In many ways Prosper Mérimée may be considered the founder of the modern French short story. Certainly narrative works characterized by their brevity had appeared earlier in France, all the way back to medieval
fabliauxand up through eighteenth-century philosophical tales (
contes philosophiques); more recently, Charles Nodier had published a number of supernatural tales (such as “Smarra ou les démons de la nuit”, 1821, and “Trilby”, 1822). But Mérimée brought to short literature a modern infatuation with psychological realism and deep characterization. These elements, combined with his uncanny aptitude for stylistic and narrative concision, made Mérimée the standard-bearer for short fiction throughout much of the nineteenth-century, influencing writers as diverse as Balzac…
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Citation: Carpenter, Scott. "Prosper Mérimée's Short Stories". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 20 August 2010 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=31201, accessed 31 October 2024.]