conte fantastique

literature

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In French literature: Nodier, Mérimée, and the conte
Nodier specialized in the conte fantastique (“fantastic tale”) to explore dream worlds or various forms of madness, as in La Fée aux miettes (1832; “The Crumb Fairy”), suggesting the importance of the role of the unconscious in human beliefs and conduct. Mérimée also used inexplicable phenomena, as in La…
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In French literature: The novel later in the century
…was a recrudescence of the conte fantastique, which found its foremost exponent in Villiers de L’Isle-Adam (Contes cruels [1883]; Cruel Tales). Rachilde, Jean Lorrain (pseudonym of Paul Duval), and Mirbeau all contributed to this genre. But the major trends in the novel were connected with the revival of Roman Catholicism…
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