| Abstrakt: |
Religious motif, almost totally absent as it is from the narrative of Mme de Lafayette's La Princesse de Cl`ves, cannot by itself stand as the foundation of the protagonist's moral choices. This article undertakes the study of the two parallel ideological influences on the thematics of the heroine's thought. One is the evident Platonism of the Jansenists and Saint Augustine, which was current in Christian thought in seventeenth century France. The other, more pertinent one is the secular Neoplatonism of the Baroque as it derives from Plato's Dialogues. Finally, the opposition between the Princesse's doubly Platonic idealism and her suitor's Aristotelian, neoclassical code of ethics is brought to light. |
Full text from SpringerLink