Traces de l’Allemagne dans l’œuvre de Pascal Quignard
Traces of Germany in the work of Pascal Quignard

Summary/Abstract: The recent history of France and Germany is marked by a series of oppositions, antagonisms, and undeniable violent confrontations – the wars of 1870, 1914-1918 and 1939-1945. On both sides, an important number of politicians and intellectuals feed the debate centered on the inherent differences which separate the two nations and cultures, giving birth, in the first part of the 20th century, to the most important national myths. At the end of the century, this debate is far from being over, but it suffers certain mutations: the writers engaged in this matter try to avoid traditional antagonisms and reject a one-sided, reductive point of view towards these countries. One of the contemporary authors and an indisputable figure of the recent French literature, who took an interest in Germany and its cultural heritage, is Pascal Quignard. The author of this article is proposing to demonstrate that in Quignard’s reflexive and fictional work it was developed a complex vision of Germany. Both in La haine de la musique or Les Désarçonnés, which is the latter volume from the Dernier Royaume cycle, there is a vision of the Nazi concentration camps that is presented. In Abîmes and Le salon du Wurtemberg, the surface of Germany indicates an idyllic or edenic topography. Further on, this country is also considered to be the cradle of a philosophical, literary and musical culture where names such as Heidegger, Nietzsche, Goethe, Kleist, Rilke, Hölderlin, Bach, Schubert or Grimmelshausen can be found. Finally, the analysis of the novel Le salon du Wurtemberg will allow us to point out the problem of the language and identity references, taking into account the fact that the main character, Charles Chenogne, is a paradigmatic example of a double nationality, French and German.

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