Réappropriation du jansénisme dans quelques romans français contemporains

Résumé

JANSENISM REDUX IN SOME CONTEMPORARY FRENCH NOVELS

The presence of Jansenism in a number of contemporary novels should lead to questioning the notion of post-secularity rather than illustrating it. The study of three of these novels P. Quignard’s Tous les Matins du monde, L. Salvayre’s La Puissance des mouches and C. Pujade-Renaud’s Le Désert de la Grâce cannot be limited to interpreting them as heralds of a return to religion which some see as a defining feature of post-secularity while others deem it insufficient to define the notion. The analysis of the links between the royal authority and Port-Royal makes it possible to highlight the interest of novelists in the theme of persecution and the resistance of individuals to intolerance, while remaining at a distance from 17th century theological debates. Beyond being a plea for freedom of conscience, these texts put it into perspective in a secularized democratic society that fails to conceive the place of the religious, or to conceive of itself outside that place. Literature thus shows the strength of fiction and art when it comes to considering man’s place in the world.