ABSTRACT Title of Document: REDEFINING RELIGION
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ABSTRACT Title of Document: REDEFINING RELIGION THROUGH LITERATURE IN NINETEENTH CENTURY FRANCE Erica Maria Cefalo, Doctor of Philosophy, 2013 Directed By: Professor Joseph Brami, Department of French and Italian From the Enlightenment to the end of the nineteenth century, France experienced political change and literary innovation which resulted in new definitions of the relationship between mankind and God. Current research in nineteenth century French literature has discovered a wealth of diverse and provocative topics within this humanist tradition precisely because it was a time of experimentation and change which gave birth to new viewpoints on everything from gender roles and sexuality to socialism and human rights. This dissertation delves into the evolution of an often overlooked element of French life which went hand in hand with social and intellectual innovation: religion and spirituality. Under the Catholic monarchy, France had traditionally relied on religion as the foundation for a collective morality. Enlightenment philosophy challenged traditional religious concepts and France’s post-Revolutionary break with the Catholic Church encouraged intellectuals to continue exploring new notions of the divine. This dissertation focuses on a number of spiritual ideas put forward by various writers. While some, such as Chateaubriand, Ballanche and Lamennais famously advocated a return to Catholicism, others like Mme de Staël and Lamartine used their writings as a means for devising a new spiritual direction that would rely less on institutionalized religion and more on the conscience. Advancements in science and in the study of history ushered in a new awareness of the relationship between the past and the future which inspired scientifically minded intellectuals, such as Auguste Comte and Emile Zola, to consider themselves as part of a progressive succession of human beings more dominated by time and society than by any god. By shedding what they saw as outmoded conceptions of the universe, philosophers, poets and novelists alike moved to embrace a more progressive spiritual direction incorporating compassion, empathy and justice as sources for moral truths. These are concepts that have carried over into secular France today as citizens continue to focus on ethical concerns in political debates that touch on topics such as welfare programs, immigration, and secularism. REDEFINING RELIGION THROUGH LITERATURE IN NINETEENTH CENTURY FRANCE By Erica Maria Cefalo Thesis submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland, College Park, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2013 Advisory Committee: Professor Joseph Brami, Chair Assistant Professor Sarah Benharrech Associate Professor Caroline Eades Associate Professor Isabelle Gournay Professor Carol Mossman © Copyright by Erica Maria Cefalo 2013 Acknowledgements I would like to thank my dissertation advisor, Professor Joseph Brami, and the committee members for their valuable comments and critiques. I am also grateful for the support of my family and friends, especially my mother, Wanda “Toodie” Cefalo; my husband, Masato Kimura; Lynsay and Hazel Gott; and Captain Patrick J. Reidy. ii Table of Contents Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................... ii Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................. 1 Chapter 2: The Conscience as Truth in Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s Profession de foi du vicaire savoyard .......................................................................................................... 14 Chapter 3:Morality as the Common Ground between Literature and Religion in Mme de Staël’s De la littérature .......................................................................................... 32 Chapter 4: Negotiating the Dream of a Universal Religion in Mme de Staël’s Corinne ..................................................................................................................................... 52 Chapter 5: Society, Morality and Sentiment versus Individualism, Opinion and Reason in Pierre-Simon Ballanche’s Essai sur les institutions sociales..................... 79 Chapter 6: A Step Backwards into Eden: The Problem with Progress in Chateaubriand’s Génie du christianisme .................................................................. 101 Chapter 7: Injustice as God’s Will in Joseph de Maistre’s Soirées de Saint- Pétersbourg ............................................................................................................... 131 Chapter 8: Religion, Education and Social Order in Saint-Simon’s Nouveau Christianisme ............................................................................................................ 146 Chapter 9: Between History and Progress: Lamennais from De la religion to Paroles d’un croyant .............................................................................................................. 167 Chapter 10: Fallen Angels in Restoration France: The Case for Compassion in Éloa, Ahasvérus and Cédar ou la chute d’un ange ............................................................ 189 Chapter 11: George Sand’s Spiridion and the Doctrine of L’Évangile éternel ........ 227 iii Chapter 12: Hugo’s “Dream Pope”: Religion versus Republican Ideals in Le Pape 253 Chapter 13: The Gospel of Renan: Imagining the Historical Jesus in Ernest Renan’s Vie de Jésus ............................................................................................................... 272 Chapter 14: Nature and Gender, Justice and Grace in Jules Michelet’s Bible de l’humanité ................................................................................................................. 291 Chapter 15: Pierre Froment and the Prêtre Positiviste: Reconsidering Zola’s Trois villes in Light of Auguste Comte’s Catéchisme positiviste ...................................... 320 Chapter 16: Conclusion............................................................................................. 350 Works Cited .............................................................................................................. 360 iv Chapter 1: Introduction From the Enlightenment to the end of the nineteenth century, France experienced political change and literary innovation which resulted in new conceptions of humanity’s relationship with god. Current research in nineteenth century French literature has discovered a wealth of diverse and provocative topics within this humanist tradition precisely because it was a time of experimentation and change which gave birth to new viewpoints on everything from politics to gender roles and sexuality to socialism and human rights. This dissertation delves into the evolution of an often overlooked element of French life which went hand in hand with social and intellectual innovation: religion and spirituality. Religion has perhaps been overlooked by contemporary scholars because occidental nations are overwhelmingly living in what Gabriel Vahanian has referred to as a “post-Christian” culture in which the question of religion no longer seems relevant to a great majority of intellectuals. My research shows, however, that for the intellectual visionaries who sought to influence France’s social reconstruction after the Revolution, a solution for the reconciliation of modern society and religion was vital. Under the Catholic monarchy, France had traditionally relied on religion as the foundation for a collective morality. Enlightenment philosophy challenged traditional religious concepts and France’s post-Revolutionary break with the Catholic Church encouraged intellectuals to continue to explore new notions of the divine. The Restoration and subsequent revolutions would continue to fuel new reflections on the place of religion in society. 1 As Susanna Lee has pointed out, secularism was a gradual process which “developed as an impression and an idea” (12). This slow but continuous shift in religious thought is reflected in the perpetuation of the belief in some kind of God or religious system throughout the century even as conceptions of the divine more ever further from Christianity. As the title of this dissertation suggests, rather than abandon religion, authors overwhelmingly sought to redefine religious notions in light of changing social and political convictions. This dissertation examines a variety of essays, novels and poetry concerning religion and spirituality from the late eighteenth century to the end of the nineteenth century in an effort to follow the progression from a predominantly Christian-based moral religious theory to a more universal secular moral philosophy. While some, such as Chateaubriand, Ballanche and Lamennais famously advocated a return to Catholicism, others like Mme de Staël and Lamartine used their writings as a means for devising a new spiritual direction that would rely less on institutionalized religion and more on the individual conscience. Advancements in science and in the study of history ushered in a new awareness of the relationship between the past and the future which inspired scientifically minded intellectuals, such as Auguste Comte and Emile Zola, to consider themselves as part of a progressive succession of human beings ruled more by time than by any god. By shedding what they saw as outmoded conceptions of the universe, philosophers, poets and novelists