Marguerite Yourcenar Criticism
Marguerite Yourcenar, born Marguerite de Crayencour in 1913, is renowned for her mastery of historical fiction and brilliant translations of authors such as Henry James and Virginia Woolf into French. Her initial reception was modest, yet her landmark novels, Memoirs of Hadrian and The Abyss, solidified her status as a literary force. These works exemplify her sophisticated narrative style and deep psychological insight, particularly in portraying historical figures with authenticity and depth. Geoffrey Bruun and Moses Hadas laud Memoirs of Hadrian for its detailed, empathetic portrayal of the Roman Emperor Hadrian, while Ann M. Begley highlights its value in historical studies.
Yourcenar's ability to intertwine personal and historical narratives is equally evident in her autobiographical trilogy Le labyrinthe du monde, though some critics, like Elaine Marks, argue that her focus on the past might limit a deeper exploration of personal experience. Her novel Coup de Grâce sparked debates about potential anti-Semitic sentiments, although this interpretation is not unanimously accepted. Scholars such as Ben Ray Redman and Edwin Kennebeck examine themes of egoism and sexual identity within the work.
Her exploration of Renaissance Europe in L'Oeuvre au Noir is another significant contribution, praised for its philosophical depth by critics like Marc Slonim and the Times Literary Supplement. However, Arthur A. Cohen critiques The Abyss for its perceived emotional distance, whereas Frank Kermode appreciates its mature protagonist and thematic complexity.
In works like Archives du nord and Sous bénéfice d'inventaire, Yourcenar demonstrates a nuanced engagement with history, as analyzed by John L. Brown and Alexander Coleman. Stanley Cooperman notes her literary style's wit and sensitivity, highlighting her ability to reconstruct historical periods with scholarly precision. The breadth of Yourcenar's work, from historical to autobiographical narratives, continues to offer rich material for scholarly debate and interpretation, underscoring her profound impact on the literary landscape.
Contents
- Principal Works
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Yourcenar, Marguerite (Vol. 87)
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With Open Eyes
(summary)
In the following essay, Yourcenar with Matthieu Galey explores Yourcenar's literary influences, highlighting her eclectic reading history, the development of her distinct writing style, and her perspectives on contemporary writers, ultimately emphasizing the profound impact of individual literary experiences over collective literary movements.
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Marguerite Yourcenar's Sexual Politics in Fiction, 1939
(summary)
In the following essay, which was originally presented at a conference on twentieth-century women writers held at Hofstra University in the fall of 1982, she analyzes the sexual and political relationships of the three main characters in Coup de Grâce, arguing that they reflect "the European state of mind" on the brink of World War II.
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Marguerite Yourcenar
(summary)
In the following essay, which was originally published in 1984, he addresses the theme of male homosexuality in Alexis and Memoirs of Hadrian.
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Marguerite Yourcenar with Shusha Guppy
(summary)
In the following interview, Marguerite Yourcenar, conversing with Shusha Guppy, reflects on her literary career, personal history, and creative influences, emphasizing the role of memory in her writing and her nuanced portrayal of characters, while also discussing the challenges of translating her works and the nature of her literary themes.
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Oriental Tales
(summary)
In the following review, Czynski lauds Yourcenar's writing style and discusses Oriental Tales in relation to the development of the short story genre. Czynski also comments on some of the inadequacies he sees in Alberto Manguel's translation of the collection.
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Marguerite Yourcenar: 1903–1987
(summary)
In the following review of With Open Eyes, A Coin in Nine Hands, and Two Lives and a Dream, she lauds Yourcenar's work.
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The Way It Was
(summary)
Cowart provides a detailed discussion of the main themes in Memoirs of Hadrian, analyzing in particular Yourcenar's re-creation of the classical world and ancient Rome's mental life.
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First Person Third
(summary)
In the following review of the final volume of Yourcenar's autobiography, Quoi? L'éternité, and the essay collection En pèlerin et étranger, Taylor criticizes Yourcenar for the pretentious tone of the former—which he finds lacking in autobiographical detail—and for the uneven quality of the essays collected in the latter.
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'Getting Away with Murd(h)er': Author's Preface and Narrator's Text, Reading Marguerite Yourcenar's Coup de Grâce 'After Auschwitz'
(summary)
Marks analyzes the relationship between the novel Coup de Grâce, written in 1938, and the preface Yourcenar added to it in 1962. Marks argues that the novel harbors anti-Semitic sentiments and that the preface was designed to make the reader believe they do not reflect Yourcenar's actual feelings.
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Remembering a World She Never Knew
(summary)
In the following review of Dear Departed, Beaver praises Yourcenar's imaginative evocation of her mother's and father's families, describing the book as "a key to the genetic sources from which [her] consciousness derived."
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Rise and Fall of an Emperor: Mémoires d'Hadrien
(summary)
In the following essay, she examines the narrative structure of Memoirs of Hadrian and the life of its narrator and main character.
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Death and the Maiden
(summary)
In the following review of Dear Departed, Begley provides an introduction to Yourcenar's major themes and worldview.
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With Open Eyes
(summary)
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Yourcenar, Marguerite (Vol. 19)
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Hadrian's Story as That Complex Emperor Might Have Written It
(summary)
In the following essay, Geoffrey Bruun commends Marguerite Yourcenar's "Memoirs of Hadrian" as a remarkable work of historical and psychological insight that authentically captures the emperor's introspective character and complex emotions, articulating them with a profound sense of verisimilitude and artistic sensitivity.
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Raison d'être of a Roman Emperor
(summary)
In the following essay, Moses Hadas argues that Marguerite Yourcenar's "Hadrian's Memoirs" masterfully adheres to ancient principles of historical narrative, creating a vivid and accurate portrayal of the Roman Emperor Hadrian, while providing insightful reconstructions of the ethical and psychological climates of his time.
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Hadrian's Rome
(summary)
In the following essay, Stanley Cooperman praises Marguerite Yourcenar's "Hadrian's Memoirs" as a masterful work of historical fiction, highlighting its scholarly recreation of Hadrian's Rome and its insightful human portrayal of the emperor, while also commending the novel's prose for its wit and sensitivity.
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A Look in the Mirror
(summary)
In the following essay, Ben Ray Redman examines "Coup de Grace" as a less mature precursor to "Hadrian's Memoirs," highlighting its exploration of egotism and sexual identity in the character of Erick, while noting the narrative's stark, economical style and its portrayal of a soldier of fortune.
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Strange Triangle
(summary)
In the following essay, Edwin Kennebeck examines Marguerite Yourcenar's Coup de Grace, arguing that the novel's primary focus is on Sophie and her tragic devotion, which provides a strong narrative line and aesthetic inevitability, despite the initial assumption that Erick, the narrator, may be the central character.
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European Notebook: The Black Work
(summary)
In the following essay, Marc Slonim praises Yourcenar's "L'Oeuvre au Noir" for its intellectual depth and modern resonance, highlighting its exploration of Renaissance complexities through theological, social, and scientific themes, as well as its compelling depiction of the era's quest for knowledge.
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Cartesian Quest
(summary)
In the following essay, the critic analyzes Marguerite Yourcenar's L'Oeuvre au noir as a skillfully condensed novel reflecting the intellectual and societal complexities of sixteenth-century Europe, focusing on the Cartesian journey of its alchemist-philosopher hero, Zénon, while highlighting the influence of Flemish art on Yourcenar's narrative style.
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'The Abyss'
(summary)
In the following essay, Arthur A. Cohen argues that Marguerite Yourcenar's "The Abyss" falls short of her previous works, critiquing its lack of surprise and emotional engagement through the character of Zeno, whose stoic tentativeness and ultimate suicide reflect a struggle with identity and historical context.
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A Successful Alchemist
(summary)
In the following essay, Frank Kermode argues that Marguerite Yourcenar's The Abyss successfully portrays a fully realized human character, Zeno, whose intellectual and spiritual transformations amidst historical challenges exemplify the author's ideal of a mature individual transcending temporal and cultural limits.
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French: 'Le labyrinthe du monde'
(summary)
In the following essay, John L. Brown examines Marguerite Yourcenar's Archives du nord as an exemplary blend of historical narrative and personal memoir, highlighting her artistry in depicting her paternal family's history and her father's complex character within the context of Flanders' tumultuous past.
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Essays: 'Sous bénéfice d'inventaire'
(summary)
In the following essay, Alexander Coleman argues that Marguerite Yourcenar's Sous bénéfice d'inventaire showcases her deep and brilliant historical imagination, warning against the reductive label of "historical novelist" and highlighting her engagement with diverse traditions and intellectual depth.
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Hadrian's Story as That Complex Emperor Might Have Written It
(summary)
- Further Reading