Experiencing Provence in the Regional Imagery of Peter Mayle and Pierre Magnan
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EXPERIENCING PROVENCE IN THE REGIONAL IMAGERY OF PETER MAYLE AND PIERRE MAGNAN by ROBERT MERRILL BRIWA B.A., State University of New York at Geneseo, 2013 A THESIS submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree MASTER OF ARTS Department of Geography College of Arts and Sciences KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY Manhattan, Kansas 2015 Approved by: Major Professor Dr. Kevin Blake Copyright ROBERT MERRILL BRIWA 2015 Abstract Place-defining novelists convey regional imagery and regional sense of place to a wide audience, thus shaping popular perceptions of regions. Peter Mayle and Pierre Magnan are the most recent place-defining novelists of Provence, France. This research compares each author’s regional imagery and sense of place to understand what it means for each author to be in Provence. Place-name mapping geographically frames each authors’ regional imagery and sense of place. Qualitative coding and close readings of selected texts for each author identify sets of regional imagery, including nature and culture imagery, which help develop a sense of place for Provence. The subjectivities of qualitative coding analysis is addressed through personal narratives which acknowledges the researcher’s positionality vis-à-vis Provence. Mayle’s nature imagery emphasizes remote, rough topography and bright sunny skies, which presents the natural landscape as benevolent and therapeutic. Magnan’s nature imagery emphasizes rough topography, rivers, winds, and storms, which presents the natural landscape as powerful, indifferent or malevolent towards human affairs, and imbued with a sense of deep time and an enigmatic quality. Mayle’s culture imagery emphasizes healthy, traditional agrarian lifeways; vibrant village life and social connectedness; a positive and prominent tourist industry; and a food culture which permeates Provençal identity. Magnan’s culture imagery emphasizes the harsh realities of agrarian lifestyles; insular and mistrusting villages; hard and frugal villagers; historical continuity; and references to ruined or abandoned landscapes and cultural loss. Mayle’s sense of place defines Provence as a region defined as idyllic, most strongly developed by his culture imagery which emphasizes idealized agrarian lifeways and Provence’s food culture. This idyll is deepened with the positive associations with Provence’s tourist industry. Magnan’s sense of place defines Provence as a region defined by a melancholic sublime. His powerful, enigmatic nature imagery is the strongest shaping force behind developing Provence’s sublime qualities. Provence’s melancholic quality is linked to Magnan’s nature imagery’s enigmatic characteristics, which invite contemplation, and his culture imagery associated with ruins and cultural loss, which offers further invitation to contemplation and conveys a sense of grief. Key Words: literary geography, sense of place, regional imagery, Provence (France) Table of Contents List of Figures .................................................................................................................. viii List of Tables .......................................................................................................................x Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ xi Dedication ........................................................................................................................ xiii Chapter 1 - Personal Prelude and Introduction ....................................................................1 Personal Prelude ............................................................................................................. 1 Research Introduction ..................................................................................................... 7 Chapter 2 - Geographic Moorings .....................................................................................16 Humanistic Leanings .................................................................................................... 16 Humanistic Geography and Sense of Place .................................................................. 17 Literary Geography: A Brief Overview ........................................................................ 19 Lando’s Themes: Blurring Lines .............................................................................. 21 Prerequisites and Approaches to Literary Geography .................................................. 24 Prerequisites of Literary Geography ......................................................................... 25 Methods ..................................................................................................................... 28 Positionality with(in) Provence ................................................................................. 32 Glossary of Terms ......................................................................................................... 35 Chapter 3 - Provence and Its Literary Tradition ................................................................38 Driving Southeastern France: ....................................................................................... 38 An Introduction to Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur ......................................................... 38 Provence’s Literary Tradition: Medieval Origins and Development ........................... 43 Provence’s Modern Literary Tradition: the Respelido to the Present ........................... 46 Pierre Magnan: Voice of the Basses-Alpes .................................................................. 51 Provence’s Tourism and Outside Perspectives ............................................................. 58 Peter Mayle: “Golden Burnisher of Provence” ............................................................. 59 Mayle and Magnan as Place-Defining Novelists in Provence ...................................... 65 A Note on Genres ......................................................................................................... 72 Chapter 4 - Water and Earth ..............................................................................................77 v A Dark and Stormy Night ............................................................................................. 77 Peter Mayle ................................................................................................................... 82 Mayle’s Earth and Plants .......................................................................................... 83 Seasons, Climate, and Weather Patterns ................................................................... 85 Sky, Sun, and Clean Air ............................................................................................ 88 Pierre Magnan ............................................................................................................... 90 Earth, Deep Time, and Trees .................................................................................... 92 Water, Winds, and Storms ........................................................................................ 96 A Landscape View .................................................................................................... 99 Considering Nature Imagery ....................................................................................... 101 Chapter 5 - Settled Places, People, and Time ..................................................................103 Arles’s Roman Theatre ............................................................................................... 103 Peter Mayle: A Cultural Mosaic ................................................................................. 106 Mas, Neighbors, Field, and Vine ............................................................................ 107 Village Life: Social Connections ............................................................................ 113 Provenҫal Time-Consciousness .............................................................................. 115 Dynamic Tradition .................................................................................................. 118 Pierre Magnan: La Provence Profonde ....................................................................... 121 Magnan’s Provençaux ............................................................................................. 122 Village Life: Insularity ............................................................................................ 127 Time and Identity in Provence’s Landscape ........................................................... 131 Cultural Loss Writ in the Landscape ...................................................................... 134 Considering Culture Imagery ...................................................................................... 137 Chapter 6 - A Sense of Provence .....................................................................................139 Struggling for Sense .................................................................................................... 139 Peter Mayle ................................................................................................................. 143 Revisiting Mayle’s Imagery .................................................................................... 143 Mayle’s Sense of Place ........................................................................................... 144 Globalizing Provence? ...........................................................................................