L`espace intime dans les romans parisiens d`Alphonse Daudet

Resum

Within this turbulent 19th Century, Paris became the city all eyes were turned towards. People lived every moment to the full. The modernity this city boasted of was both fascinating and intimidating, as the deep social, cultural changes of this century left nobody indifferent. Numerous provincial writers moved to the capital city in search for their fortune and to make a name for themselves within the Arts. Alphonse Daudet, like many writers did, Zola among them, used the city of Paris as a frame for their novels. Our author’s give us a clear and precise idea of that period and its society; hence, these novels can be considered as roman de moeurs. It is in this diverse and rapidly evolving city, commonly known as the modern Babylon, where all the novels of our body of work take place. Daudet takes us through the various districts of the city, like the bourgeois and working-class districts, the Latin Quarter, etc. with their special turns that give us an accurate glimpse of the city of Paris at that time. We have focused on life within the capital city, on that protected area where the individual shows himself as he really is, far from modern frivolity. The domestic space in his novels is influenced by the relationship Daudet had with his home, especially in the first part of his life - crucial period for the author. He would say «à quinze ans, vingt ans tout au plus, on est achevé d’imprimer» (Notes sur la vie). This intimate space makes him look for a stable home, mostly as far as occupants are concerned. This idea of space can also be seen in his characters. On the whole, his characters are often dissatisfied with the place where they are, and that often prevents them from settling down; they are always after a place to shelter. That is the reason why most of the places, where the characters of our corpus live, are just temporary homes. They are not inherited from other family members; they have no past histories. On the other hand, it is during this century that houses and domestic spaces are observed carefully. Throughout our study, the author opens a window to those diverse homes of the capital. This micro-cosmos hidden to the eyes of others reflect the character and behaviour of his novels characters; since, behind those magnificent facades, we find the maliciousness and cynicism of a society that lives in the outside and pays little attention to the inside, the domestic space.