Librowski, Stanisław Jan (1985) Jean Guéhenno : an inter-war intellectual. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

The study of Jean Guehenno in the inter-war years is divided
into three main parts. The first deals with the development of
Gw!henno's personality and ideas, which preceded the publication
of his major works, and explores his debt to certain literary
figures. The second deals with the main texts Caliban parle
and Journal d'un homme de 40 ans, whilst the third explores his
role as editor and director of Europe and Vendredi respectively.
The first chapters consider the difficulties Guehenno encountered
in reconciling academic success with his poor origins. Moreover they
present the problem of his experience of the First World War, his
decision to become a teacher and the influence of Daniel Halevy
in his early literary career.
The second part is an analysis of Guehenno's two most important
texts. With respect to Caliban parle the issues raised include
co-existence in a world without God, the solution of a contractual
society with all its implications for culture, and the problem of
revolution as a personal spiritual ideal. In the case of Journal
d'un homme de 40 ans, where Guehenno reaffirms his earlier
individualism, his discovery of a style to suit his intellectual
preoccupations is considered, as is the fact that his work is
primarily a personal protest against war.
The third section of the thesis deals with Guehenno's role in
Europe as well as in Vendredi and with the extent to which these
papers reflected the interests of his major works. Furthermore,
in the case of Vendredi the problem of the confrontation between
idealism and political necessity posed by "engagement" is examined,
using Guehenno's articles on the Front Populaire and the U.S.S.R.
The conclusions drawn are that Guehenno is an important
influential and representative member of the group of "intellectuels
engages" which worked in France in the inter-war years, because his
work raises their common problems of intellectuality, class, culture
and pacifism. Equally importantly however, his case illustrates
the dangers posed by intellectual commitment to a political cause -
dangers which led him to adopt an ultimately conservative position,
and which on a more general level led to the dispersal of the
"intellectuels engages" as a group.

Item Type:	Thesis or Dissertation (PhD)
Subjects:	P Language and Literature > PQ Romance literatures
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Guéhenno, Jean, 1890-1978 -- Criticism and interpretation, Intellectuals -- France -- History -- 20th century
Official Date:	October 1985
Dates:	Date Event October 1985 Submitted
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Department of French Studies
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Extent:	2 volumes
Language:	eng

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