Découvrir son propre soi entre l’Occident et l’Orient – "Au temps du fleuve Amour" d’Andreï Makine en tant que roman d’apprentissage
Discover the Self between the Occident and the Orient – "Once Upon the River Love" by Andreï Makine as a coming-of-age novel

Author(s): Aleksandra Komandera
Subject(s): Theoretical Linguistics, Applied Linguistics, Studies of Literature, French Literature, Philology
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: Occident; Orient; Self-Construction; Makine; French literature
Summary/Abstract: The article examines the role of the Orient and the Occident, especially their crossing, in the construction of the self in Once Upon the River Love by Andreï Makine. Both types of the place, with their living conditions, customs, social relations, political discourses, or sceneries, have a great impact on young adolescents who try to define their selves, on the threshold of their adulthood, as it is common in coming-of-age novels. Assisted by educators and initiators, such as a prostitute, a film character, and an admirer of French literature, the young protagonists complete their formation, by discovering the selves of lover, warrior, and poet. However, the finding of the self, realised when the Orient meets the Occident, carries the risk of becoming “a pendulum”.

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