Lire “Les Liaisons dangereuses” de Laclos par le prisme de l’œuvre quignardienne

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle

Abstract

The last short text in Pascal Quignard’s La Haine de la musique is called «Sur la fin des liaisons». By reinventing a happy ending to Laclos’ Liaisons dangereuses, Quignard offers a key for interpreting both his own work and that of Laclos. Far from being a simple exercise in dismantling the classic dramatic conclusion of a moral novel or being a ludic game of rewriting a famous scene of fiction, Quignard’s version opens up an unexpected path to a deepened interpretation of both authors. The aim of this article is to throw a light on the vital reciprocal literary relationship between Quignard and Laclos and to analyse the complexity of this precise intertextual relationship. Three main points that emerge from this literary confluence will be discussed here: both writers develop a deep concern with language and its impossible transparency; both maintain a climate of indecidability in their works; and the similarities between Quignard’s fragmentary and Laclos’ epistolary writing invite the reader to rethink the issues of both forms.
Original languageFrench
Pages (from-to)554-560
Number of pages7
JournalStudi Francesi
Volume58
Issue number174
DOIs
StatePublished - 2014

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