Prevost`s Histoire d`une Grecque moderne or The Emerging Self

Atlantis Vol. 14 No. 2
Spring/printemps 1989
Prevost's Histoire
d'une Grecque
moderne or
The Emerging Self
Ruth ohayon
Westfield State College
ABSTRACT
In "Prevost's Histoire d'une Grecque moderne or the Emerging Self," I propose to read the eighteenth-century French writer's text as the struggle of an
evolving feminine conciousness within a patriarchal universe. The heroine's quest for self-realization may be defined in Lacanian terms as the interplay
between the Imaginary and the Symbolic, as well as between orientalism and western ideology. The heroine is indeed a "Grecque moderne," who
challenges the Symbolic which rules the novel. The seeming progression of a female destiny develops into a cyclical pattern. Fragments of the life of a
silenced woman remain at the end of this disquieting narration.
RESUME
L'article intitule, "Prevost's Histoire d'une Grecque moderne or the Emerging Self," explore la lutte d'une conscience feminine au sein d'un univers
masculin. La recherche de la decouverte de soi en termes lacaniens se definit au niveau de 1'Imaginaire et du Symbolique. L'heroine, une "Grecque
moderne," met en question le domaine du Symbolique qui domine le texte. La progression apparente d'une destinee feminine aboutit en trajet
circulaire. Les fragments d'une vie de femme reduite au silence demeurent a la fin de cette narration troublante.
A c c o r d i n g to the critic Pierre Fauchery, the eighteenthcentury novel witnessed " l ' i n s t a l l a t i o n de l a femme a u
centre d u monde romanesque." W o m e n fulfilled essential roles i n major novels as revealed by their names i n
titles: M a r i v a u x ' La vie de Marianne, Prevost's Manon
Lescaut a n d Histoire d'une Grecque moderne, Sade's Justine, Rousseau's Julie ou la Nouvelle Heloise. However,
w i t h i n the feminocentric novel lies a n androcentric u n i verse. T h e A b b e Prevost for example, o n l y allows the
reader to view the heroines t h r o u g h the eyes of their lovers.
B o t h M a n o n a n d the Grecque moderne are perceived
through the subjective intermediary of the masculine " j e . "
T h e narrators depict the heroines as inscrutable, s p h i n x like, a n d ambiguous. T h e y endeavour w i t h l i m i t e d success to decipher the w o m a n they love. N a n c y M i l l e r refers
to the Prevostian hero as the "decryptographer" of the
f e m i n i n e . Nonetheless, a developed image of the heroines
emerges.
1
2
In this paper, I propose to read Histoire d'une Grecque
moderne as the struggle of a n e v o l v i n g feminine consciousness w i t h i n a patriarchal universe. T h e heroine's
quest for self-realization may be defined as L a c a n i a n terms
as a n interplay between the i m a g i n a r y a n d symbolic
stages, as w e l l as between orientalism a n d western ideology.
5
In the i m a g i n a r y o r m i r r o r stage where the narcissistic
foundation of the ego is l a i d , the c h i l d exists i n a state of
fusion w i t h the mother, continuous a n d at one w i t h her.
T h e stage is characterized by the child's contentment a n d
oneness w i t h the mother. T h e c h i l d ' s sense of h i s / h e r
fragmented a n d impotent being is q u i c k l y dissipated
u p o n v i e w i n g a n d a s s u m i n g h i s / h e r total image i n the
m i r r o r ; a cause for j u b i l a t i o n . T h e importance of the
image lies i n the f o r m a t i o n of self t h r o u g h the m i r r o r a n d
the mother. It operates as the source of later identifications. Sexual a n d psychological differences r e m a i n dormant d u r i n g this preoedipal state.
In the symbolic stage, the next moment i n the constitut i o n of the subject, the father intervenes as authority f i g ure, a n agent of culture a n d the l a w rescues the c h i l d f r o m
the p u l l of the specular realm. T h e infant f r o m that
m o m e n t o n w i l l strive to recapture the once-experienced
sense of totality and plenitudes as he/she develops a n
identity w i t h i n the configuration of the f a m i l y .
4
However, as the psychoanalyst L u c e Irigaray's interpretation of Lacan's view of f e m i n i n i t y reveals, i n b o t h registers, the female infant is mediated by the m a l e . T h e image
i n the m i r r o r stage is masculine a n d represents the P h a l l u s
as the ultimate sexual criterion. T h e female infant thus suf5
fers f r o m deeper alienation than the male infant. T h e
m i r r o r stage is n o t a j o y f u l experience for her.
I n La Grecque moderne, a w o r l d l y a n d experienced
F r e n c h d i p l o m a t i n C o n s t a n t i n o p l e meets Zara at the
harem of the l o c a l Pasha. T h e narrator teaches her the
p r i n c i p l e s of virtue a n d praises the fortunate c o n d i t i o n of
western w o m e n . Subsequently, he f u l f i l l s her w i s h to be
freed from a state of slavery o n l y to become his most prized
possession,
h
A s one o f twenty w o m e n i n the seraglio, Zara appears
undifferentiated f r o m her female c o m p a n i o n s w h o wear
s i m i l a r clothes a n d colours. She later tells the d i p l o m a t the
story of her life, h o w she f i n a l l y realized dreams of c o m fort, wealth a n d riches. She describes her p e r i o d i n the
harem as " l e p l u s heureux temps de m a v i e . " Zara identifies w i t h the females i n the harem: "Je me flattai q u e
partageant le meme sort, nous nous trouverions quelque
ressemblance p a r le caractere et les i n c l i n a t i o n s . " She
experiences security w i t h female associations. U n a w a r e of
m o r a l strictures, object of exchange a n d pleasure, the
w o m e n reflect a n d necessarily m i r r o r their destiny a n d
being. Female b o n d i n g operates as a mode of relational
self-definition.
6
A l t h o u g h Zara's mother is noticeably absent f r o m the
narrative, the b o n d the heroine establishes w i t h other
w o m e n functions as a substitute for maternal attachment
present i n the preoedipal period. T h e heroine's life
appears complete a n d f u l f i l l i n g . T h e j u b i l a t i o n i n the
" m i r r o r " parallels the child's j o y at h i s / h e r specular
image.
a n d welcomes the father as agent of her w i s h f u l f i l l m e n t .
A l t h o u g h T h e o p h e bestows a name a n d identity u p o n
herself, the father continues to be the mediator of the
daughter's evolution.
In the harem, T h e o p h e was subject to the rule of the
Cheriber, a n d i n her recently acquired freedom, she exists
w i t h i n the patriarchal d o m a i n of the d i p l o m a t . H e
attempts to recreate her i n his o w n image of the ideal
w o m a n , a western version based o n the courtly n o t i o n of
feminine perfection defined by virtue, morality, modesty,
a n d chastity. T h e narrator endeavours to purify her f r o m a
s u l l i e d past to render her worthy of h i s love. I n order to
direct her education a n d form her judgment, he assigns
her Les Essais of N i c o l e , La Logique de Port Royal. H e
refers to her as " u n e conscience q u e etait m o n o u v r a g e "
(50). "Je l u i p r o m i s avec une estime constante, tous les
soins dont j'etais capable p o u r achever l'ouvrage q u e
j'avais eu le bonheur de commencer," he adds (53). She
becomes a Galatea to this intrepid P y g m a l i o n .
T h e d i p l o m a t develops a n obsessive attachment to h i s
creation a n d denies her any expression of self. After a l l , he
claims, he p a i d a h i g h price to obtain her, " J ' a i acquis tant
de droits sur e l l e " (48). H e refers to his passion as one
" d o n t j'esperais toute la douceur de m a v i e " (78). H e views
her as instrumental to his happiness a n d a comfort to his
rapidly a p p r o a c h i n g o l d age.
However, the experience of j o y does n o t r e m a i n a n
ecstatic experience. Zara begins to feel a sense of lack a n d
becomes m e l a n c h o l i c . She rejects her l u x u r i o u s e n v i r o n ments a n d her c o m p a n i o n s : "Je me demandais encore,
c o m m e j'avais fait dans m a solitude, p o u r q u o i je n'etais
pas heureuse avec tout ce q u e j'avais desire p o u r l'etre
...dans u n l i e u o u je croyais toute l a fortune et tous les
biens r e u n i s . " (26). A l i e n a t i o n f r o m the self follows.
I n her quest for selfhood, T h e o p h e struggles to free
herself from a state of dependency, a m a n she does not love,
a n d a past she strives to flee. H e undermines her desire for
self-determination. A prisoner of patriarchal enclosures,
freedom of space is denied her. H e r plans for escape are
thwarted as w h e n the narrator discovers the heroine is
about to embark o n a boat for Sicily. T h e harem m a i n tained her i n a n infantile state w h i l e the d i p l o m a t ' s house
i n Constantinople, his home i n France where the heroine
is i m m u r e d a n d guarded by servants w h o spy o n her every
move, serve to insure her cloistered c o n d i t i o n . T h e father
figure must free the daughter f r o m h i s p a t h o l o g i c a l a n d
fetishistic love to insure her maturation.
T h e heroine's w i t h d r a w a l u n t o herself is interrupted by
the arrival of the d i p l o m a t w h o eventually liberates her
f r o m absorption i n the Imaginary. R e b o r n f r o m prol o n g e d c h i l d h o o d , Zara adopts the name of T h e o p h e ,
i n i t i a t i n g a new p e r i o d i n her life. She addresses h i m as
" m o n L i b e r a t e u r , " " m o n Pere." H e has rescued her f r o m a
state of contemplative narcissism as she undergoes the law
of the father a n d the r e a l m of the S y m b o l i c . T h e female
infant turns away f r o m the mother o r mother substitute
T h e heroine resists the narrator's relentless pursuits to
capture her. H i s i n i t i a l project to make her h i s mistress
fails, b u t her inaccessibility intensifies his desire. H o w ever, she has provoked i n h i m feelings of "repugnance":
"Je consultai m a delicatesse sur les premieres repugnances
que je m'etais senties a lier u n commerce de p l a i s i r avec
elle" (30). H e r loose sexuality i n the harem offends his
sensibilities. Consequently, he interprets her resistance i n
a self-flattering way, namely that her fascination w i t h vir-
tue w i l l serve to render her truly worthy of his love. H e
undertakes to explore her obscure origins a n d excavates
her past. C o n v i n c e d of her aristocratic background based
purely o n circumstantial evidence, a n d persuaded of her
desire for virtue, he proposes marriage.
favour. However, he becomes quite baffled once her ways
betray her v i r t u o u s p r i n c i p l e s as when she reacts favourably to admirers' attention. T h e possibility to express one's
erotic self is essential to g r o w t h a n d self-realization. T h e
narrator stands as the guardian of her virtue.
T h e heroine refuses the offer to become his wife. She
strives for a n expanded personal universe and seeks
authenticity of self w h i c h is c o n t i n u o u s l y challenged by
prescribed gender roles. Patriarchal expectations deny the
heroine's quest for self-expression. L i k e her spiritual sister
R o x a n e of Montesquieu's Les lettres persanes, T h e o p h e
resists a n e n g u l f i n g , subservient female destiny. Marriage
w i l l serve to legitimize a n d b i n d her a n d w i l l also restrain
her maturation. As w i t h other eighteenth-century feminocentric novels, "marriage as a n index of social optim i s m (even muted or parodied) (does not) offer itself as a
plausible fictional solution to the problematics of self and
desire." T h e o p h e wishes to direct her o w n destiny.
T h e hero's' 'systeme'' of c o n q u e r i n g T h e o p h e and p u r i f y i n g her so as to render her a v i r t u o u s w o m a n , translates
i n t o the desire to c o n t r o l and neutralize female energy a n d
sexuality. T h e destiny of the female i n the novel of the
p e r i o d lies i n either marriage, the convent, or death.
T h e o p h e represents disruptive sexuality; as one character
claims, " o n reconnut q u ' u n e si belle femme ne servirait
qu'a jeter de la d i v i s i o n dans la societe" (108). Such a taboo
against the expression of female sexuality and its transgression leads to the heroine's self-destruction or to her
destruction by society.
7
8
T h e d i p l o m a t haunts the heroine to the very end. T h i s
aged D o n Juan's suspicions increase as she attempts to r u n
away w i t h a m a n w h o claims to be her brother, Synese.
T h e attention she welcomes from other admirers such as
the French nobleman i n L i v o u r n e , the French count,
exacerbate the narrator's jealousy as she represents for h i m
the incarnation of the evil, ungrateful and untrustworthy
female. T h e symbolic register entails the b i n d i n g of
female energy.
T h e o p p o s i t i o n a n d j u x t a p o s i t i o n of inner and outer
space structures the novel. Patriarchal topography is
represented as claustrophobic a n d repressive. O n the other
h a n d , the outer w o r l d signifies adventure, growth and
freedom, a masculine privilege i n the novel. Theophe's
last refuge from the d i p l o m a t ' s pursuit is her r o o m and
more significantly her private inner w o r l d . However, the
d i p l o m a t violates her privacy as he searches her bed sheets
f u r i o u s l y for signs of a lover, a n d o n another occasion,
inspects her r o o m for hidden lovers.
In fact, the novel poses the " r i d d l e of f e m i n i n i t y . " T h e
pursued w o m a n i n Prevost's texts is depicted as obscure,
the' 'dark continent.'' T h e enigma of femininity is doubled
by orientalism. T h e o p h e often appears veiled. T h e oriental w o m a n does not speak for herself, does not represent
herself, a n d she symbolizes Otherness as uncanny a n d
threatening. C o n s o n a n t w i t h the stererotyped n o t i o n of
the m u l t i p l e identity a n d the labyrinthine m i n d of the
oriental female, T h e o p h e denotes u n l i m i t e d sexual p r o m ise a n d l u x u r i a n t sensuality for the narrator. She incarnates f l u i d i t y , fantasy, a n d " u n h e i m l i c h " as well. H e r veil
conceals mysterious female sexuality. T h e o p h e remains
elusive t h r o u g h o u t the text as the Cartesian and western
d i p l o m a t attempts to sequester her from the w o r l d i n a n
effort to master a n d i m p r i s o n her m i n d a n d soul. T h e
narrator desires to objectify a consciousness w h i c h is
denied individuality a n d is reduced to solitary confinement.
9
10
T h e O r i e n t is "less a place than a topos, a set of references." T h e critic E d w a r d Said maintains: " E u r o p e a n culture gained i n strength a n d identity by setting itself
against the Orient as sort of surrogate and even underg r o u n d self." In the E u r o p e a n western m i n d , associations w i t h the O r i e n t i n c l u d e a universe of dreams a n d
fantasy, i l l u s i o n s , nature, i n t u i t i o n , the unconscious,
whereas the west is characterized by d u a l i s m , culture, the
father, Cartesianism, consciousness. Metaphorically, the
O r i e n t may w e l l represent the imaginary realm a n d the
west the symbolic. In the novel, the d i p l o m a t strives to
control a n d master the Imaginary a n d circumscribe it
w i t h i n the Symbolic. T h e d i p l o m a t does not explore his
other self. T h e quest to decipher a n d capture T h e o p h e
translates as a relentless metonymic pursuit of signifiers.
11
12
D o u b l e masculine representation of f e m i n i n i t y characterizes the feminocentric novel of the eighteenth century.
T h e narrator characterizes T h e o p h e as an enigma and his
ambivalent attitude toward her varies f r o m v i e w i n g the
heroine as " u n e femme u n i q u e " to "jeune coquette,"
" i n f i d e l e , " and "perfide, ingrate," (95, 50 a n d 45). T h e
d i p l o m a t writes: " T o u t ce q u i la regardait depuis que je
l'avais vue p o u r la premiere fois avait ete p o u r m o i une
enigme perpetuelle, que son discours meme me rendait
encore p l u s difficile a penetrer" (51). T h e narcissistic narrator consistently interprets her actions a n d words i n his
O r n a m e n t a l i z i n g the female body not o n l y fetishizes it
but also conceals its sexuality. T h e l u x u r i o u s decorations
a n d jewels lavished u p o n T h e o p h e w h i l e i n the harem
f u n c t i o n as chains. T h u s , the novel dramatizes a hero's
u l t i m a t e desire to b o u n d f e m i n i n i t y . T h e inverse of the
P y g m a l i o n m y t h operates i n the text. I n l i e u of freeing the
marble w o m a n , the d i p l o m a t a i m s at t u r n i n g the w o m a n
i n t o stone as a f o r m of hyperbolic possession.
T h e o p h e f u l f i l l s archetypal roles i n the novel. A s the
" c r e a t i o n " of the d i p l o m a t , she plays the daughter role
w i t h a tyrannical father. As a n i d o l i n his "sanctuaire" (a
haven o r sacred place), she serves as object of w o r s h i p to be
adored a n d adulated, as the unpredictable a n d unattainable w o m a n she embodies the 'femme fatale.' She c h a l lenges prescribed gender roles of daughter, wife, nursem a i d . U l t i m a t e l y , however, the heroine's trajectory of
subjecthood beyond resistance remains unexplored: " L a
subjectivite deniee a l a femme telle est, sans doute, 1'hypotheque garante de toute constitution irreductible d'objet,
de representation, de discours, de d e s i r . "
sations, doubts, a n d incessant interrogations of her actions,
r e q u i r i n g her to prove her innocence a n d justify her every
move. She retreats w i t h i n to a melancholic state. T h e
narrator notes a "changement dans son h u m e u r " (101),
"apparences de melancolie," fever a n d f a i n t i n g spells. T h e
heroine declares: " L a dissipation des plaisirs m'amuse
m o i n s qu'elle ne m'ennuie. Je p e n s c . a me faire u n ordre
de v i c . c o n f o r m e a mes i n c l i n a t i o n s . . . u n couvent" (116).
T h e o p h e abandons p a i n t i n g , a n outlet for the expression
of self i n the text. T h e w i t h d r a w a l unto the self entails
narcissistic dimensions: " T h e l i b i d o w i t h d r a w n f r o m the
outer w o r l d has been directed o n to the ego, g i v i n g rise to a
state w h i c h we may c a l l n a r c i s s i s m . " In fact, "the female
protagonist's m e l a n c h o l i c retreat i n t o narcissism may
be...the o n l y f o r m of autonomy available to her i n a society
where woman's assigned f u n c t i o n i n the S y m b o l i c is
to...guarantee the transmission of the P h a l l u s . " T h e
seeming progression of a female destiny i n La Grecque
moderne develops i n t o a cyclical pattern. W e witness a
return to the imaginary stage.
14
15
13
T h e relationship of a u t h o r to character i n the novel
prefigures a n y literary independence of the heroine.
C a u g h t i n the web of the narrator's discourse, T h e o p h e is
eclipsed i n a net of signifiers. T h e d i p l o m a t remains master of h i s text.
U n a b l e to decipher the heroine's seemingly inconsistent
behaviour, the d i p l o m a t turns to the reader for clarificat i o n : " J ' a i forme le dessein de r e c u e i l l i r par ecrit tout ce
que j ' a i eu de c o m m u n avec cette aimable etrangere, et de
mettre le p u b l i c en etat de juger si j'avais m a l place m o n
estime et m a tendresse" (121). H e adds "Je rends le lecteur
maitre de l ' o p i n i o n q u ' i l doit prendre" (117). L i k e other
eighteenth-century heroines, T h e o p h e reflects the narrator's o w n needs a n d a l l o w s h i m to write mostly about
himself.
T h e heroine's trial has already taken place a n d the
narrator has j u d g e d her g u i l t y . A s he develops the "proces
de m o n ingrate" (106), his confession intends to disculpate
h i m a n d portray h i m as v i c t i m , " u n amant rebute...trahi"
(11). O f what does her g u i l t comprise—not l o v i n g her
benefactor? expressing her desire for self-determination?
w i s h i n g to recreate herself i n her o w n image?
T h e i n a b i l i t y to express the self leads to the alienation of
the heroine f r o m herself and others. T h e o p h e suffers f r o m
the d i p l o m a t ' s cruel persecutions, his o v e r w h e l m i n g accu-
Fragments of the life of a silenced w o m a n r e m a i n at the
end of this d i s q u i e t i n g narration. T h e o p h e disappears
f r o m the novel, d y i n g i n a "funeste accident'' recounted to
the narrator months after the event. T h e o p h e is indeed the
" G r e c q u e moderne" as she challenged the S y m b o l i c
w h i c h rules the novel. She is denied access to this realm as
w e l l as the o p p o r t u n i t y to explore the riches and interrelation of both the Imaginary a n d Symbolic.
Nonetheless, just as w i t h the narrator, the reader projects his o r her o w n fantasies u n t o the text, a n d thereby
resuscitates the Imaginary. B e h i n d the "reck mensonger"
of a n obsessed narrator lies the "femme mensongere" a n d
the "lecteur mensonger" leaving the " p l a i s i r d u texte" as
the o n l y concrete experience. " T h e Imaginary," writes
N a o m i Schor, " i s not...a stage to be o u t g r o w n , but...an
irredicable constituent of the h u m a n psyche, a n d more
important...the essential, indeed, the o n l y matrix of fantasy a n d f i c t i o n . " T h e o p h e remains "l'autre texte" the
narrator never writes.
15
NOTES
1.
2.
Pierre Fauchery, La destinee feminine dans le roman europeen du
dix-huitieme siecle (Paris: Armand Colin, 1972), pp. 10-11.
Nancy Miller, "L'histoire d'une Grecque moderne: No-win Hermeneutics," Forum, 16, 1978, pp. 2-10. The critic uses the term in
reference to the narrator of the novel, but is also applicable to other
Prevostian heroes.
3.
4.
5.
For an illuminating analysis of the roles of the Imaginary and the
6.
Symbolic in a nineteenth-century heroine's development of self, see
Naomi Schor, "Eugenie Grandet: Mirrors and Melancholia" in
Breaking the Chaim (New York: Columbia University Press, 1985).
7.
Texts which elaborate the notions of the Imaginary and the Symbolic are: Jacques La can, Ecrits; Seminaire I: Les ecrits techniques 8.
de Freud (Paris: Seuil, 1975), and Siminaire II: Le moi dans la
theorie de Freud et dans la technique de la psychanalyse (Paris: 9.
Seuil, 1978); Anthony Wilden, The Language of the Self (Baltimore:
Johns Hopkins University Press, 1968); Anika Rifflet-Lemaire,
10.
Jacques Lacan (Brussels: Dessart, 1970). See also Sigmund Freud,
11.
"Female Sexuality" in The Standard Edition of the Complete Psy- 12.
chological Works of Sigmund Freud, 21, ed. James Strachey (24 13.
vols.); Nancy Chodorow, The Reproduction of Mothering (Berke14.
ley: University of California Press, 1978). The psychoanalyst
15.
emphasizes the impact of the preoedipal stage in women and the
subsequent creations of female bonds.
Luce Irigaray, Ce sexe qui n'en est pas un (Paris: Les editions de
minuit, 1977), p. 115. See also S^ecu/um de I'autrefemme (Paris: Les
editions de minuit, 1974).
Prevost, Histoire d'une Grecque modeme in Oeuvres de Prevost
(Presses Universitaires de Grenoble, 1982), p. 25. All subsequent
references will appear as page number and are included in the text.
Annis Pratt, Archetypal Patterns in Women's Fiction (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1981), p. 45.
Nancy Miller, The Heroine's Text (New York: Columbia University Press, 1980), p. 82.
Naomi Schor, "Smiles of the Sphinx: Zola and the Riddle of Femininity" in Breaking the Chain.
Edward Said, Orientalism (New York: Panthon Books, 1978), p. 6.
Ibid., p. in
Ibid., p. 3.
Luce Irigaray, Speculum de I'autre femme, p. 165.
Freud, "Narcissism," in S.E.
Schor, "Eugenie Grandet: Mirrors and Melancholia," p. 91.