histoire romaine Clélie

Clélie, histoire romaine. Vast (13, 000-page) novel by Madeleine de Scudéry published in ten instalments between 1654 and 1660. The work, now called a roman héroïque, often resembles romance more than novel. Clélie begins in medias res, just before the marriage between Clélie and Aronce. Suddenly, an earthquake separates the lovers. After many fantastic adventures (Clélie is repeatedly kidnapped by Aronce's rivals, for example), they are eventually reunited. However, that happy end is delayed by a variety of intercalated narratives: one character tells another's life story; groups embark on lengthy discussions of themes ranging from the qualities of successful letter-writing to the value of inclination or sudden passion. Despite its setting in classical Rome, Clélie was very much a novel for its times.

The best-seller of the century, Clélie was the favourite reading of the précieuses [see Preciosity]. Much intercalated material was borrowed from their actual discussions—the carte de Tendre, for instance, was invented in Scudéry's salon. And the issues Clélie raises, in particular its critique of marriage as legal ‘slavery’ for women, were hotly debated in the salons. Contemporary readers praised Scudéry's intimate knowledge of the human heart. In fact, Clélie inaugurates the French novel's close association with psychological realism.

[Joan Dejean]