THE POLITICS OF SEEING GHOSTS IN LES CHEVALIERS DU CYGNE BY MADAME DE GENLIS

Abstract

Through an analysis of the 1795 and 1805 editions of Les Chevaliers du Cygne ou la cour de Charlemagne as well as its historical reception, this essay examines the shifting sands of the entredeux moment—a time of contingency when the end was not yet in sight. With the novel, Madame de Genlis sought to intervene in the cultural politics of 1793-95 by looking backward to a glorious past in order to move forward, beyond the Terror. By 1805, however, the urgency had receded; and ghosts no longer demanded to be seen.