Théophile Gautier, Mademoiselle de Maupin

Géraldine Crahay (University of Durham)

Ed. by Jennifer Yee, University of Oxford
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 1835 - 1835

Places

France (Country of Origin; Publication/ performance)

Genres and Modes

Novel

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While French novelist, poet and art critic Théophile Gautier was an enthusiastic Romantic during the early stages of his career (his role and above all his

gilet rouge

in the Battle of Hernani remain famous), he progressively distanced himself from the Romantic school and its leader Victor Hugo. His novel

Mademoiselle de Maupin

, published in 1835 by Renduel, and above all its preface, published as an independent text in 1834, advocate the autonomy of art (Crouzet 1974 3; Weil 128, 130) and its fundamental purposelessness. This novel tells a story loosely inspired by the life of the adventuress and actress Julie d’Aubigny-Maupin (1673-1707), famous for her cross-dressing and lesbian liaisons (Monneyron 119-20; Waelti-Walters 27; Woodbridge). Gautier’s novel is based on a myth that was…

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Citation: Crahay, Géraldine. "Mademoiselle de Maupin". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 27 September 2017 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=35910, accessed 23 November 2024.]

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Théophile Gautier, Mademoiselle de Maupin

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