Dérives religieuses et hypocrites prêcheurs : performances et contre-performances dans la Lettre écarlate de Nathaniel Hawthorne, Tandis que j'agonise de William Faulkner et La Sagesse dans le sang de Flannery O'Connor

Gerald Préher

Abstract :
International audience
Using Nathaniel Hawthome's 1850 nove! The Scarlet Letter and two 20th century novels that echo its main ideas, William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying (1930) and Flannery O'Connor's Wise Blood (1952), this study focuses on the hypocrisy of religious figures. Faulkner and O'Connor both acknowledged their debt to Hawthorne and present variations on Reverend Dimmesdale, one of the central characters in his nove!. Following Austin's idea that any performance amounts to "doing things with words," the characters analyzed here use words to hide their deep dark secrets and present the world with smooth talks and an irreproachable behavior.
Published : 2018-05
Document Type : Journal articles
Affiliation : Centre Interdisciplinaire de Recherche sur les Patrimoines en Lettres et Langues (CIRPALL) ; Université d'Angers (UA)
Source : hal-03208004

Citation

Gerald Préher, « Dérives religieuses et hypocrites prêcheurs : performances et contre-performances dans la Lettre écarlate de Nathaniel Hawthorne, Tandis que j'agonise de William Faulkner et La Sagesse dans le sang de Flannery O'Connor », Cycnos, 2018-05. URL : https://hal.science/hal-03208004