L'Humour dans le dernier roman de Stendhal

The object of this article is to discover through an analysis of Stendhal's comic techniques the role that humour plays in his last novel Lamiel. The novel is full of comical incidents: the episode of firecrackers exploded behind the altar in order to simulate the fires of hell, Doctor Sansfin – the only caricature that is carried rather far – falling from his horse into the mud. Stendhal's favorite method is imitation. Not only he reproduces the gestures of his characters, but also their tricks of speech. In many metaphorical turns taken literally we find an other expression of comic irony. More sophisticated humour occurs in the forms of parody and burlesque. Humour used by Stendhal in his last novel involves also social satire and mockery of bourgeois conventions. Cynical laughter becomes the answer for the most lucid of the novel's protagonist, Lamiel herself, for whom ironical detachment is almost the only way how to cope with the world. (In French) (GP)