The triumph of emotion produces heroes: construction, reading and psychology in the theory of the epic character

El triunfo de la emoción produce héroes: construcción, lectura y psicología en la teoría del personaje épico

Claudia Garcia-Minguillan (1, 2)

1 Poitiers UFR LL - Université de Poitiers - UFR Lettres et langues
2 FoReLLIS [Poitiers] - Formes et représentations en linguistique, littérature et dans les arts de l’image et de la scène [EA 3816]

This article proposes a reconstruction of the epic character from the literary theory of the Enlightenment. A new reading is offered that takes up the genetic approach between the disappearance of the epic and the appearance of the novel following the trail of the construction of the literary character. In this way, between the survival of the classical system and the tension with modern authors, the construction of the hero’s psychology advances towards more sensitive and emotional values, without neglecting its rational component. Also, the tension between two strong influences is discussed; the survival of the Virgilian epic as a legitimizer of political power, in front of the recovery of the figure of Socrates who grants heroic values to the philosopher. Finally, this reconstruction raises not only the emotional characterization of the character, but the transmission of sensitivity to the poet and the reader, who assume these heroic values.

Mots clés: Hero; Theory of Literary Character; Epic; Enlightenment; History of Emotions; Emotional Reading; Literary Character Psychology

Domaines: Sciences de l'Homme et Société

Claudia Garcia-Minguillan. El triunfo de la emoción produce héroes: construcción, lectura y psicología en la teoría del personaje épico. Cuadernos de Ilustración y Romanticismo, 2020, 26, pp.67-88. ⟨10.25267/Cuad_Ilus_romant.2020.i26.03⟩. ⟨hal-03109505⟩