Se dire à travers l’autre: pratique de la citation dans les textes autobiographiques de Gérard Genette

Abstract

The goal of this article is to show that the most original aspect of Gérard Genette’s autobiographical writing is the regular – not to say systematic – resort to quotation, which in the case of the French author is associated to three main functions that are an accurate reflection of his personality and vision of the world. Thus, argumentative quotation mainly appears in Genette’s reflection about literature and art, though his use of it is not conventional. Also, memories generate quotations of testimonial value in which both the past and his loved ones are described through expressions that were their own, a task in which the author exhibits an acute sensitivity towards his contemporaries’ linguistic uses. Finally, quotation often takes on a purely ludic character, not only because it narrates more or less funny anecdotes, but because of the way in which Genette exploits the countless variants arising from the very act of reproducing others’ discourses. Deep down, the recurring presence of quotation reflects the fact that Genette – who does not have an individual but a collective view of human knowledge – knows that the best way to know oneself is to recognize oneself in the other’s word.