Paul Scott, mémorialiste et romancier
Institution:
Bordeaux 3Disciplines:
Directors:
Abstract EN:
The aim of this doctoral dissertation is threefold : first, it tries to show an aspect of paul scott's work which has been so far either totally ignored or rapidly discarded : the fact that, as a witness of his times, he was also a recorder of the events that went on around him. Thus, this thesis undertakes to reveal scott as a memorialist in an effort to prove how historically accurate his fiction is. However, since a work of fiction stems mainly from the imagination of its creator, the second focus of interest lies in the subtle transmutation of scott's memories into pure fiction, through the creation of imitation historic characters and the creative process at work in the writer. Finally, the fact that the author of the celebrated raj quartet is first and foremost a fiction writer leads to an interrogation concerning the literary genre to which he belongs. Popular fiction, which is tentatively redefined here, can fall into several sub-categories topped by what we have called "quality popular literature" (modelled on the phrase "quality press"), a genre to which scott assuredly belongs. He appears in fact as a leading figure in a new category of writers which includes such famous figures as james clavell or ellis peters. Thanks to the rigour and perceptiveness of his historical analysis and his talent as a fiction-writer, scott should undoubtedly be given the place which rightfully belongs to him among the best writers in english imperial literature.
Abstract FR:
Temoin, et dans une certaine mesure acteur, des evenements qu'il decrit, paul scott se fait egalement historien des derniers jours de l'occupation britannique en inde ; aussi est-ce dans cette optique que cette these etudie, dans un premier temps, le travail de memorialiste qu'il mene a bien dans son oeuvre, plus particulierement dans le quatuor indien. Mais le roman etant avant tout produit de l'imagination de son auteur, l'historien s'efface au profit du romancier, et la deuxieme etape consiste en l'analyse de la metamorphose des souvernirs en oeuvre de pure fiction, grace a la creation de personnages historiques jouant le role d'intermediaires entre realite et imaginaire, ainsi que le processus de la creation litteraire. Enfin, le fait que scott soit avant tout un ecrivain pose la question du genre auquel il appartient. Le roman populaire, que nous essayons de redefinir, peut se subdiviser en plusieurs categories, dont la plus interessante est celle que nous avons designee sous l'expression "litterature (ou roman( populaire de qualite". Scott apparait comme un des chefs de file de ce genre, dans lequel figurent des personnalites telles que james clavell ou ellis peters. Par la rigueur de ses methodes et l'intuition dont il fait preuve dans ses analyses historiques, ainsi que par son talent d'auteur, une place de choix revient sans conteste a scott parmi les meilleurs ecricains de l'empire britannique.