Narcisse et les licornes. Magie et amour-propre dans l’Astrée
In the heart of the Forez, d’Urfé places the Fountain of the Truth of Love, which is endowed with magical properties: many travellers and local people aspire to look at themselves in the Fountain, in the hope of seeing the reflection of the person they love beside them. But since a second spell was...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Institut du Monde Anglophone
2022-06-01
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| Series: | Etudes Epistémè |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/episteme/13954 |
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| Summary: | In the heart of the Forez, d’Urfé places the Fountain of the Truth of Love, which is endowed with magical properties: many travellers and local people aspire to look at themselves in the Fountain, in the hope of seeing the reflection of the person they love beside them. But since a second spell was cast on the Fountain, it has become inaccessible, leaving the pilgrims uncertain of being loved. In this article, I propose to identify the various clues suggesting that the powers of this Fountain are evil, and that it has been sealed to avoid encouraging narcissism in lovers eager to contemplate themselves in the water. The magic Fountain, which is also a tomb, appears in fact as a symbol of self-love, in a work which is deeply marked by Salesianism and more generally by Christianity. It is doubtful that d’Urfé would have ended his novel with a restoration of the Fountain’s powers, as is the case in Baro's continuation: on the contrary, certain elements of the text suggest that the Fountain would have been completely disenchanted and returned to its original nature. |
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| ISSN: | 1634-0450 |