is

a first-person narrative which Constant left unfinished, and which was not published until 1951. Why he did not complete his project is unclear. He had certainly meant

for the public – not simply for himself or his acquaintances – as witness the explanations offered to readers, e. g. about the narrator’s religious sentiments (Roulin: 173). Constant may have written most of the text between 1809 and 1811, but it probably derives in part, like his major novel

from a draft begun in 1806.

and

certainly seem to arise from the same phase in his life (Roulin: 1436-1438; Wood: 191-192). Parallels with his private

[Personal Diaries]

suggest that the nameless first-person narrator in

is based on Constant himself, and that…

1623 words

Citation: Morrison, Ian. "Cécile". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 07 December 2021 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=6148, accessed 23 November 2024.]