Author : Deborah M. Quigg
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (144 download)
Book Synopsis A Comparative Study of the Critical Reaction to Faulkner's Work in France and America to 1950 by : Deborah M. Quigg
Download or read book A Comparative Study of the Critical Reaction to Faulkner's Work in France and America to 1950 written by Deborah M. Quigg and published by . This book was released on 1975 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper is an exploration into the divergent critical reactions (1926-1950) of the French and the Americans to Faulkner's work. The American critics generally seem to have found Faulkner's form marred by carelessness, difficulty and obscurity, though a smaller group perceived an evocativeness in Faulkner's form. The French critics tended to be very enthusiastic about Faulkner's experiments with point of view, interior monologue and distortion of chronology. Their enthusiasm was due, in part, to the need for new directions they felt their literary tradition had to take after the exhaustion of the roman d'analyse.Initially, American critical reaction to the morality behind Faulkner's work was one of outrage; not until the late 1940's was it recognized that Faulkner did have certain ethical concerns within his work. The French critics were never troubled by Faulkner's morality: some found the violence and hatred a symptom of realism, but others perceived it as the outgrowth of Faulkner's puritanism. An important turning point in. the American acceptance of Faulkner's work -was a reappraisal of the role of the South in his novels. By the late 1940' s it was realized that Faulkner was, in part, writing a history or legend of the South. This legend centered around a struggle between the traditional, moral forces and the rising, amoral forces. This realization led to the recognition of philosophical and ethical aspects of Faulkner's work which facilitated his acceptance among American critics. By 1950, with the Nobel Prize, Faulkner's work was largely accepted and appreciated in both countries, but the Americans had had to overcome a great many prejudices before they found any value in his work. Even after twenty-five years, the basis for acceptance was different in France and in America.
