French Intellectual & Literary History

Romanticism was a movement away from the values of the Enlightenment. Romanticism embraced the mystic, the emotional, and the horrific as the prisms through which life could be understood, as opposed to relying on the equilibrium and order that characterized the Enlightenment. The literature of the era of Romanticism reflected idyllic conceptions of life expressed in highly emotional contexts. The literature of the era tended to be value-laden with an emphasis on the experiences of individuals.

French literature of the era of Romanticism tended to be favorable toward the political concept of democracy because their idealistic and sentimental bent fostered the idea that human society could have a bright future. Romanticists pursued their visions through imagination and hope.

Francois Rene de Chateaubriand was a believer in political liberalism and constitutional monarchy. His writing also evinced a belief that truth was revealed through an inner realization in every human being that did not rely on the reasoning approach of the Enlightenment. He fostered this approach to understanding through the theme of the Nobel Savage. Anti-intellectualism was a prevalent theme in his writings. He deals with emotions, raw nature, and religion in Rene. (de Chateaubriand, 1962). Chateaubriand is considered to be a precursor of Romanticism. Nevertheless, his writi

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and the Realistic in his literary works. Where Hugo was a Romantic reaching ahead at times toward Realism, however, Balzac was a Realist who occasionally wrote with the emotion and sentimentality of a Romantic. In Le PerF Goriot, Balzac pursues a theme of self-sacrifice. The novel illustrates the futility of self-sacrifice if one is hoping to be rewarded with love and respect from those whom he or she helps. In keeping with the premise of the era of Realism, however, Balzac focused most of his literary attention on undistinguished, ordinary people (de Balzac, 1997). Le PerF Goriot was one of the series of novels that comprised La ComTdie Humaine, in which Balzac constructed a history of the social development of France. French literature during the era of Realism attempted to depict the human condition without resorting to efforts to make it appear to be better than it actually was. Balzac was a master in this genre. Naturalism represented a deepening of the perspective of realism by focusing on the neutrality of nature and a somewhat fatalistic assessment of humans or a higher power to counter a predestined outcome. Death would come to all without the benefit of an idyllic afterlife. Following the downward evolution
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Approximate Word count = 1408
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)