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theses

This dissertation presents the first French translation of a Spanish sentimental novel, Juan de Segura’s Processo de cartas de amores (1548), along with a study that situates this work in the context of the origins of the epistolary novel in the 16th and 17th centuries, both in Spain and in France. That the two literatures influenced and enriched each other during this period is well known, but Processo is a forgotten example of what remains problematic in this phenomenon. More than a century before the Lettres portugaises (1669), often considered to be the first true epistolary novel in French, Spain saw the publication of an enigmatic fiction in two parts, one of which – Processo – consists exclusively of an exchange of 45 letters between two lovers: instead of being embedded in the narrative, the letters weave the plot of the story itself, thus enhancing the epistolary elements of the novela sentimental. The other – distinct in terms of its plot, and non-epistolary – part of Segura’s work was translated into French as early as 1554; but Processo was left out, and as a result remained largely unknown in France. The present dissertation reflects on this omission and seeks to repair it. Its first part reviews the development of epistolary fiction in Spain and in France over three centuries. The second part establishes a bibliography of the various editions of the work and of its partial French translations. The third part consists of a translation – the first of its kind – of the Spanish text into French. Finally, the dissertation offers a commentary of Échange de lettres d’amour, which draws parallels between the text and the precepts of courtly love, analyzes the lovers’ rhetoric, and studies the literary devices that provide this exchange of love letters with its realistic grounding.

ETD_9333

doi:10.7282/t3-z1g8-k920

Ph.D.

Includes bibliographical references

by Maria Hernandez

ETD doctoral

The author owns the copyright to this work.