Histoire et histoires dans Les Géorgiques de Claude Simon : le rapport de l’histoire au temps cyclique
History and Histories in Claude Simon’s Georgics: The Relation between History and Cyclical Time

Summary/Abstract: A reading of Claude Simon’s Georgics (Les Géorgiques) can lead to questioning the relations between literature and history. This intricate novel tells three main stories that intertwine like nesting dolls, repeating an identical pattern. It raises the question of how history relates to the notion of Eternal return. Referencing to the Latin poet Virgil, quoted by Simon in his text, the novel points to the cycle of nature and its permanent return. But the paradox arising from the reading of the text is that the Eternal return does not seem to contradict in any way the historical development. Far from opposing each other, the Eternal return and History actually appear as complementary and inseparable here. The question is how Simon’s text manages to harmonize these two otherwise irreconcilable notions.

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