Manon Lescaut, Abbé Prévost, tragic love, transgression, sincerity, Chevalier Des Grieux, 18th century literature, French novel, tragic novel
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Abstract
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Abstract
Analysis of the tragic novel Manon Lescaut by Abbé Prévost, exploring the representation of love and its tragic undertones.
Extract
[...] He goes against the most common thought, that Manon is manipulative and Des Grieux is a simple victim of love. He nuances the flaws and qualities of the two characters. It is interesting to ask how love is represented in this tragic novel. First, we will see that there is a form of transgression of love that appears several times in the work, but at the same time a sincere form also. Finally, we can see the tragic dimension that this novel takes, particularly through its end. Love takes the form of transgression in this novel. [...]
[...] The character who must actually face these obstacles is above all the young Chevalier Des Grieux. The reader feels his naivety and lack of preparation for love from his first meeting with the beautiful Manon: 'She seemed so charming to me, that who had never thought about the difference between the sexes, nor looked at a girl with a little attention.' The beginning of the work reveals the initial destiny of Des Grieux, which was indeed opposed to what awaited him: 'They were already making me wear the cross, with the name of Chevalier Des Grieux. [...]
[...] Despite a moral continuity in the works that followed, there is a will for freedom and emancipation that appears in certain writings, particularly in the Enlightenment. Montesquieu is indeed one of these famous writers of the Enlightenment. He affirms in his Carnet in 1734: read on April Manon Lescaut, a novel composed by Father Prévost. I am not surprised that this novel, whose hero is a scoundrel and the heroine a prostitute who is led to the Salpêtrière, pleases, because all the actions of the hero, Chevalier Des Grieux, have as their motive love, which is always a noble motive, although the conduct is low. [...]
[...] Montesquieu shows well the ambiguity of the situation in his quote, particularly through the two main characters. Love, despite being noble, is treated with baseness by our two characters, tortured psychologically for different reasons. They become marginal consciously or unconsciously, but at least they are free in life or in death. The influence of the Enlightenment in this emancipatory writing appears evident. [...]
[...] Are Manon and Des Grieux victims or responsible? They are sometimes capricious, not wanting to listen to the truth at the risk of being hurt: did not have the strength to sustain any longer a speech whose every word had pierced my heart.' The fact that they do not face the truth is an element that questions their responsibility and especially their ease in dodging it. This tragic destiny seems, on the one hand, imposed but also deserved. In conclusion, we asked ourselves how love is represented in the work of Abbé Prévost and in what ways it has tragic undertones. [...]
