Chaos Theory, Complexity, Cinema, and the Evolution of the French Novel (Studies in French Literature, 25)

Emily Zants

ISBN 10: 0773487891 / ISBN 13: 9780773487895

Published by Edwin Mellen Press, 1996

About this Item

1996 hardcover published without jacket/ex-library with usual markings/small red underlines scattered throughout. 391 p.

Seller Inventory # ABE-1564259385577

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Chaos Theory, Complexity, Cinema, and the Evolution of the French Novel (Studies in French Literature, 25)
• Publisher: Edwin Mellen Press
• Publication Date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0773487891
• ISBN 13: 9780773487895
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Fair
• Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket

About this title

Synopsis

This study takes a new view of the history of the French novel, that the evolution of the novel has been toward cinema, based on chaos and complexity theories. In its attempt to break away from the frozen forms of hierarchical thought inherent in the Monarchy and the Bourgeoisie, to engender a new order of thought, novels developed techniques and structures such as fragmentation, doublings, flashbacks, or metaphorical representations that are cinematic because they engender a sense of spatial and temporal simultaneity, whereas the traditional novel is condemned to the linearity of words. This evolution is significant because the new techniques suspend the readers' habitual frame of reference and engage them in a consideration of new relationships. The chapter treating each author begins with the main known reason for the adaptation, then an overview of the novel itself. Thereafter, the techniques of cinema that effectively convey the same message are explored and compared to the literary techniques, followed by a consideration of the failures and the cinematic potential of the literary model. Works include: Diderot's The Nun ; Laclos' Dangerous Liaisons ; Stendhal's The Red and the Black ; Zola's Nana ; Proust's Swann in Love ; Bernanos' Mouchette ; Duras' The Lover. Available at a special price for text use.