Honoré de Balzac, Sarrasine

Elisabeth Gerwin (University of Lethbridge)

Ed. by Nigel Harkness, University of Newcastle upon Tyne
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.5.2.05: French Writing and Culture: The Nineteenth-Century , 1800-1900.
Vol. editors: David Elwyn Evans (University of St Andrews), Edward Forman (University of Bristol), Elisabeth Gerwin (University of Lethbridge), Nigel Harkness (University of Newcastle upon Tyne), Tim Unwin (University of Bristol), David Williams (University of Sheffield), Jennifer Yee (University of Oxford)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1830

Places

France (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Story

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Honoré de Balzac (1799–1850) may be best known as a novelist, yet he was also a prolific and skilled writer of short stories and novellas. His 1830 short story

Sarrasine

is today among the most iconic and widely-read of his

récits

, thanks in part to the publication in 1970 of Roland Barthes’ landmark book-length commentary on the novella,

S/Z

. In 1830, Balzac was establishing himself as an important author of novels, whether in a more historical vein (

Le Dernier Chouan

[1829]) or a more fantastical one (

La Peau de chagrin

[1830]).

Sarrasine

’s strange and outrageous premise did not destine it for immediate success, though the wealth of its symbolic imagery has made it an important text for twentieth-century semiotic and psychoanalytic readings. It also shows significant features of…

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1462 words

Citation: Gerwin, Elisabeth. "Sarrasine". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 11 March 2013 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=21924, accessed 24 November 2024.]

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Honoré de Balzac, Sarrasine

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