Flaubert, Ethics and Queer Religious Art: 'La Legende de saint Julien L'Hospitalier'

This article reconsiders the important work of Leroi-Gourhan through the lens of Christopher Johnson's ‘Leroi-Gourhan and the Limits of the Human’ (2011) by returning to the context of French prehistory of the 1860s that lies behind Leroi-Gourhan's discoveries and interpretations of hominid remains and artefacts in the Grotte du Renne. The Exposition universelle of 1867 and French publications of the period capture the importance of ‘préhistoire’ for Second Empire France materialized in Napoleon III's establishment at Saint-Germain-en-Laye of the first national Musée des Antiquités Nationales dedicated to their collections. The archaeological discoveries, and the debates they inspired, did not escape the encyclopaedic bricolage and designs of Flaubert. With delicious clins d'oeil to the question of ‘l'homme fossile’ and ‘l'homme futur’ that he had already debated with Louis Bouilhet, this article uncovers how Flaubert's Légende de Saint Julien details the ‘limits of the human’ in Johnson's reading of Leroi-Gourhan. By returning to ‘real’ counterparts for the legendary Stag in Flaubert's tale, its contextual, allegedly fantastical, ‘préhistoires’ can better be excavated. To find the non-legendary, extreme contemporary, sources for Flaubert's disturbing text crucially informs a critique of the dehistoricization of seeing in post-war French cultural studies and sciences of the human.

show abstract

scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.

Contact Info

customersupport@researchsolutions.com

10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614

Henderson, NV 89052, USA

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Blog Terms and Conditions API Terms Privacy Policy Contact Cookie Preferences Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

Made with 💙 for researchers

Part of the Research Solutions Family.

Flaubert, Ethics and Queer Religious Art: 'La Legende de saint Julien L'Hospitalier'

Cited by 3 publications

References 10 publications

Morsels of body: photographic love and the queer gaze inMadame Bovary

Morsels of body: photographic love and the queer gaze inMadame Bovary

The Queer Transformations of Flaubert's Légende de saint Julien l'Hospitalier

The Grotte du Renne, Leroi-Gourhan and Flaubert's La Légende de Saint Julien l'Hospitalier (1877): The Question of ‘Préhistoire(s)’ to Delimit the Human

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About