Second novel by the comtesse de Lafayette. First published (1670) jointly with Huet's eulogy of romance fiction, Zayde marks Lafayette's only attempt to revive Madeleine de Scudéry's roman héroïque. The novel's setting in Moorish Spain permits exoticism and a tale of lovers from different cultures and religions. Because the Spanish prince Consalve does not speak the same language as Zayde, he can learn nothing about the mysterious beauty with whom he immediately falls in love. Lafayette constructs fascinating meditations on the perils of indirect communication and the effects of jealousy before she brings Zayde to a happy end in marriage, conversion, and national unity.
[Joan Dejean]
