Marvels and philosophy in Montesquieu’s Histoire véritable
Hoffmann, Benjamin
Marvels and philosophy in Montesquieu’s Histoire véritable - 2023.
96
Little known owing to the complex circumstances of its genesis and its publication, Montesquieu’s Histoire véritable traces the various successive transmigrations of two characters who received the gift of not forgetting their innumerable previous lives. Borrowing from oriental marvel, fairy tales and narratives of metamorphoses, this work which was first written back in 1738 should be linked to the origins of the philosophical tale. Through the evocation of magical creatures and supernatural situations, the Histoire véritable pursues a genuine reflection on the problem of identity: are individuals gifted with an ontological nucleus which remains unchanged throughout time? Or are they the malleable and endlessly recomposed product of their multiple experiences? Montesquieu stretches his thinking as far as the surprising conclusion of the tale which prompts a reintegration in extremis to the referential universe of the readership.
Marvels and philosophy in Montesquieu’s Histoire véritable - 2023.
96
Little known owing to the complex circumstances of its genesis and its publication, Montesquieu’s Histoire véritable traces the various successive transmigrations of two characters who received the gift of not forgetting their innumerable previous lives. Borrowing from oriental marvel, fairy tales and narratives of metamorphoses, this work which was first written back in 1738 should be linked to the origins of the philosophical tale. Through the evocation of magical creatures and supernatural situations, the Histoire véritable pursues a genuine reflection on the problem of identity: are individuals gifted with an ontological nucleus which remains unchanged throughout time? Or are they the malleable and endlessly recomposed product of their multiple experiences? Montesquieu stretches his thinking as far as the surprising conclusion of the tale which prompts a reintegration in extremis to the referential universe of the readership.
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