LA MYTHOLOGIE DE L’ESPACE DANS LE ROMAN POÉTIQUE
SPACE MYTHOLOGY IN THE POETIC NOVEL

Summary/Abstract: “Myths, symbols, and dreams haunt the poetic narrative in the 20th century” , wrote Jean-Yves Tadié in his study on the poetic narrative.The proposed study addresses the Mythology of space in the poetic novel, where symbols imbue space with an astonishing magical power. We have directed our attention towards a theoretical analysis of the issue because in the poetic novel it is the space that stands in front of the stage instead of the characters. Here, space acquires new meanings—the physical space rendered by the space of the book’s world meets the space of language, which becomes, in turn, the main figure because it is the one that conceals revelation. Space exerts on the reader a magical power, at once enchanting and forbidden.The perception of space in the poetic novel is enriched in the analysis by a mythical perspective, as, according to Jean-Yves Tadié, poetic narratives are also mythical narratives. Here, we consider it necessary to understand the functioning of myth within the poetic novel with the help of myth criticism, which relies on the process of the mutability of the sacred in contemporary literary works.The theoretical and methodological framework of the issue was provided by several theories on myth, symbol, and their representation at the level of language. These include the poetic narrative of Jean-Yves Tadié, Dominique Combe, and Dominique Rabaté; Mircea Eliade’s eternal return; Jung’s archetype; and Gilbert Durand’s anthropological structures of the imaginary, to name just a few. All these works offer us an analytical perspective that could help us construct a personal viewpoint in the analysis.The perception of the mythical clue revitalizes the reader's understanding of the mythic construction of space in the poetic novel, simultaneously proposing a multitude of meanings, as myths do not appear explicitly but are implicitly integrated 'in privileged moments, which, however, become entirely myths and animate the structure of the narrative from beginning to end.'The text of the poetic novel reconstructs departures without arrivals, expectations of the unknown, transgressions of the forbidden, and a search for the absolute. Here, the idea of the quest often takes the form of an itinerary that seeks to rediscover “the dormant paths of the Odyssey”, for in poetic writing, the itinerary or journey represents, in its sublimated form, the adventure of language. Due to its position between novel and poetry, space in the poetic novel, through symbol, takes on the force of the poem. As a mythical instrument, the symbol, through the richness exposed in the process of symbolization, offers the narrative a structural breadth, a more extensive space and duration, and has the power to obscure the text while simultaneously facilitating its deciphering.

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