Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
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  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
The Charm of Catastrophe: A Study of Rabelais's Quart Livre (Rls 267)

The Charm of Catastrophe: A Study of Rabelais's Quart Livre (Rls 267)

Berry, Alice Fiola

Paperback

Series: North Carolina Studies in the Romance Languages and Literatu, Book 267

Literary CriticismFrench History

ISBN10: 0807892718
ISBN13: 9780807892718
Publisher: Unc Department of Romance Studies
Published: Jan 1 2000
Pages: 174
Weight: 0.58
Height: 0.40 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English

Published in two parts in 1548 and 1552, Le Quart Livre is Rabelais's last book of certain authenticity and his most difficult and mysterious work. In it, Pantagruel and Panurge undertake a sea voyage and a quest for the word of the Divine Bottle, but the islands they visit along the way are inhabited by strange beings whose nature and physiognomy defy natural categories.

Expressing the elderly writer's despair at the failure of all his dreams as a young humanist, the voyage traces the last phase of the heroic quest, the cycle of old age and death. It is a descent into the underworld, but one that is undertaken hopefully, for the Quart Livre continues the search for a wife and for paternity begun in the Tiers Livre. Ultimately, all of these strivings may be associated with the writer-physician who faces misfortunes in order to cure them. In the end, the Quart Livre affirms the healing power of wine, laughter, and words.

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