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Silvandre's Symposium: The Platonic and the Ambiguous in L'Astrée

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 November 2018

Laurence A. Gregorio
Laurence A. Gregorio*
Affiliation:
Gettysburg College
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Abstract

Imprecision appears to be the intended effect of the thematic plan of Honoré d'Urfé's L'Astrée, especially where signs of sexual identity are concerned. This study proposes a reading which, on two bases, accommodates the romance's semiotic vagueness. First, the ideological context of Neoplatonism clarifies the work's ongoing "Symposium" on love. The roots of this dialogue may be traced to Plato's Symposium and magnetic theory which foreshadow L'Astreé's tendency toward character self-representation on a middle ground between male and female. Second, evidence of a structure of ambiguity in other areas of the romance's composition corroborates the argument.

Type
Studies
Information
Renaissance Quarterly , Volume 52 , Issue 3 , Autumn 1999 , pp. 782 - 804
Copyright
Copyright © Renaissance Society of America 1999

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