Ironie ou sérieux du rire chez Michel Tournier dans Le Roi des Aulnes
Irony or seriousness of laughter with Michel Tournier in Le Roi des Aulnes

Author(s): Evagrina Dîrțu
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies, Applied Linguistics, Studies of Literature, French Literature, Theory of Literature
Published by: Editura Junimea
Keywords: Michel Tournier; Le Roi des Aulnes; ‘white’ humour; irony; seriousness; World War II;
Summary/Abstract: “The more I’m laughing, the less I’m joking”, this is how Michel Tournier described the nature and the presence – an obvious one, he hoped – of humour in his whole work. What he aimed at, according to his own words, was a form of humour whose aggravating (as opposed to soothing) purpose was synonymous of a perturbation of all senses, a possibility therefore to reverse what is preestablished and what is anticipated at the same time. Our objective for the present paper is to see if (and how) “white” humour, the “serious” humour that Tournier defines, meets the meanings and the definitions of irony; we also aim at comparing Tournier’s perspective on humour and irony to other authors’ perspectives; and finally, we aim at analysing how this theoretical insight is reflected in his fiction, i.e. in one of his most famous novels, Le Roi des Aulnes.

• Details
• Contents