La notion de « structure » entre anthropologie, études littéraires et littérature

Abstract

The semantic plasticity of the notion of “structure” has quickly become commonplace in studies on the subject. The aim here is not to add a new definition to the list, but to consider its circulation between disciplines, its uses and the values that it carries. I start with a quick overview of the circulation of the notion of structure from hard sciences to social sciences. I then focus more specifically on its appropriation by literary scholars of Proust’s La Recherche in the 1960s-1970s. The latter (Roland Barthes, “Proust et les noms” (1966), Gérard Genette, “L’âge des noms” (1976)) have indeed built upon Proust’s reflection on proper nouns to elaborate and justify a new "structural" method of reading texts. I question structuralist literary critics’ take on the notion of structure and on Proust’s work. Lastly, I turn to what structural analysis owes to Proust’s thought.

Keywords

• Proust (Marcel)
• Barthes (Roland)
• Lévi-Strauss (Claude)
• Structure
• Structuralisme