrative de L'Auberge et Le Horla – deux contes fantastiques de Guy de Maupassant

Ce mémoire se compose d’une analyse narrative de deux nouvelles fantastiques par Guy de Maupassant : L’Auberge et la seconde version du Horla. La narration du premier de ces contes est extradiégétique, ce qui signifie que le narrateur se trouve en dehors de l’univers fictif. Le deuxième texte, en revanche, est un exemple d’une narration intradiégétique – le narrateur est donc un personnage du récit. Le but principal de l’étude est d’examiner comment le discours du narrateur, selon qu’il est extradiégétique ou intradiégétique, influence la perception des récits et des protagonistes. Pour atteindre cet objectif, nous identifions d’abord quelques stratégies narratives qui sont employées dans les nouvelles afin d’évoquer l’hésitation du lecteur et ainsi créer l’effet fantastique. Nous observons que, suivant le mode de la narration, extradiégétique ou intradiégétique, les stratégies narratives utilisées sont de différentes natures. Elles coopèrent toutefois pour créer un sentiment d’hésitation au lecteur et conduisent donc celui-ci à considérer l’existence du surnaturel dans le monde diégétique. Enfin, nous montrons de plus près comment le discours du narrateur influence la manière dont le lecteur considère le comportement des personnages principaux ainsi que leur santé mentale. Nous voyons que dans tous les deux textes, il n’y a aucun doute que le protagoniste devient finalement fou. Cependant, tandis que le savoir du narrateur omniscient aide enfin le lecteur à résoudre le mystère fantastique dans L’Auberge, le mystère n’est jamais résolu dans Le Horla. Cela semble être attribué à la perception et au savoir limité du narrateur intradiégétique.

‘Why are there always three?’: The Gothic Occult in Dario Argento’s Three Mothers Trilogy

Thomas De Quincey’s essay ‘Levana and Our Ladies of Sorrow’ provided Dario Argento with the spark of an idea, which was further ignited by tales from his then wife, Daria Nicolodi, who told him of her grandmother’s stay at a music school which was run by a coven of witches. From these sources Argento came up with the mythology of The Three Mothers, which were to feature in three of his films: Suspiria (1977), Inferno (1980) and La terza madre/The Mother of Tears (2007). This article will examine the occult and esoteric sources of The Three Mothers trilogy, and explore how these references work to create a series of films that may superficially appear to use the supernatural and occult to create scares, but actually incorporate elements of Western Esotericism rather than traditional Christian images of evil. By doing this, these films transcend their apparent flaws (in terms of shallow plot and character development, a common complaint directed toward many Italian horror films) and instead imbue the mise-enscene itself with meaning, character and narrative. Although the films are situated within the Gothic genre, and in many respects follow traditional Gothic lines with witchcraft and the occult becoming synonymous with evil, I will argue that the films actually belong to the long tradition of art forms that have attempted to investigate the allure and the danger of occult exploration.

The Uncanny Thing : Paranoia and Claustrophobia in The Thing and “Who Goes There?”

This essay examines the themes of paranoia and claustrophobia as elements of horror in John Campbell’s novella “Who Goes There?” (1938) and John Carpenter’s film-adaptation of said novella, called The Thing (1982). The novella and the film utilize the lack of trust and reliability in between the characters as elements of fear as well as supernatural elements in the form of a monster. This essay focuses on the different parts of the story running through both versions, mainly the setting, the characters and the monster, to show how the themes of paranoia and claustrophobia are used throughout these as elements of fear and horror. With the help of Sigmund Freud’s concept of the uncanny, as well as other sources, this essay argues that while the monster plays an important role throughout the story, the threats created by the paranoia and claustrophobia are equal to the monster itself.

Dealing with the devil: a critical and creative look at the diabolical pact

This thesis is comprised of three parts: a critical dissertation, a creative work of fiction and a bridge piece that connects the two. The critical work is an examination of the Devil as a satirist in Faustian bargains. Through the usage of the Devil as a literary figure, his character has become a more secular being: a trickster rather than evil incarnate—a facilitator of sin rather than its originator. In the tragicomedy of pacts with the Devil, he acts as a mirror, reflecting mankind’s foibles and vanity, while elevating the reader in the process. The thesis considers the language, tone, purpose and conceits of several versions of the story. While the focus is primarily on American Literature, the influence of English, Scottish, French and German folklore and fiction are recognized as an essential component of the theme’s evolution. In the bridge piece, the pact with the Devil is literalized in a modern context; a corporate business of reaping souls is theorized in which techniques of persuasion are streamlined into an effective formula. Whether immersive or expository in approach, the portrayal of the supernatural depends on the literary principles of science fiction and fantasy in order to manipulate the reader and allow irrational concepts to obey rational laws. Such theories are cited to support how the Devil functions as a believable character. The novel, Could Be Much Worse, relates the story of an egocentric boss and his dependable employee, a scout who disguises himself as a taxi driver and seeks candidates who may succumb to temptation. Passengers’ monologues of desperation and pathos are interspersed throughout the protagonist’s day-to-day narrative. At times, the work is experimental, utilizing irregular storytelling techniques, alternative forms and conceits. Light-hearted, but nonetheless poignant, the story serves as a cautionary tale, illustrating the tedium of a bureaucratic job in a transmundane existence.

Le polar de la Caraïbe francophone : enjeux de l’appropriation du genre

Pour minoré et ignoré qu’il fût, le roman policier est désormais légitimé par l’institution littéraire. À parcourir les livres publiés dans la Caraïbe francophone, le genre demeure dans la marge de cette production [issue de la Caraïbe francophone (Haïti, Guadeloupe, Guyane française, Martinique)]. Quoiqu’il en soit, on notera que les années 1990 ont inauguré une véritable éclosion de publications de polars. Tout cela augure d’une acclimatation de ce genre qui ne s’accompagne pas moins de questionnements sur les spécificités éventuelles du polar caribéen francophone. Se situe-t-il dans la convention? Tente-il au contraire d’établir une distanciation avec la norme? C’est pour répondre à ces interrogations que cette thèse se propose d’explorer les enjeux de l’appropriation du polar provenant de cette aire géographique. À l’aune de la poétique des genres, de la sociocritique et de l’intermédialité, un corpus composé de quatorze romans fait l’objet d’une étude approfondie. Dans le premier chapitre, un bref récapitulatif permet de situer les œuvres à l’étude dans l’histoire littéraire du genre tout en soulignant l’adaptation du polar dans la Caraïbe de langue française. Il en ressort qu’un nombre significatif d’écrivains, attentifs à la latence du magico-religieux dans leur société, mettent en scène le surnaturel alors que le roman policier conventionnel plébiscite la méthode logico-déductive. C’est la raison pour laquelle le second chapitre s’intéresse à l’usage de l’inexplicable et son rapport avec le cartésianisme. Quant au troisième chapitre, il se penche sur un topos du genre : la violence telle qu’elle surgit dans ses dimensions commémoratives et répétitives de l’histoire tumultueuse de la Caraïbe. Notre corpus tend à relier la notion du crime, fut-il d’emprise originelle, à l’histoire post-coloniale. Dans la mesure où les personnages constituent un élément clé du genre, ils sont sondés, dans un quatrième chapitre, en regard de la critique sociale qu’ils incarnent et véhiculent. Le dernier chapitre cherche à circonscrire l’intermédialité qui structure et qualifie l’œuvre au sein du roman policier depuis sa genèse. Somme toute, ces divers axes contribuent à mieux comprendre le phénomène de transposition du polar dans cette région du monde.

Introduction

This book explores the supernatural literature of Walter Scott, James Hogg, Théophile Gautier, Charles Nodier and G rard de Nerval from a European perspective that casts them as part of a network rather than as the discrete, isolated artistic outcomes of different national literatures, by focusing on the central role played by the literature of E.T.A. Hoffmann during the first half of the nineteenth century. The author claims that Hoffmann had a seminal role through the reactions that his literature aroused. These reactions took place both in the realm of theory, for Hoffmann’s works provoked a great deal of discussion on the nature and purposes of supernatural literature, and also in the realm of their literary writings themselves, with much cross-fertilisation taking place, sometimes enabled through translation and sometimes from direct experience. The author focuses on shared themes like the idealized dead beloved, and dreams, reveries and altered states.

Paranormal politics and the romance of urban subcultures: youth mobility in Cassandra Clare’s and Melissa Marr’s fantasy texts

This essay examines the political and social significance of the intrusion of the supernatural into youth subcultures in two urban fantasy series: Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments and Melissa Marr’s Wicked Lovely. Both series represent the idea of human youth mobility and social affiliation based on volition. The tolerant urban spaces through which their girl protagonists initially move accommodate a diversity of subcultural aesthetics. By contrast, the supernatural subcultures with which these girls become involved are fraught with conflict, and the mobility of their members is limited. Drawing on post-subcultural theory, we identify a tension between late modern and premodern social organization and political values in contemporary urban fantasy for young adults and compare how it is resolved in Clare’s and Marr’s texts.

Melbourne Festival review: Triptyque's blend of circus and dance a new breed of hybrid

Like the traditional of tri-panelled artworks, Les 7 Doigts' Triptyque presents a trio of adjacent works. Created by established dancemakers, these works explore the intersection of circus, dance and theatre. Although visually quite different, when viewed together, there are thematic through-lines such as the extension and augmentation of the body, with human morphologies shifting to encompass the supernatural, the bestial, and the psychological. All three works draw on the rich and varied conventions of circus and dance (bearing in mind that the lines between these forms have long been blurring), but there is a sense here of a new flavour of hybridity.