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Signature: _____________________________ ______________ Jenny Davis Barnett Date THE DANGEROUS ACT OF SEEING The Role of the Gaze in Maurice Scève’s 1544 Délie By Jenny Davis Barnett Doctor of Philosophy French _________________________________________ Kevin Corrigan Advisor _________________________________________ Geoffrey Bennington Committee Member _________________________________________ Elissa Marder Committee Member _________________________________________ Elizabeth Pastan Committee Member _________________________________________ Jacob Vance Committee Member Accepted: _________________________________________ Lisa A. Tedesco, Ph.D. Dean of the James T. Laney School of Graduate Studies ___________________ Date THE DANGEROUS ACT OF SEEING The Role of the Gaze in Maurice Scève’s 1544 Délie By Jenny Davis Barnett B.A., University of Alabama, 2000 Advisor: Kevin Corrigan, Ph.D. An abstract of A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the James T. Laney School of Graduate Studies of Emory University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in French 2010 ABSTRACT THE DANGEROUS ACT OF SEEING The Role of the Gaze in Maurice Scève’s 1544 Délie By Jenny Davis Barnett Most often criticized as difficult and obscure, Maurice Scève’s 1544 Délie objet de plus haulte vertu (a book of 50 woodcut images and 449 dizains ) portrays seeing as a dangerous act. As the visual experience controls and shapes Scève’s work, the act of seeing constructs images of terror, aggression and suffering. While some scholars have noted this aspect of vision in Scève’s poetry, what I argue for by contrast is that representations of the deadly gaze are present throughout the entire work, namely, both in the text and in the woodcut images. My dissertation focuses upon the following largely unexamined features of Scève’s opus: first, the role of the gaze in the signifying relationship between the image and textual motto in the woodcuts and in the structural relation between the image, motto and commentary dizains; second, the influential literary and visual arts in Scève’s era, thus providing a new interpretative strategy for the modern day reader by supplying information gleaned from art history, literary theory, close reading of text/image and hermeneutical analysis. My interdisciplinary approach offers an analysis and articulation of the complex derivation of emblems and books of imprese (such as Délie , from medieval legend and bestiary lore, Graeco-Roman mythology and the Renaissance interpretation of Egyptian hieroglyphics) and provides a key for understanding how Scève reinterprets myth and legend primarily through the figures of the unicorn, basilisk, Hathor-Medusa and Narcissus, in order to show that the act of seeing is always pervaded by fear, deception and death. Scenes of sight and mirrored reflection in the woodcut images tell us more about the gaze than the “literary images” in the text alone. Scève suggests, I argue, in the interplay between word and image that seeing the self, seeing the other and seeing the other within is not only dangerous but also fatal. My dissertation, then, offers an alternative template for future studies in emblematic literature, opens up Scève’s work to a larger audience and provides a much needed entry point into Délie . THE DANGEROUS ACT OF SEEING The Role of the Gaze in Maurice Scève’s 1544 Délie By Jenny Davis Barnett B.A., University of Alabama, 2000 Advisor: Kevin Corrigan, Ph.D. A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the James T. Laney School of Graduate Studies of Emory University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in French 2010 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation is dedicated to the memory of my father James Edwin Davis. I want to thank the James T. Laney School of Graduate Studies of Emory University for a Professional Development Support grant that allowed me to travel to France and conduct research for the dissertation. I could never possibly acknowledge all of the people in my life who have assisted me during my time as a student. So, in what follows, I wish to thank a small number of my teachers, friends and family members - all recognition belongs to them. My sister Deborah Howton for reading, re-reading and editing my writing, encouraging me to read literature and travel, and constantly watching over me to ensure my safety, good health and happiness. My adviser Kevin Corrigan for showing me continual kindness and patience, devoting full attention to my dissertation project, teaching me to be a stronger writer, and helping me grow as a scholar. Geoffrey Bennington for remaining a stable voice of reason throughout my graduate student career and providing an entry point into Derrida and Lyotard. Dalia Judovitz for teaching me how to look and Elissa Marder for teaching me how to read - two gifts that I hope to pass on to my future students. Lois Overbeck for respect, trust and sound advice. Elizabeth Pastan for countless conversations, rigorous readings of my work, and assisting me in the field of Art History. Candace Lang, Valérie Loichot and Virginia Shadron for advocating on my behalf and encouraging me when hope was absent. Yvan Bamps for indulging my obsession with Scève and Gregory de Rocher for opening the doors to the French Renaissance. My dear family friend Annie Lee Phillips for inspiring me to study French Literature and Art, friendship, and being a model of grace and sophistication worthy of emulation. Robyn Banton for acceptance, tolerance and fun. Nicholas Ealy for sharing my enthusiasm for the Middle Ages, Narcissus and music, reading my work and providing insightful advice and constant friendship. Ann McCullough for guiding me through the toughest years of my life. Blandine Mitaut for empathy, compassion, strength and beauty. John and Gerardine Barnett for editing my work and offering care and support. My husband, Tim Barnett, l’antipode , for kindness, protection, care-giving, unconditional love, adventures and bad jokes. CONTENTS Introduction 1 Chapter 1: L’Emblesme et La Lycorne 18 Emblem Theory 22 Lurid Beast to Handsome Savior 30 Delie & The Unicorn 35 Conclusion 51 Chapter 2: Monstrous Visions 53 Italian Masters 54 The Case of the Basilisk 61 La vue du basilic: Lady as Monster 74 Conclusion 86 Chapter 3: Délie’s Ophidian Forms 88 Eye of the Serpent 90 Délie Médusée: objet maléfique 100 La belle bête 102 Mūto, m ūtare - Transformation & Le Pouvoir 107 Le venin si doux 112 Conclusion 117 Chapter 4: Le Reflet: Problématique de la Réflexion 120 Reflet 122 Réflexion 141 Conclusion 150 Conclusion 153 Bibliography 159 Illustrations 173 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figures 1.1 “Ad illust. Maximil. ducem Medio” (Au duc de Milan). Andrea Alciato Livret des emblemes (1536). GALLICA, BNF. http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k52132c [accessed 16 November 2009] 1.2 “Parler peu & venir au poinct” Gilles Corrozet Hécatomgraphie (1543) GALLICA, BNF, Rés Z-2599. http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k70938k [accessed 16 November 2009] 1.3 Impresa 1 “La femme & La lycorne” Maurice Scève Délie object de plus haulte vertu (1544). GALLICA, BNF, Rés. Ye 1746. http://gallica2.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k70272t [accessed 16 November 2009] 1.4 Impresa 1 “La femme & la Lycorne” Maurice Scève Délie object de plus haulte vertu (1564). GALLICA, BNF, Rés. Ye-1661. http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k705045 [accessed 16 November 2009] 1.5 “La chasse à la licorne” Bestiaire England (thirteenth-century) Paris, BNF, département des Manuscrits, Latin 3630 folio 76v. http://expositions.bnf.fr/bestiaire/grand/n_06_bnf.htm [accessed 16 November 2009] 1.6 “Chasse à la licorne” Physiologus Cambrai (around 1270-1275) Douai, Bibliothèque municipale, MS 711, folio 4. http://expositions.bnf.fr/bestiaire/grand/n_02_dou.htm [accessed 12 May 2009] 1.7 Impresa 26 “La licorne qui se voit” Maurice Scève Délie object de plus haulte vertu (1564). GALLICA, BNF, Rés. Ye-1661. http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k705045 [accessed 16 November 2009] 1.8 Secrets d’histoire naturelle , d’après Solin. France (around 1480-1485) Paris, BNF, département des Manuscrits, Français 22971 folio 15v. http://expositions.bnf.fr/bestiaire/grand/k_02_bnf.htm [accessed 12 May 2009] 1.9 “Licorne trempant sa corne dans la fontaine” Guillaume Fillastre, Toison d’or Paris (fifteenth- to sixteenth-centuries) Paris BNF département des Manuscrits, Français 138 folio 117. http://expositions.bnf.fr/bestiaire/grand/n_11.htm [accessed 12 May 2009] 2.1 “Basilisk” Harley MS 4751 (thirteenth-century). Reproduced from Ann Payne and British Library, Medieval Beasts , (London: British Library, 1990), 84. 2.2 “La faune d’Egypte” Secrets de l’histoire naturelle Bourges, France, (around 1428) Illustrated by le Maître de Marguerite d'Orléans Paris, BNF, département des Manuscrits, Français 1377, folio. 20v. http://expositions.bnf.fr/bestiaire/grand/z_11.htm [accessed 15 October 2009] 2.3 “Lettre Ornée: basilic” Seconde Bible de Saint-Martial de Limoges Saint-Martial de Limoges, France (eleventh- to twelfth-centuries) Paris, BNF, département des Manuscrits, Latin 8 (1), folio. 188. http://expositions.bnf.fr/bestiaire/grand/z_10.htm [accessed 15 October 2009] 2.4 “Basilisk attacked by weasel” Bestiarius - Bestiary of Ann Walsh Copenhagen, Denmark (fifteenth-century) Kongelige Bibliotek, Gl.