Le passé endeuillé: Histoire et quête autobiogra-phique chez Balzac et Stendhal

This study proposes to show that Balzac's Le Lys dans la vallée and Stendhal's Vie de Henry Brulard (both written in 1835) are not indifferent to their historical context. These works, situated after the breaking of the paternal order (1789, 1830) and before a historically viable future could be fathomed, search for an alternative to the loss of the paternal image. As they attempt, in very different ways, to fashion a new language (Balzac with flowers, Stendhal with silences), they are confronted with a new maternal object. Each work not only dispels the romantic, romanesque belief in a possible return, but also questions the very possibility of representing the past. (In French) (BM)