Paul Bourget before and after Le Disciple: the figures of teacher and student Cover Image

Paul Bourget avant et après Le Disciple. Figures du professeur et de l’élève dans Mensonges et L’Étape
Paul Bourget before and after Le Disciple: the figures of teacher and student

Author(s): Dominique Ancelet-Netter
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies, Literary Texts, Studies of Literature, Comparative Study of Literature, French Literature, Theory of Literature
Published by: Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski Jana Pawła II, Instytut Filologii Romańskiej & Wydawnictwo Werset
Keywords: Bourget; priest figure; secular teaching; Catholic education; thesis novel; psychological novel; diarist writings

Summary/Abstract: Le Disciple (The Disciple) is Paul Bourget’s main work. The book, which was published in 1889, was preceded by a psychological novel, Mensonges (A Living Lie), published in 1887, and followed by a thesis novel, L’Étape, published in 1902, in which this member of the French Academy prefigured and reconfigured the character of the teacher and that of the student. His model teaching figures are the edifying character of the priest-teacher or of the Christian teacher, who support the values of traditional Catholic education, which differ from those of secular teachers. The fictional outline of the characters as well as the author’s diaries shed light on the evolution of the author’s theories about teaching, which were linked to the Catholic faith, showing how his fictional and personal writings developed in parallel.

  • Issue Year: 2019
  • Issue No: 9
  • Page Range: 67-76
  • Page Count: 10
  • Language: French