“A letter for me?”
“Destiny and a Blue Cloak”, a short story published in 1874 in The New York Times and “An Indiscretion in the Life of an Heiress”, a novella written in 1878 for The New Quarterly Magazine, narrate the sad fate of two young women who are entrapped in patriarchal law and become the playthings of Provi...
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| Publicado en: | URI:https://journals.openedition.org/fathom, |
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| Formato: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| Lenguaje: | Anglais |
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FATHOM
2013
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| Acceso en línea: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
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openedition-oai:revues.org:fathom_136 |
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openedition |
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openedition-oai:revues.org:fathom_136 https://doi.org/10.4000/fathom.136 urn:doi:10.4000/fathom.136 en https://journals.openedition.org/fathom/136 2013-10-23T02:00:00Z info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess article info:eu-repo/semantics/article urn:handle:20.500.13089/gah5 All rights reserved “A letter for me?” FATHOM Association française sur les études sur Thomas Hardy info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/issn/2270-6798 URI:https://journals.openedition.org/fathom Gaspari, Fabienne nouvelle destin corps écriture tragédie lettre short story destiny fate body writing tragedy letter “Destiny and a Blue Cloak”, a short story published in 1874 in The New York Times and “An Indiscretion in the Life of an Heiress”, a novella written in 1878 for The New Quarterly Magazine, narrate the sad fate of two young women who are entrapped in patriarchal law and become the playthings of Providence. The actual death of the protagonist of “An Indiscretion” echoes the social and symbolical death of the protagonist of “Destiny and a Blue Cloak”. The analysis of the theme of the letter in these texts implies studying its multiple meanings but also taking into account the relationships between body and letter. Indeed letters (in the sense of epistolary exchange) play a great role in the plot. Correspondence introduces an interplay between presence and absence and substitutes text for body. These letters which are secretly sent challenge patriarchal authority yet they are also accompanied by pacts and promises, words the characters are bound to, even when they are hastily chalked on a slate. It becomes obvious that “the letter killeth” as it finds itself linked to fate and death, a notion which gives its impetus to the plot of “An Indiscretion” but more generally to Hardy’s writing, itself the result of a deterministic and pessimistic vision, a form of programmatic writing. This impression is reinforced by the quotations heading each chapter, giving just another turn of the screw to tragedy and tightening the web of the text around the protagonist. « Destiny and a Blue Cloak », nouvelle publiée en 1874 dans The New York Times, et « An Indiscretion in the Life of an Heiress », novella écrite en 1878 pour The New Quarterly Magazine, relatent le triste destin de deux jeunes femmes, prisonnières de la loi patriarcale et jouets de la Providence. La mort réelle de la protagoniste de « An Indiscretion » fait écho à la mort sociale et symbolique de la protagoniste de « Destiny and a Blue Cloak ». Étudier, dans ces deux textes, le thème de la lettre, c’est faire jouer entre eux les multiples sens qu’il y revêt mais aussi prendre en compte les relations entre corps et lettre. En effet, les lettres comme missives jouent un rôle fondamental dans l’intrigue. Introduisant un jeu entre absence et présence, la correspondance, moyen de combler l’attente et la distance, substitue le texte au corps. À ces lettres envoyées en secret, défi lancé à la loi patriarcale, viennent s’ajouter le pacte et la promesse, le mot qui lie et qui engage, même lorsqu’il est griffonné à la craie sur une ardoise et donc aisément effaçable (« Destiny and a Blue Cloak »). Mais il devient évident ici que la lettre tue, car elle se trouve liée au destin et à la mort, idée qui façonne non seulement la diégèse de « An Indiscretion » mais aussi l’écriture de Hardy, produit d’une vision déterministe et pessimiste, écriture que l’on pourrait définir comme programmatique, impression que viennent renforcer les citations en épigraphe, citations donnant un tour d’écrou supplémentaire à la tragédie et resserrant un peu plus autour de la protagoniste l’étau, ou plutôt la toile, du texte. |
| collection |
OpenEdition Journal |
| language |
Anglais |
| format |
Article ou chapitre numérique |
| building |
0/Bibliothèque numérique/ 1/Bibliothèque numérique/OpenEdition Journals/ |
| topic |
nouvelle destin corps écriture tragédie lettre short story destiny fate body writing tragedy letter |
| spellingShingle |
nouvelle destin corps écriture tragédie lettre short story destiny fate body writing tragedy letter Gaspari, Fabienne “A letter for me?” |
| description |
“Destiny and a Blue Cloak”, a short story published in 1874 in The New York Times and “An Indiscretion in the Life of an Heiress”, a novella written in 1878 for The New Quarterly Magazine, narrate the sad fate of two young women who are entrapped in patriarchal law and become the playthings of Providence. The actual death of the protagonist of “An Indiscretion” echoes the social and symbolical death of the protagonist of “Destiny and a Blue Cloak”. The analysis of the theme of the letter in these texts implies studying its multiple meanings but also taking into account the relationships between body and letter. Indeed letters (in the sense of epistolary exchange) play a great role in the plot. Correspondence introduces an interplay between presence and absence and substitutes text for body. These letters which are secretly sent challenge patriarchal authority yet they are also accompanied by pacts and promises, words the characters are bound to, even when they are hastily chalked on a slate. It becomes obvious that “the letter killeth” as it finds itself linked to fate and death, a notion which gives its impetus to the plot of “An Indiscretion” but more generally to Hardy’s writing, itself the result of a deterministic and pessimistic vision, a form of programmatic writing. This impression is reinforced by the quotations heading each chapter, giving just another turn of the screw to tragedy and tightening the web of the text around the protagonist. |
| author |
Gaspari, Fabienne |
| author_facet |
Gaspari, Fabienne |
| author_sort |
Gaspari, Fabienne |
| title |
“A letter for me?” |
| title_short |
“A letter for me?” |
| title_full |
“A letter for me?” |
| title_fullStr |
“A letter for me?” |
| title_full_unstemmed |
“A letter for me?” |
| title_sort |
“a letter for me?” |
| publisher |
FATHOM |
| publishDate |
2013 |
| container_title |
URI:https://journals.openedition.org/fathom |
| url |
https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://doi.org/10.4000/fathom.136 https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://journals.openedition.org/fathom/136 |
| _version_ |
1877243380392525824 |