THE WORLD OF THINGS IN THE ARTISTIC SPACE

OF HENRI de REGNIER’S SHORT STORIES (‘THE JASPER CANE’ COLLECTION)

Natalia V. Rusinova1*, Tatiana P. Astankova2 , Tatiana A. Mitrofanova3*,
Nadejda G. Bajenova4, Rita A. Egoshina5 , Galina N. Kazyro6

1Asst. Prof., Mari State University, Russia, nroussinova@yandexd.ru
2Asst. Prof., Mari State University, Russia, t.astankova@yandex.ru
3Asst. Prof., Mari State University, Russia, mitrofanowa.ta@gmail.com
4Asst. Prof., Mari State University, Russia, bng2901@yandex.ru
5Assist. Mari State University, Russia, affaires@mail.ru
6Asst. Prof., Mari State University, Russia, galinarfa@yahoo.com
*Corresponding author

Abstract
The article focuses on the world of things in the artistic space of short stories from the collection “The Jasper Cane” (1897) by Henri Regnier (1864- 1936), a French poet and prose-writer, whose creative work complements the overall picture of French culture at the turn of the 20th century, a controversial period known in the West as "Belle époque"("La belle époque").
Material specificity is an essential facet of the poetic world of Regnier’s stories. The article highlights the various functions of the world of things in the writer’s short stories: material objects do not only form a decorative background to the narrative, the material world becomes a symbol of man’s inner world, of human soul.

The article analyses the impact of various aesthetic movements on the writer’s work at the turn of the 20th century, an epoch that gave rise to many artistic ideas which were further developed in the 20th century. The article deals with the writer’s peculiar view of the world of objects, which combines a symbolist-mystical conception of things with parnassian beauty. The abundance of material things in Regnier’s stories does not bring his work any closer to the realist tradition. In the writer’s stories things are not the material signs of the epoch, they do not create an objective space of the social trend of his works; just the opposite, the world of things separates the characters from reality, things indicate a mysterious connection between man and the surreal world. The article formulates the idea of emotional and mystical conception of things, reflecting the author’s symbolist view of the world.

To Regnier as a symbolist things and people are elements of a single whole, of the world spirit, of outer space. The influence of symbolism is also evident in the motif of destruction, which significantly affects the organization of the artistic space. It is saturated with signs indicating the movement to an end, to decline. The world of objects in "The Jasper Cane" is vivid and tangible. Regnier’s predilection for visual and graphic images can be explained by the influence of T. Gautier and Parnassians.

The article discusses the place of man in the world of things. In "The Jasper Cane", there is a shift of emphasis from people to things, the image of man is obscured and simplified, which reflects the tendency to destroy the anthropocentric view of the world that was widespread at the turn of the century.

The analysis of the world of things in the short stories by the French writer leads to the conclusion that the conception of things in Regnier’s works reflects such problems of a transition period as discord between the objective world and human consciousness, the inability of man to live in harmony with himself, the themes that will be continued in the French literature of the 20th century.

Keywords: Henri de Regnier, the turn of the 20th century, the thing, symbolism, Parnassian charm


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CITATION: Abstracts & Proceedings of INTCESS 2017 - 4th International Conference on Education and Social Sciences, 6-8 February 2017- Istanbul, Turkey

ISBN: 978-605-64453-9-2