Chocolate and the French novel: modernity, language, nature

Mathias, M. (2022) Chocolate and the French novel: modernity, language, nature. Modern and Contemporary France, (doi: 10.1080/09639489.2022.2134324) (Early Online Publication)

Abstract

This article brings ecocritical and historical approaches together with literary analysis to provide the first in-depth analysis of chocolate in French novels. It argues that chocolate is a uniquely hybrid, indeterminate substance in both literal and figurative terms and it enables writers to ask questions about human nature and our status as civilized, textual beings. Examining examples from a range of writers—Stendhal, Huysmans, Verne and Nothomb—I show how chocolate highlights our paradoxical understanding of ourselves as both imbricated within nature through our material status and yet separated from it through our culture and especially through language and writing. Chocolate thus provides a fruitful tool for writers to think about textuality, modernity, and our relationship with nature.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Early Online Publication
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Mathias, Dr Manon
• Authors: Mathias, M.
• College/School: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Modern Languages and Cultures > French
• Journal Name: Modern and Contemporary France
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• ISSN: 0963-9489
• ISSN (Online): 1469-9869
• Published Online: 01 December 2022
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2022 The Author
• First Published: First published in Modern and Contemporary France 2022
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License