« PLUS QUAM CIVILIA BELLA » (VICTOR HUGO : QUATREVINGT-TREIZE) : ANIMALITÉ ET CRUAUTÉ DANS LE ROMAN DE L’OUEST (« Plus quam civillia bella » (Victor Hugo : Quatrevingt-treize) : bestiality and cruelty in “Roman de l’Ouest”)

Abstract

So called “Western roman”, focused on the period of the civil wars during the French revolution between the republicans and the royalists (war of Vendée and “Chouannerie”) represents an important phenomena of the French historical novel in the 19th century. It’s connected with the names of such authors like Victor Hugo or Honoré de Balzac. The article deals with the motifs of cruelty and bestiality, typical for this type of literature. Firstly, the article will point to the origin of this theme in the Vendée literature, connected with the extremely violent character of the civil war. Afterwards, the article will expose some typical forms of this theme: description of terrors and brutality, figures of Chouans presented as savages and characters of mans-monsters. Finally, we will talk about a connection between the theme of the violence and the ideological dimension of the Western roman.

Keywords

• French literature
• 19th century
• historical novel
• animality