Les voix du conteur entre poéticité et ironie dans Le Coq de bruyère, Le Médianoche amoureux et d’autres récits de Michel Tournier

Abstract

Spontaneously eager to imitate the charming voices of childhood, the writer most preferably choses the literary pattern of tales, which he considers both soothing and poetical and whose rhythms are bewitching. Nevertheless, he twists in his own way every narrative usual pattern, for instance in Sept Contes (Seven Tales): Santa Claus transforms into a woman of nowadays, and embodies the quarrels of Christians against the supporters of laicity. Little thumb is exiled in town where he yearns for his former country side life style. Does irony, which adds to the text an extra voice, aim at putting the charm of carmen away, or does it create a common understanding, essential to wit, or does it aim at creating a more abstract philosophical meaning?The subtle alterations from one form to another, from brief tales to the more serious short novels of Medianoche amoureux, will probably lead us to conclude to a sort of mild and playful re-poetisation.

Keywords

• voices of childhood
• tale
• irony
• re-writing
• re-poetisation