The Princess of Cleves (Norton Critical Editions)
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.88 (821 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0393963330 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 320 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2013-08-10 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
John D. Lyons is Commonwealth Professor of French at the University of Virginia, where he has taught since 1987; he was previously professor of French and Italian at Dartmouth College. He is the author of A Theatre of Disguise, The Listening Voice, and Exemplum. He co-edited Mimesis: From Mirror to Method, The Dialectic of Discovery, and Critical Tales: New Stu
She is married to the Prince de Cleves, a powerful, sensitive man who adores her and hopes she will eventually reciprocate his feelings. Unfortunately, Madame de Cleves falls passionately in love with the Duc de Nemors, a man "born with every predisposition for courtship and every quality tending toward its success." Lost letters, whispered messages, extensive introspection - all are described in minute detail as Madame de Cleves attempts to overcome her feelings and remain a virtuous woman. The obsession of these characters can seem excessive, yet Madame de Lafayette is careful to place this story within a larger historical context which shows the extraordinary influence these intimate affairs had upon foreign and domestic policy. No one was untroubled or unmoved: each considered how to advance, to flatter, to serve or to harm; boredom and idleness were
"Early avant garde" according to Joanne Marinelli. I do not know enough of Lafayette's background to know if she was aware of the subtle satiric effects of The Princess of Cleves, but it is there in spades for the modern reader, with very little differentiation between the players in Henry II's court. Everyone is inflamed by extraneo. BEWARE - Kindle Option is Not the Mitford Translation I was pleased to see that the Kindle format was free--until I downloaded it. Turns out, it was free because it' the old public-domain download (the translation of which is amost a century old) instead of the far more readable Mitford version.I DO recommend "The Princess of Cleves," a. "An unusual love story" according to K. Maxwell. This book is written in an unusual format, almost at a remove from the main character. This however, only serves to heighten the passion of the doomed lovers. In some ways it reminds me of mme de tourvil in dangerous liaisons. Unable to help herself falling in love. Knowing she was d
"Criticism" includes eleven modern studies of the novel, five of which appear here in English for the first time, by Jean Fabre, Michel Butor, Jean Rousset, Helen Karen Kaps, Gérard Genette, Roger Francillon, Kurt Weinberg, Peggy Kamuf, Erica Harth, Joan DeJean, and Laurence Gregario. A Glossary of Characters and a Selected Bibliography are also included.. The Princess of Cleves, often called the first modern French novel, was published anonymously in 1678 and was received with enthusiasm by its contemporary audience. The text of this Norton Critical Edition is that of Thomas Sargent Perry's 1892 translation, indisputably the translation that has best served readers in English. Reprinted repeatedly over the last one hundred years, the Perry translation is a classic in its own right. "Contemporary Reactions" includes five assessments of The Princess of Clevesby Marie-Madeleine de Lafayette herself, Roger de Bussy-Rabutin and Marie de Sévigné, Jean-Baptiste-Henry du Trousset de Valincour, Jean-Antoine de Charnes, and Du Plaisirfollowing its controversial publication. John Lyons's translations for this Norton Critical Edition make these reactions available in English for the first time. To experience the