« This narrative is my written memory » : transcrire la mémoire dans David Copperfield de Charles Dickens
David Copperfield as a fictitious autobiography appears to be a form of transcription, the faithful copy of the narrator’s experiences recorded from memory. However, such a transcription must be recognised as an artistic composition, since David Copperfield is the only Dickensian character to define...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Presses Universitaires de la Méditerranée
2015-10-01
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| Series: | Cahiers Victoriens et Edouardiens |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/cve/2075 |
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| author | Céline Prest |
| author_facet | Céline Prest |
| author_sort | Céline Prest |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | David Copperfield as a fictitious autobiography appears to be a form of transcription, the faithful copy of the narrator’s experiences recorded from memory. However, such a transcription must be recognised as an artistic composition, since David Copperfield is the only Dickensian character to define himself as a writer. Anticipating Marcel Proust’s autobiographical masterpiece, David is in search of lost time. He exhumes the memories stored in his mind, which has become an archival space preserving the traces of the past. David first appears as the successor of the Greek arkheions whom Derrida defined as the keepers and interpreters of all official documents (of which the word ‘archive’ will be derived). This archivist is also an archaeologist, returning to previous traces by digging down through the strata of memory, unveiling the past to make it verbally emerge to the surface of the present. Through his words, David elevates a memory palace. He invokes the ghosts of past lives and loved ones, inviting them to haunt the novel along with him. The archivist turned archaeologist is finally transformed into an architect, the one who elevates monuments – these documents which bear the memory of the past. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b04c17dfd5d944d5aa7c74e922bd3f45 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0220-5610 2271-6149 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2015-10-01 |
| publisher | Presses Universitaires de la Méditerranée |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Cahiers Victoriens et Edouardiens |
| spelling | doaj-art-b04c17dfd5d944d5aa7c74e922bd3f452025-01-30T10:21:56ZengPresses Universitaires de la MéditerranéeCahiers Victoriens et Edouardiens0220-56102271-61492015-10-018110.4000/cve.2075« This narrative is my written memory » : transcrire la mémoire dans David Copperfield de Charles DickensCéline PrestDavid Copperfield as a fictitious autobiography appears to be a form of transcription, the faithful copy of the narrator’s experiences recorded from memory. However, such a transcription must be recognised as an artistic composition, since David Copperfield is the only Dickensian character to define himself as a writer. Anticipating Marcel Proust’s autobiographical masterpiece, David is in search of lost time. He exhumes the memories stored in his mind, which has become an archival space preserving the traces of the past. David first appears as the successor of the Greek arkheions whom Derrida defined as the keepers and interpreters of all official documents (of which the word ‘archive’ will be derived). This archivist is also an archaeologist, returning to previous traces by digging down through the strata of memory, unveiling the past to make it verbally emerge to the surface of the present. Through his words, David elevates a memory palace. He invokes the ghosts of past lives and loved ones, inviting them to haunt the novel along with him. The archivist turned archaeologist is finally transformed into an architect, the one who elevates monuments – these documents which bear the memory of the past.https://journals.openedition.org/cve/2075Dickens (Charles)archaeologyarchiveautobiographyDavid Copperfieldmemory |
| spellingShingle | Céline Prest « This narrative is my written memory » : transcrire la mémoire dans David Copperfield de Charles Dickens Cahiers Victoriens et Edouardiens Dickens (Charles) archaeology archive autobiography David Copperfield memory |
| title | « This narrative is my written memory » : transcrire la mémoire dans David Copperfield de Charles Dickens |
| title_full | « This narrative is my written memory » : transcrire la mémoire dans David Copperfield de Charles Dickens |
| title_fullStr | « This narrative is my written memory » : transcrire la mémoire dans David Copperfield de Charles Dickens |
| title_full_unstemmed | « This narrative is my written memory » : transcrire la mémoire dans David Copperfield de Charles Dickens |
| title_short | « This narrative is my written memory » : transcrire la mémoire dans David Copperfield de Charles Dickens |
| title_sort | this narrative is my written memory transcrire la memoire dans david copperfield de charles dickens |
| topic | Dickens (Charles) archaeology archive autobiography David Copperfield memory |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/cve/2075 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT celineprest thisnarrativeismywrittenmemorytranscrirelamemoiredansdavidcopperfielddecharlesdickens |