Victor Hugo 2003–1802: images et transformations

Sous la direction de Maxime Prévost et Yan Hamel. Quebec, Fides, 2003. 185 pp. Cdn$19.95; €16.00. This book consists of a lively collection of essays drawn from a conference entitled ‘Imago Hugolis’ held in Montreal. A wide range of approaches is represented, but the focus of each is the reception of Hugo. There is a fascinating diversity in the ways Hugo is viewed through the lens of the late twentieth century and twenty-first century and we are shown his image on the internet, in film, through photography as well as being given connections between the hatred shown for Hugo by the Action française and the rise of the extreme right in France at precisely the time of the celebrations of Hugo's bicentenary. Pierre Popovic gives a spirited account of Hugo appearing to Bourdieu in a scenario designed to evoke memories of the table-tapping sessions in Jersey, and this is followed by Maxime Prévost's overview of the critics' and biographers' various interpretations of the table tapping. In his analysis of the film versions of Notre-Dame de Paris, Michel Condé offers some interesting insights into the novel but his analysis of the films is less convincing. Pascal Brissette offers a fascinating reading of various photos of Hugo, showing how Hugo sought to embody the iconography of the Romantic exile by emulating the postures of Werther and René, as well as attempting to present himself in heroic mode as Augustus or Napoleon. Benoît Melançon closes the first half of the volume with a lively and illuminating account of Hugo's life on the internet. Isabelle Daunais opens the second half with an analysis of Hugo's relationship with Flaubert. On the whole her account is well-researched with some stimulating insights, although there is a tendency to accept without question Flaubert's judgements on Hugo — for instance, his very dubious assertions about Hugo's difficulties with characterization. Micheline Cambron follows this with a valuable account of how Hugo served as a prototype for Louis Fréchette as he attempted to establish himself as Canada's national poet. Marc Angenot looks at the relationship between Daudet and Hugo and offers some interesting background information on Daudet, Maurras and the Action française. Eric Méchoulan examined Benjamin's readings of Hugo in a subtle and thoughtful essay which also engaged directly with Hugo's work, and Benoît Denis offered an equally stimulating account of Sartre's ambivalence towards Hugo, where he uncovered existentialist traits apparent in Hugo's work. Gilles Marcotte closes the volume with an absorbing analysis of Victor-Lévy Beaulieu's readings of Hugo which are partly mediated through Melville and Kerouac. On the whole the book gives few new insights into the work of Hugo himself (with the exception of the essays by Méchoulan and Denis); its real achievement is its refreshing variety of approach leading to a myriad of Hugolian images quite unlike those found in other volumes to date.

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