SUBJECT DESCRIPTION Subject Code Subject Group Credits

Subject
Code
Subject Group
Credits
PRC3010
C2
4 VMU /
6 ECTS
SUBJECT DESCRIPTION
Subject Certified
Subject Certification
Valid Until
2009.05.10
Registration
Number
2011.05.10
Title in Lithuanian
XIX-XX A. PRANCŪZIJOS LITERATŪRA (PROZA)
Title in English
19th-20th CENTURY FRENCH LITERATURE (PROSE)
Subject annotation in French
Cours d'introduction aux œuvres narratives, romans et nouvelles. D'abord une courte révision des principes de
l'analyse du récit, narratologie et sémiotique; vient ensuite l'étude des grandes théories du roman et de l'évolution des
formes narratives à travers deux siècles à partir du roman intime préromantique jusqu'au Nouveau roman. Le cours
comporte la lecture et l'analyse des textes narratifs tout en reconnaissant qu'ils sont déterminés par le contexte
historique, d'où l'approche historique comme base.
Prerequisites for enrolment in 19th-20th Century French Literature (prose)
Completion of Contemporary French Literature (PRC 2003)
Study outcomes
Students who have completed the course should be able to:
• analyze prose writings (excerpts or entire novels or short stories) relying on recent theories and techniques
of narratology;
• recognize and describe stylistic features of novels and short stories;
• analyze novels and short stories from a thematic perspective;
• formulate questions raised in novels and short stories and suggest answers to them;
• analyze novels from the perspective of the author and his/her probable (or merely possible) intentions;
• suggest and describe essential characteristics of novels and novelists studied in the course;
• describe the main characteristics of literary currents and their evolution;
• analyze novels taking into account their historical and social context;
• describe novels from the perspective of genre.
Subject Contents
Introduction to the reading and analysis of narrative genres. The idea of the Romantic novel in France. V. Hugo and
the social novel. The main features of the realist novel as exemplified in Balzac‘s Comédie humaine. Close analysis
of a Balzac novel (e.g. Le Colonel Chabert, Eugénie Grandet, Le Père Goriot). Style and formal innovation in the
works of Flaubert; Flaubert‘s modernity and his continuing influence in 20th-21st centuries. Social themes and
criticism of Romanticism in Madame Bovary. The impact of positivism on late 19th century novel. Zola‘s conception
of the experimental novel; fiction as social and historical analysis. Maupassant and the art of the short story. Themes
of time and dreams in early 20th century prose. The inner world of Gide‘s characters (La Porte étroite); issues of
individualism (Immoraliste). The question of values in pre-war novels. Existentialism and the so-called literature of
the absurd. Camus‘L’Étranger as a problematic depiction of the absurd hero: modern man in situations of conflict.
Narrative experimentation in the Nouveau roman.
Hours of study required
Lectures – 45 hrs.; Seminars– 22.5 hrs.; Individual independent work (includes preparation for colloquium and final
examination) – 92.5 hrs.
Evaluation of study achievements
Colloquium – 20 %; Homework – 30 %; Examination – 50 %
Bibliography
1. Bafaro G. (1995). Le Roman réaliste et naturaliste. Paris: Ellipses Marketing.
2. Becker C. (1998). Lire le réalisme et le naturalisme. Paris: Armand Colin.
3. Bonhomme B. (1998). Roman au XXe siècle à travers dix auteurs. De Proust au Nouveau roman. Paris:
Ellipses Marketing.
4. Chartier P. (1998). Introduction aux grandes théories du roman. Paris: Armand Colin.
5. Fortassier R. (1982). Le Roman français au XIXe siècle. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France.
6. Raimond M. (1967). Le Roman depuis la Révolution. Paris: Armand Colin.
7. Reuter Y. (1996). Introduction à l'analyse du roman. Paris: Armand Colin.
Programme prepared by
Prof. Ph.D. Viktorija Skrupskelytė, Lecturer dr. Inga Litvinavičienė, Department of German and French
Philology,VMU.