About this title: Poised between the fading world of chivalric romance and a new psychological realism, Madame de Lafayette's novel of passion and self-deception marks a turning point in the history of the novel. When it first appeared - anonymously - in 1678 in the heyday of French classicism, it aroused fierce controversy among critics and readers, in particular ...
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Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN-13:9780192837264ISBN:0192837265
Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Good. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Date Published: 1999-11-11
ISBN-13:9780192837264ISBN:0192837265
Description: Like New. May be shiny, in some instances dust jackets are not included, no missing pages, no damage to binding, may have a remainder mark. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Oxford Paperbacks
Date Published: 1999
ISBN-13:9780192837264ISBN:0192837265
Description: Good. **SHIPPED FROM UK** We believe you will be completely satisfied with our quick and reliable service. All orders are dispatched as swiftly as possible! Buy with confidence! read more
Edition: First British
Binding: Cloth
Publisher: Euphorion
Date Published: 1950
Description: Good. Ex-Library. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. The masterpiece of Madame De Lafayette, a historical novel about the court of Henri II, as translated by Nancy Mitford with an unsigned lively preface. Ex-library markings but interior is bright. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN-13:9780192837264ISBN:0192837265
Description: Very good. Appearance of only slight previous use. Cover and binding show a little wear. All pages are undamaged with potentially only a few, small markings. Help save a tree. Buy all your used books from Green Earth Books. Read. Recycle and Reuse! read more
Description: Good. Light shelving wear with minimal damage to cover and bindings. Pages show minor use. Help save a tree. Buy all your used books from Green Earth Books. Read. Recycle and Reuse! read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Date Published: 1999-11-11
ISBN-13:9780192837264ISBN:0192837265
Description: Good. All books in Acceptable-Good condition. Books may NOT include Online Access Codes (InfoTrac, MyEconLab). Books MAY contain highliting/bent pages. We ship M-F. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Date Published: 1992-10-06
ISBN-13:9780140445879ISBN:0140445870
Description: Good. All books in Acceptable-Good condition. Books may NOT include Online Access Codes (InfoTrac, MyEconLab). Books MAY contain highliting/bent pages. We ship M-F. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Date Published: 30/09/2004
ISBN-13:9780140445879ISBN:0140445870
Description: Used-Good. Book in good or better condition. Dispatched same day from warehouse. Please email with any questions for quick response. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Date Published: 1992-10-06
ISBN-13:9780140445879ISBN:0140445870
Description: Good. Underlining. Clean pages with general wear from reading and storage. Cover may have slight curl or bend from reading. Some books have a bookstore stamp inside cover. Quick response! read more
"Lafayette did amazing things here, I have to say. But it remains difficult for me to divorce myself from my contemporary cultural context in order to fully appreciate the story. It's also so insular and isolated from the rest of French society that I can see exactly how the French Revolution would inevitably occur, albeit a hundred years after this book's publication. That being said, the writing is delicious, and appears very true to the character--despite the ultimate ironies at the end. One wonders, "how does the character gain the knowledge she has?" when we reach the conclusion, which is one of my favorite outcomes of reading at all--nice to see it here, in what has been deemed the first "modern novel.""
"The first half is rough going--every sentence seems to namedrop at least two members of the French aristocracy, and it is impossible to keep track of who is being mentioned for the first time, and who has already been referred to six lines back. But there comes a point where the narrative suddenly clears and it becomes obvious how this rather tortured excursion through the labyrinthine French royal court not only serves to set the stage, but emphasizes the countless dangers and social traps the titular character must somehow navigate upon her introduction to it.
The story that subsequently unfolds is in and of itself extremely simple: a beautiful young woman (she's of the type that causes every man to gape in astonishment upon entering a room) manages to land an advantageous marriage with a kind and gentle titled man who adores her; unfortunately she doesn't love him, and falls for the most rakish bachelor at court (to further complicate things, the feeling is mutual). The Princess spends the rest of the novella trying to overcome her amorous feelings to love and serve her husband as a faithful wife should.
It might sound then that The Princess of Clèves serves as yet another testament to the historical systems of oppression against women; it is, but to regard it solely in those terms would mean missing a lot of fascinating layers to to the story. Despite the novel being devoid of "traditional" characterization (such conventions were not introduced for another century or two), the Princess somehow emerges as a remarkably nuanced character, as impossible for the reader to pin down as it is for the men in her life. Should her rigid moral beliefs be interpreted as yet another form of mental enslavement or the mark of an intellectually independent woman who refused to play the amorous games of the court? Is it piety or self-preservation that moves the actions of the Princess? The novel refuses to give an answer of any kind, and one way or the other, it is the Princess who ultimately decides her own fate--though whether it was the right one has been fiercely debated since the novel first appeared.
(I read this after seeing the recent film La belle personne, which adapts the story to a contemporary French high school. I recommend it, though it admittedly makes more sense in context with its source material.)"
"It was very hard to keep all the members of the court straight with all their names and titles. If they had been shortened to Tom, Bob and Charles (while not very romantic), I would have enjoyed the action much more."
"The only time in my life I have thrown down a book in utter disgust upon finishing it (and if it hadn't been required reading, I wouldn't have bothered to read to the end). Boo."
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