{"product_id":"optiques-the-science-of-the-eye-and-the-birth-of-modern-french-fiction-hardback-9780812239317","title":"Optiques; The Science of the Eye and the Birth of Modern French Fiction (Hardback) 9780812239317","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eOptiques\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cfont size=\"5\"\u003eThe Science of the Eye and the Birth of Modern French Fiction\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eAndrea Goulet (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9780812239317\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eHardback, published 7 June 2006\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e280 pages\u003cbr\u003e22.9 x 15.2 x 1.5 cm, 0.666 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eAndrea Goulet takes the study of the novel into the realm of the visual by situating it in the context of nineteenth-century scientific and philosophical discourse about the nature of sight. She argues that French realism, detective fiction, science fiction, and literature of the fantastic from 1830 to 1910 reflected competition between two modern visual modes: a not-yet-outdated idealism and an empiricism that located truth in the body. More specifically, the book argues that key narrative forms of the nineteenth century were shaped by a set of scientific debates: between idealism and materialism in HonorÉ Balzac's \u003ci\u003eComÉdie humaine\u003c\/i\u003e, between deduction and induction in early French detective fiction, and between objective vision and subjective vision in the \"optogram\" fictions of Jules Verne and others.\u003cbr\u003e Goulet aims to revise critical views on the modern novel in a number of ways. For instance, although many literary studies focus on the impact of cinema, photography, and painting, \u003ci\u003eOptiques\u003c\/i\u003e asserts the materialist bases of realism by establishing a genealogy of popular fictional genres as fundamentally optical, that is, as articulated according to bodily notions of sight.\u003cbr\u003e With its chronological and interdisciplinary scope, \u003ci\u003eOptiques\u003c\/i\u003e stands to contribute an important chapter to the study of literary modernity in its scientific context.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eIntroduction. The Epistemology of Optics: Seeing Subjects, Modern Minds\u003cbr\u003e PART I: REALISM AND THE VISIONARY EYE: BALZAC'S OPTICS OF NARRATION\u003cbr\u003e 1. Second Sight and the Authorial \u003ci\u003echambre noire\u003c\/i\u003e: \u003ci\u003eLes Chouans\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eLouis Lambert\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 2. \"Tomber dans le phÉnomÈne\": Afterimages in \u003ci\u003eLa Maison Nucingen\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eLe Bal de Sceaux\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 3. Alternative Optics: \u003ci\u003eSÉraphita\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eLa Recherche de l'Absolu\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eLa Peau de Chagrin\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 4. \"Effets de lumiÈre,\" or a \"Second\" Second Sight: \u003ci\u003eLa Fille aux yeux d'or\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e PART II: TENEBROUS AFFAIRS: \u003ci\u003eROMANS POLICIERS\u003c\/i\u003e AND THE DETECTING EYE\u003cbr\u003e 5. Cuvier, Helmholtz, and the Visual Logics of Deduction: Poe, Doyle, Gaboriau\u003cbr\u003e 6. Learning to See: \u003ci\u003eMonsieur Lecoq\u003c\/i\u003e and Empiricist Theories of Vision\u003cbr\u003e 7. Sealed Chambers and Open Eyes: Leroux's \u003ci\u003eMystÈre de la chambre jaune\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e PART III: VILLIERS, VERNE, AND CLARETIE: TOWARD A FIN-DE-SI\u0026amp;Egrave;CLE \"OPTOGRAMMATOLOGY\"\u003cbr\u003e 8. Death and the Retina: \u003ci\u003eClaire Lenoir\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eL'Accusateur\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eLes FrÈres Kip\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 9. Optogram Fiction: Communication, Doubt, and the Fantastic\u003cbr\u003e 10. Tropical Piercings: Nationalism, Atavism, and the Eye of the Corpse\u003cbr\u003e 11. The Fin-de-siÈcle Logic of the Afterimage: Hysteria, Hallucination, and Villier's \u003ci\u003eL'Eve future\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Epilogue. The Afterimage of Reference: Optics and the \u003ci\u003enouveau roman\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Notes\u003cbr\u003e Index\u003cbr\u003e Acknowledgments\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"University of Pennsylvania Press","offers":[{"title":"Brand New","offer_id":52555708268824,"sku":"9780812239317","price":40.67,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/optiques-the-science-of-the-eye-and-the-birth-of-modern-french-fiction-hardback-9780812239317","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}