Julie, ou la nouvelle Héloïse
Encyclopedia
Julie, or the New Héloïse is an epistolary novel
by Jean-Jacques Rousseau
, published in 1761
by Marc-Michel Rey
in (Amsterdam). The original edition was entitled Lettres de deux amans habitans d'une petite ville au pied des Alpes ("Letters from two lovers living in a small town at the foot of the Alps").
The novel’s subtitle points to the history of Héloïse d’Argenteuil and Pierre Abélard, a medieval story of passion and Christian renunciation. The novel was put on the Index Librorum Prohibitorum
.
Although Rousseau wrote it as a novel, a philosophical theory about authenticity permeates through it, as he explores autonomy and authenticity as moral values. A common interpretation is that Rousseau valued the ethics
of authenticity over rational moral principles, as he illlustrates the principle that one should do what is imposed upon him by society only insofar as it would seem congruent with one's "secret principles" and feelings, being constituent of one's core identity. Thus unauthentic behavior would pave the way to self-destruction.
has argued that Julie "was perhaps the biggest best-seller of the century." Publishers could not print copies fast enough so they rented the book out by the day and even by the hour. According to Darnton, there were at least 70 editions in print before 1800, "probably more than for any other novel in the previous history of publishing."
But what was truly astonishing regarding Julie's popularity was not just its sales statistics, but the emotions it brought out in its readers. Readers were so overcome that they wrote to Rousseau in droves, creating the first celebrity author. One reader claimed that the novel nearly drove him mad from excess of feeling while another claimed that the violent sobbing he underwent cured his cold. Reader after reader describes their "tears," "sighs," "torments," and "ecstasies" to Rousseau. One wrote in a letter to Rousseau after finishing the novel:
]
Like this reader, people became deeply invested in the lives of the characters in the novel, to an extent that was entirely new in fiction. In fact, some readers simply could not accept that the book was fiction. One woman wrote to Rousseau asking:
Other readers identified less with the individual characters and more with their general struggles. They saw in Julie a story of temptation, sin and redemption that resembled their own lives.
Epistolary novel
An epistolary novel is a novel written as a series of documents. The usual form is letters, although diary entries, newspaper clippings and other documents are sometimes used. Recently, electronic "documents" such as recordings and radio, blogs, and e-mails have also come into use...
by Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer of 18th-century Romanticism. His political philosophy influenced the French Revolution as well as the overall development of modern political, sociological and educational thought.His novel Émile: or, On Education is a treatise...
, published in 1761
1761 in literature
See also: 1760 in literature, other events of 1761, 1762 in literature, list of years in literature.-Events:* On the death of Johann Matthias Gesner, the chair of rhetoric at the University of Göttingen is refused by both Johann August Ernesti and by David Ruhnken...
by Marc-Michel Rey
Marc-Michel Rey
Marc-Michel Rey was an influential publisher in the United Provinces, who published many of the works of the French Philosophes, including Jean-Jacques Rousseau....
in (Amsterdam). The original edition was entitled Lettres de deux amans habitans d'une petite ville au pied des Alpes ("Letters from two lovers living in a small town at the foot of the Alps").
The novel’s subtitle points to the history of Héloïse d’Argenteuil and Pierre Abélard, a medieval story of passion and Christian renunciation. The novel was put on the Index Librorum Prohibitorum
Index Librorum Prohibitorum
The Index Librorum Prohibitorum was a list of publications prohibited by the Catholic Church. A first version was promulgated by Pope Paul IV in 1559, and a revised and somewhat relaxed form was authorized at the Council of Trent...
.
Although Rousseau wrote it as a novel, a philosophical theory about authenticity permeates through it, as he explores autonomy and authenticity as moral values. A common interpretation is that Rousseau valued the ethics
Ethics
Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
of authenticity over rational moral principles, as he illlustrates the principle that one should do what is imposed upon him by society only insofar as it would seem congruent with one's "secret principles" and feelings, being constituent of one's core identity. Thus unauthentic behavior would pave the way to self-destruction.
Reception history
Historian Robert DarntonRobert Darnton
Robert Darnton is an American cultural historian, recognized as a leading expert on 18th-century France.-Life:He graduated from Harvard University in 1960, attended Oxford University on a Rhodes scholarship, and earned a Ph.D. in history from Oxford in 1964, where he studied with Richard Cobb,...
has argued that Julie "was perhaps the biggest best-seller of the century." Publishers could not print copies fast enough so they rented the book out by the day and even by the hour. According to Darnton, there were at least 70 editions in print before 1800, "probably more than for any other novel in the previous history of publishing."
But what was truly astonishing regarding Julie's popularity was not just its sales statistics, but the emotions it brought out in its readers. Readers were so overcome that they wrote to Rousseau in droves, creating the first celebrity author. One reader claimed that the novel nearly drove him mad from excess of feeling while another claimed that the violent sobbing he underwent cured his cold. Reader after reader describes their "tears," "sighs," "torments," and "ecstasies" to Rousseau. One wrote in a letter to Rousseau after finishing the novel:
I dare not tell you the effect it made on me. No, I was past weeping. A sharp pain convulsed me. My heart was crushed. Julie dying was no longer an unknown person. I believed I was her sister, her friend, her Claire. My seizure became so strong that if I had not put the book away I would have been as ill as all those who attended that virtuous woman in her last moments.
Like this reader, people became deeply invested in the lives of the characters in the novel, to an extent that was entirely new in fiction. In fact, some readers simply could not accept that the book was fiction. One woman wrote to Rousseau asking:
Many people who have read your book and discussed it with me assert that it is only a clever fabrication on your part. I can't believe that. If so, how could a mistaken reading have produced sensations like the ones I felt when I read the book? I implore you, Monsieur, tell me: did Julie really live? Is Saint-Preux still alive? What country on this earth does he inhabit? Claire, sweet Claire, did she follow her dear friend to the grave? M. de Wolmar, milord Edouard, all those persons, are they only imaginary as some want to convince me? If that be the case, what kind of a world do we inhabit, in which virtue is but an idea?
Other readers identified less with the individual characters and more with their general struggles. They saw in Julie a story of temptation, sin and redemption that resembled their own lives.
Books
- Santo L. Aricò, Rousseau’s Art of persuasion in La nouvelle Héloïse, University Press of America, Lanham, 1994 ISBN 9780819196187 Nouchine Behbahani, Paysages rêvés, paysages vécus dans La Nouvelle Héloïse de J.-J. Rousseau, Voltaire Foundation at the Taylor Institution, Oxford, 1989 ISBN 9780729403931 L’Amour dans la nouvelle Héloïse : texte et intertexte : actes du colloque de Genève, 10-11-12 juin 1999, Éd. Jacques Berchtold, François Rosset, Droz, Genève, 2002 ISBN 9782600008082 Jean-Marie Carzou, La Conception de la nature humaine dans la Nouvelle Héloïse, Sauret, Paris, 1966 Charles Dédéyan, Jean-Jacques Rousseau : la Nouvelle Héloïse, ou, l’éternel retour, Nizet, Saint-Genouph, 2002 ISBN 2207812692 Charles Dédéyan, La Nouvelle Héloïse de Jean-Jacques Rousseau : étude d’ensemble, SEDES-CDU, Paris, 1990 ISBN 9782718127811
- Maurice R Funke, From saint to psychotic: the crisis of human identity in the late 18th century : a comparative study of Clarissa, La Nouvelle Héloise, Die Leiden des jungen WerthersThe Sorrows of Young WertherThe Sorrows of Young Werther is an epistolary and loosely autobiographical novel by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, first published in 1774; a revised edition of the novel was published in 1787...
, P. Lang, New York, 1983 ISBN 9780820400013 - James Fleming Jones, La Nouvelle Héloïse, Rousseau and utopia, Droz, Genève, 1977
- Peggy Kamuf, Fictions of Feminine Desire: Disclosures of Héloïse, U of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, 1982 ISBN 9780803227057 François van Laere, Une Lecture du temps dans la Nouvelle Héloïse, La Baconnière, Neuchâtel, 1968 Laurence Mall, Origines et retraites dans La nouvelle Héloïse, P. Lang, New York, 1997 ISBN 9780820433493 William Mead, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, ou le Romancier enchaîné ; étude de la nouvelle Héloïse, Presses universitaires de France, Paris, 1966 Daniel Mornet, La Nouvelle Héloïse de J.-J. Rousseau ; étude et analyse, Mellottée Paris, 1929 Perry Reisewitz, L’Illusion salutaire : Jean-Jacques Rousseaus Nouvelle Héloïse als ästhetische Fortschreibung der philosophischen Anthropologie der Discours, Romanistischer Verlag, Bonn, 2000 ISBN 9783861431039 Yannick Séité, Du Livre au lire : La nouvelle Héloïse, roman des lumières, Champion, Paris, 2002 ISBN 9782745305176 Étienne Servais, Le Genre romanesque en France depuis l’apparition de la Nouvelle Héloïse jusqu’aux approches de la Révolution, M. Lamertin, Bruxelles, 1922 Anne Tilleul, La Vertu du beau : essai sur La nouvelle Héloïse, Humanitas nouvelle optique, Montréal, 1989 ISBN 9782893960074
Articles
Nouchine Behbahani, Paysages rêvés, paysages vécus dans La Nouvelle Héloïse de J. J. Rousseau, Voltaire Foundation at the Taylor Institution, Oxford, 1989, ISBN 9780729403931 Jacques Berchtold, “L’Impossible Virginité du jardin verbal : les Leçons de la nature selon la Lettre IV, 11 de La Nouvelle Héloïse“, Éd. et préf. Jürgen Söring, Peter Gasser, Rousseauismus: Naturevangelium und Literatur, Frankfurt, Peter Lang, 1999, p. 53-83 ISBN 9783631349168 Nadine Bérenguier, “Le ‘Dangereux Dépôt’: Virginité et contrat dans Julie ou La Nouvelle Héloïse ”, Eighteenth-Century Fiction, July 1997, n° 9 (4), p. 447-63 André Blanc, “Le Jardin de Julie”, Dix-huitième Siècle, 1982, n° 14, p. 357-376 Luciano Bulber, “Jean-Jacques Rousseau, peintre de la nature-état d’âme dans La Nouvelle Héloïse“, Kwartalnik Neofilologiczny, 1988, n° 35 (4), p. 415-29 Henri Coulet, “Couples dans La Nouvelle Héloïse“, Littératures, Fall 1989, n° 21, p. 69-81 Catherine Cusset, “Cythère et Elysée: Jardin et plaisir de Watteau à Rousseau”, Dalhousie French Studies, Winter 1994, n° 29, p. 65-84 Claude Labrosse, Éd. K. Kupisz, G.-A. Pérouse, J.-Y. Debreuille, “La Figure de Julie dans La Nouvelle Héloïse“, Le Portrait littéraire, Lyon, PU de Lyon, 1988, p. 153-58 Michel Delon, “La Nouvelle Héloïse et le goût du rêve”, Magazine Littéraire, Sept 1997, n° 357, p. 36-8 Arbi Dhifaoui, “L’Épistolaire et/ou la violence dans La Nouvelle Héloïse de Rousseau”, Éd. et intro. Martine Debaisieux, Gabrielle Verdier, Violence et fiction jusqu’à la Révolution, Tübingen, Narr, 1998, p. 357-66 Jean Ehrard, “Le Corps de Julie”, Éd. Raymond Trousson, Michèle Biblio. Mat-Hasquin, Jacques Lemaire, Ralph Heyndels, Thèmes et figures du siècle des Lumières : mélanges offerts à Roland Mortier, Genève, Droz, 1980, p. 95-106 Anne Srabian de Fabry, “L’Architecture secrète de La Nouvelle Héloïse“, Australian Journal of French Studies, 1982 Jan.-Apr., n° 19 (1), p. 3-10 Anne Srabian de Fabry, “Quelques observations sur le dénouement de La Nouvelle Héloïse“, French Review, Oct 1972, n° 46 (1), p. 2-8 R. J. Howells, “Désir et distance dans La Nouvelle Héloïse“, Studies on Voltaire and the Eighteenth Century, 1985, n° 230, p. 223-232 R. J. Howells, “Deux histoires, un discours : La Nouvelle Héloïse et le récit des amours d’Émile et Sophie dans l’Émile”, Studies on Voltaire and the Eighteenth Century, 1987, n° 249, p. 267-294 François Jost, “La Nouvelle Héloïse, Roman Suisse”, Revue de Littérature Comparée, 1962, n° 35, p. 538-565 Tanguy L’Aminot, “L’Amour courtois dans La Nouvelle Héloïse“, Piau-Gillot, Colette Éd. Desné, Roland Éd. L’Aminot, Tanguy Éd. Modernité et pérennité de Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Champion, Paris, 2002, p. 241-57 Claude Labrosse, “Nouveauté de La Nouvelle Héloïse," Eighteenth-Century Fiction, Jan-Apr 2001, n° 13 (2-3), p. 235-46 J.-L. Lecercle, “L’Inconscient et création littéraire : sur La Nouvelle Héloïse“, Études Littéraires, 1969, n° 1, p. 197-204 Annie Leclerc, “Jean-Jacques Rousseau : l’Amour au pays des chimères”, Magazine Littéraire, Par 1995, n° 331, p. 31-34 Pierre Rétat, Litteratures, “L’Économie rustique de Clarens”, 1989 Fall; 21: 59-68- Laurence Mall, “Les Aberrations de l’errance : le Voyage dans La Nouvelle Héloïse“, Australian Journal of French Studies, 1994, n° 31 (2), p. 175-87 Francine Markovits, “Rousseau et l’éthique de Clarens : une économie des relations humaines”, Stanford French Review, 1991, n° 15 (3), p. 323-48 Ourida Mostefai, Lectures de La Nouvelle Héloïse, N. Amer. Assn. for the Study of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Ottawa, 1993 ISBN 9780969313236
- Philip Knee, “Wolmar comme médiateur politique”, p. 117-27
- Guy Lafrance, “L’Éthique de La Nouvelle Héloïse et du Vicaire Savoyard“, p. 141-50
- Jim MacAdam, “Reading Julie Amour-propre-ly”, p. 107-16
- Laurence Mall, pp. 163–73”, “L’Intérieur et l’extérieur : Étude des lettres parisiennes dans La Nouvelle Héloïse“, p. 163-73
- Jean Roussel, pp. 61–72”, “La Nouvelle Héloïse et la politique : de l’écart à l’emblème”, p. 61-72
- Teresa Sousa de Almeida, “La Circulation des lettres dans le roman ou le Partage des pouvoirs”, p. 175-84
- Jean Terrasse, pp. 129–39”, “Jean-Jacques, Saint-Preux et Wolmar : aspects de la relation pédagogique”, p. 129-39
- Loïc Thommeret, “De La Nouvelle Héloïse aux ConfessionsConfessions (Jean-Jacques Rousseau)Confessions is an autobiographical book by Jean-Jacques Rousseau. In modern times, it is often published with the title The Confessions of Jean-Jacques Rousseau in order to distinguish it from St. Augustine of Hippo's Confessions...
, une triade infernale”, p. 213-21 - María José Villaverde, “L’Égalité dans La Nouvelle Héloïse“, p. 73-84
- Ruth Ohayon, “Rousseau’s Julie; Or, the Maternal Odyssey”, College Language Association Journal, Sept. 1986, n° 30 (1), p. 69-82 Robert Osmont, “Expérience vécue et création romanesque : le sentiment de l’éphémère dans La Nouvelle Héloïse“, Dix-huitième Siècle, 1975, n° 7, p. 225-42 Paul Pelckmans, “Le Rêve du voile dans La Nouvelle Héloïse“, Revue Romane, 1982, n° 17 (1), p. 86-97 René Pomeau, “Le Paysage de La Nouvelle Héloïse : l’Asile, l’espace”, The Feeling for Nature and the Landscape of Man, Éd. Paul Hallberg, Gothenburg, Kungl. Vetenskaps & Vitterhets-Samhället, 1980, p. 132-42 Jean Roussel, “La Douleur de Saint-Preux”, Éd. Carminella Biondi, Carmelina Imbroscio, Marie-Josée Latil, Nadia Minerva, Carla Pellandra, Adriana Sfragaro, Brigitte Soubeyran, Paola Vecchi, La Quête du bonheur et l’expression de la douleur dans la littérature et la pensée françaises. Genève, Droz, 1995, p. 371-9 Jean Roussel, “La Faute, le rachat et le romanesque dans La Nouvelle Héloïse“, Travaux de Littérature, 1995; 8: 209-20 Timothy Scanlan, “Perspectives on the Nuits d’amour in Rousseau’s La Nouvelle Héloïse“, AUMLA, Nov 1993, n° 80, p. 93-9 Norbert Sclippa, “L’Idéal politique et l’idée de Nation dans La Nouvelle Héloïse“, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, politique et nation, Intro. Robert Thiéry, Paris, Champion, 2001, XXIV, p. 101-8 Norbert Sclippa, “La Nouvelle Héloïse et l’aristocratie”, Studies on Voltaire and the Eighteenth Century, 1991, n° 284, p. 1-71 Norbert Sclippa, “La Nouvelle Héloïse, la noblesse et la bourgeoisie”, Studies on Voltaire and the Eighteenth Century, 1989, n° 265, p. 1617-1619 Jean-Paul Sermain, “La Nouvelle Héloïse ou l’invention du roman-poème””, Éd. Colette Piau-Gillot, Roland Desné, Tanguy L’Aminot, Modernité et pérennité de Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Paris, Champion, 2002, p. 227-40 Jean Sgard, “De Cunégonde à Julie”, Recherches et Travaux, 1996, n° 51, p. 121-30 Lieve Spaas, “D’un Clarens à l’autre : structures du désir sexuel dans La Nouvelle Héloïse“, Studies on Voltaire and the Eighteenth Century, 1991, n° 284, p. 73-82 Jean Starobinski, “Jean-Jacques Rousseau : Jours uniques, plaisirs redoublés”, Thèmes et figures du siècle des Lumières : mélanges offerts à Roland Mortier, Éd. Raymond Trousson Michèle Mat-Hasquin, Jacques Lemaire, Ralph Heyndels, Genève, Droz, 1980, p. 285-97 Raymond Trousson, “De Jacques à Jean-Jacques ou du bon usage de La Nouvelle Héloïse“, Éd. Elio Mosele, Intro. Pierre Brunel, George Sand et son temps, I-III. Slatkine, Genève, 1994, p. 749-66 Raymond Trousson, “Le Rôle de Wolmar dans La Nouvelle Héloïse“, Éd. Raymond Trousson, Michèle Mat-Hasquin, Jacques Lemaire, Ralph Heyndels, Thèmes et figures du siècle des Lumières : mélanges offerts à Roland Mortier, Genève, Droz, 1980, p. 299-306 Joseph Waldauer, “La Solitude et la communauté dans La Nouvelle Héloïse“, Studies on Voltaire and the Eighteenth Century, 1989, n° 265, p. 1271-4
- Hans Wolpe, “Psychological Ambiguity in La Nouvelle Héloise“, University of Toronto Quarterly, 1959, n° 28, p. 279-90
External links
- English translation by William KenrickWilliam Kenrick (writer)William Kenrick was an English novelist, playwright, translator and satirist, who spent much of his career libelling and lampooning his fellow writers.- Life and career :Kenrick was born at Watford, Hertfordshire, son of a stay-maker...
of all volumes, namely: vol 1, vol 2, vol 3, and vol 4; are available via Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...