The Charm of Catastrophe

by Berry, Alice Fiola

• ISBN13: 9780807892718
• ISBN10: 0807892718
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-01-01
• Publisher: Univ of North Carolina Pr

Summary

Published in two parts in 1548 and 1552, Le Quart Livreis 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 Livrecontinues 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 Livreaffirms the healing power of wine, laughter, and words.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Texts and Contexts of Le Quart Livre	11	(25)
Prologues and The Problem of the Mix	25	(22)
``L'Isle Medamothi'': Rabelais's Itineraries of Anxiety	47	(21)
Infernal Banquets	68	(46)
Points of Departure	68	(7)
Dindenault, Panurge, and the Death of the Lamb	75	(7)
Pigs in High Places: Les Chiquanous	82	(9)
Pigs and Snakes and the Reversible World: Les Andouilles of ``I'isle Farouche''	91	(9)
The Hunger Artist: Messer Gaster	100	(9)
The Poet in the Kitchen	109	(5)
The Book of the Dead: Images of Reading and Writing in Le Quart Livre	114	(28)
The Land of Death and of Writing	121	(5)
The Land of False Faith	126	(6)
Frozen Versus Thawed Words	132	(7)
``Le Mot de la Dive Bouteille''	139	(3)
Dark Births: Rabelais's Enactment of Male Maternity	142	(21)
Eating Wind: ``I'isle Ennasin,'' ``I'isle de Ruach'' and Bringuenarilles	147	(4)
Quaresmeprenant, Antiphysie, and ``Les Andouilles''	151	(6)
Les Papefigues	157	(3)
The Carnival Child	160	(3)
Conclusion: The Charm of Catastrophe	163	(3)
Bibliography	166