Character and Meaning in the Novels of Victor Hugo (Purdue Studies in Romance Literatures, 38)

With An Approach That Combines Attention To Genre, Narratology, And Reader-response Criticism, As Well As Consideration Of Hugo's Own Critical And Philosophical Writings, Roche Explores The Ways In Which Hugo's Novels Eschew The Realist Notion Of The Representable Individual In Favor Of A New - And Surprisingly Modern - Kind Of Fiction In Which Character Serves As A Conceptual, Nonpsychological Function. Character And Meaning In The Novels Of Victor Hugo Provides A Deeper Understanding Of The Complexities And Nuances That Characterize Both Hugo's Novel Writing And The Nineteenth-century French Novel, And Will Thus Appeal To The Specialist And Nonspecialist Alike.--jacket. Ch. 1. Archetype Transformed -- Ch. 2. Hugo Novelist -- Ch. 3. Hugo And Type Character -- Ch. 4. Character As Template -- Ch. 5. Reconfigurations -- Ch. 6. Poetics Of Death -- Ch. 7. Decoding Social Exclusion. Isabel Roche. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 227-234) And Index. While Victor Hugo's lasting appeal as a novelist can in large part be attributed to the unforgettable characters that he created, character has been paradoxically the most criticized and least understood element of his fiction. Character and Meaning in the Novels of Victor Hugo provides readers with a deeper understanding of the complexities and nuances that characterize both Hugo's novel writing and the nineteenth-century French novel, and will thus appeal to the specialist and non-specialist alike. Provides readers with an understanding of the complexities and nuances that characterize both Victor Hugo's novel writing and the nineteenth-century French novel.