The Figure of the Labyrinth in Patrick Modiano's "Rue des Boutiques Obscures"

Commentators on the work of Patrick Modiano have shown how stylistic, thematic, and narrative aspects of his novels participate in a hesitation between clarity and uncertainty, between closure and undecidability. This paper shows how in his 1978 "Rue des Boutiques Obscures", allusions to t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The French review 2003-12, Vol.77 (2), p.340-350
Main Author: Murphy, Ann L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
20th century
Anonymous writers. Authors
Boutiques
France
French speaking and English speaking literatures
French speaking literatures
History and sciences of litterature
History of literature
Labyrinths
Libraries
Literary criticism
Literary postmodernism
Literature
Mazes
Narratives
Narrators
Novels
Postmodern art
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Summary:Commentators on the work of Patrick Modiano have shown how stylistic, thematic, and narrative aspects of his novels participate in a hesitation between clarity and uncertainty, between closure and undecidability. This paper shows how in his 1978 "Rue des Boutiques Obscures", allusions to the figure of the labyrinth contribute to maintaining this tension, which is also that of the postmodern aesthetic. At the same time that various manifestations of the labyrinth figure, and allusions to the Cretan labyrinth myth, support classical or modernistic faith in the possibility of solving the mystery presented by the text, they also constantly cast doubt on that possibility, finally suspending the text in a state of postmodern irresolution.
ISSN:0016-111X
2329-7131