La fable comme dixième 'forme simple' : une étude comparative du "Crépuscule des loups" de Jean Dutourd avec les "Fables" correspondantes de Jean de La Fontaine

Abstract

The famous fables of La Fontaine date back to the 17th century and have been studied in French schools in many countries throughout the world. They are also the literary source for the "Crepuscule des 10 ups", a collection of satires by Jean Dutourd. I analyzed 12 of these satires, along with the 12 corresponding fables, to establish the procedure for the transformation of the "Fables" and to examine the fmal result. I based myself on Jolles' theory of Simple Forms tackled in Part I. These are ancient literary forms which had not been previously explored. Part 2 examined the socio-political milieu of Jean Dutourd (with Jean de La Fontaine's curriculum vitae relegated to the Appendices section).In the following chapters I aimed to reveal the factors which influenced their work the most. Jolles explains that the history of the form is important for the study of certain forms, especially with regards to the social milieu. The first problem which this thesis explores is, what has happened to the form of the fable. - Could the fable survive the 20th century?- If so, with what transformations? These are the type of questions which Jolles would have posed, because, the Simple Forms date back to antiquity and stem from the anthropological needs of man, fulfilling certain functions. In Part Three, I analyzed the evolved forms of the first degree (the fables of La Fontaine) with respect to the evolved forms of the second degree (each of the 12 corresponding satires). I considered the human aspects, similarities and additions, as well as Dutourd's reversal of situations, where he questions the morals contained in the fables. I also make a comparison between Louis XIV's socio political world, (the milieu of La Fontaine), to that of the De Gaulle era. The role of the associative memory notably that of the various events in their time-span, is of prime importance. It is via the association and the memories of the past that we can reconstruct the sociopolitical milieu which constitute the base of the fables. To conclude, the main aim of the satires is to paint the good, old fables in the hues of the 20th century, rather like one would renovate the fayade of some decrepit construction. Let it suffice to quote the following line taken from the outside back cover of "Le crepuscule des loups": "The fabulist of to-day can perhaps perceive some details which were invisible during the time of Louis XIV"I . The thesis then finally comments on the spirit of 20th century man- has he changed all that much since the 17th century