Transformation d’une forme narrative: le roman épistolaire français et francophone
Transformation of a Narrative Form: The French and Francophone Epistolary Novel

Summary/Abstract: The article aims to study the evolution of the genre of an epistolary novel in contemporaryFrench-speaking literature (Senegalese, Moroccan and Belgian). It goes without saying that thetransformation of the epistolary novel is socially determined. It arises from social changes andthe hybrid nature of the genre: the letter as an authentic, even paraliterary form, can overlap withother discursive forms, for example the intimate journal. Indeed, the epistolary form adapts wellto the resources of the first-person narration. This is why the article follows a historical-literaryapproach, which allows for the examination of the evolution of the form as well as recurringthemes and motifs. The evolution of the epistolary novel in the 20th and 21st centuries clearlyillustrates that so-called “civilizational” problems replace the exaltation of love. This concerns,for example, the problem of polygamy in certain regions of Africa, obesity and finally the warin Afghanistan. The Francophone epistolary novel is an untouched territory. While reconnectingwith the European tradition of the 18th century, particularly French, it sets a new trend in theevolution of the genre, which can be defined as epistolary autofiction.

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