French Literature Reviews - 2026
B. Papasogli, La Mémoire du cœur au XVIIe s.
Philosophy, Anthropology and Ideas
Benedetta Papasogli
LA MEMOIRE DU COEUR AU XVIIE SIECLE
CHAMPION
PUBLICATION DATE: 19.08.08
SERIES: LUMIÈRES CLASSIQUES
432 pages
EAN: 9782745317209
Price EUR incl. VAT: 75.00
Publisher's overview:
How can we date the emergence of an idea and a literary theme? Does affective memory—which we primarily associate with a lineage stretching from Rousseau and Chateaubriand to Nerval and Proust—have deeper roots in seventeenth-century literature and thought? A goddess without a myth, Mnemosyne adapts to different eras and cultures through astonishingly rich metamorphoses. Until now, studies on the concept of memory in the seventeenth century have predominantly focused on the workings of intellectual memory and the sites of cultural memory. This book explores the "other" memory, which subtly transpires through anthropological reflection and literary texts: the memory that revives sometimes secret emotional sources, and which, as the moralists tell us, interacts behind the scenes with the imagination and the passions. In attempting to define the characteristics of a "memory of the heart" in the seventeenth century, one encounters the ambiguities and depth of the classical heart, along with its mysterious "acuity" that scrutinizes humanity, glimpses God, and recognizes that numbers are infinite. The memory of the heart also stirs the emotional resonance awakened by the sacred and core values; it anticipates the future and, according to mystical authors, extends into hope. This study aims to establish a dialectical interplay and a contrasting background between the wisdom of the moralists and that of spiritual writers, before examining their echoes within major literary genres.
The concept of memory occupies a central place in the history of ideas, bridging classical philosophy, early modern anthropology, and the evolution of subjective interiority. While modern literary history often associates affective memory with later movements, the intellectual landscape of the seventeenth century engaged deeply with the complex interactions between emotion, imagination, and passion. Writers and thinkers of the period navigated these themes through various discursive modes, balancing analytical inquiry into human behavior with spiritual reflection on the soul and its divine orientation. Readers interested in the history of mentalities, early modern anthropology, and the genealogy of literary interiority may find it relevant.