International Journal Of Literature And Languages
89
https://theusajournals.com/index.php/ijll
VOLUME
Vol.05 Issue06 2025
PAGE NO.
89-93
10.37547/ijll/Volume05Issue06-26
French Prose Of The First Half Of The 19th Century And
The Problem Of Personal Writing
Zulfiya Davronova
Senior Lecturer at the Department of Practical Disciplines of the French Language, Uzbek State University of World Languages,
Uzbekistan
Jean-Christophe Maréchal
Associate Professor at Lyon 2 University, France
Received:
12 April 2025;
Accepted:
08 May 2025;
Published:
19 June 2025
Abstract:
This article examines autobiographical texts (personal novels, memoirs, autobiographies, diaries,
letters) by French writers of the first half of the 19th century as a unified whole, demonstrating their homogeneity
and revealing the process of the novelization of genres within so-called «documentary prose. » It is important to
consider that «fictionality, » as a feature of personal writing in Romanticism, does not necessarily imply falsehood
or the author's deliberate fabrication of the self-according to literary conventions in order to conceal their true
identity by replacing it with fictional «doubles. » Therefore, it is crucial to take into account the authorial intention,
which is largely shaped by how Romantic culture of the 19th century conceived of the self. It is essential to avoid
the danger of reducing literature to a mere game in which the individuality of the writer is lost. One must fully
attribute to the realm of writing what constitutes the very essence of personal self-awareness, equating the
writing «I» with the act of writing itself.
Keywords: -
French prose, literature, genre, phenomenon of writing, personal writing, autobiographical text,
biographical method.
Introduction:
The question of personal writing in
relation specifically to French prose of the first half of
the 19th century did not arise by chance. During this
period in French literature, novels appeared in which
contemporaries
recognized
autobiographical
narration, closely associating the hero with the real
figure of the author. These works were later defined in
literary studies as «personal novels» (le roman
personnel). Traditionally, this genre includes works
such as Oberman by Senancour, René by
Chateaubriand, Adolphe by Constant, Delphine by
Staël, Indiana and Lélia by George Sand, Confession of
a Child of the Century by Musset, Pleasures of the
Imagination by Sainte-Beuve, and The Lily of the Valley
by Balzac. These novels reflect a symptomatic
phenomenon characteristic of Romantic culture
–
the
aspiration to turn one’s own life into literature, testing
the truth of the «self» through it.
In both Russian and French literary studies, questions
continue to be raised regarding the nature of
autobiographical elements and the ways of expressing
the «personal» in these novels. The number of studies
devoted to this issue is quite substantial. It can be
noted that in both French and Russian literary criticism,
when addressing the genre specifics of the personal
novel, despite minor differences, fairly general
positions are often repeated.
MAIN PART
The phenomenon of the personal novel can hardly be
fully explained through a purely generic approach.
Therefore, it is appropriate to address the issue of
personal writing by considering a new approach to
defining both Romanticism and the phenomenon of
writing itself, as well as the nature of literature. Turning
to personal writing allows, at this new stage, to raise
the problem of the character of autobiographical
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elements.
At the same time, this is not about the biographical
method-that is, identifying the real personality of the
author behind the text (the degree of closeness
between the hero and the author, their views, or
biographical facts). The problem of fact versus fiction is
consistently set aside, which requires a different
perspective on the nature of the author and the hero,
as well as the relationship between these interacting
substantial entities within the boundaries of
autobiographical narration.
It seems productive to define the nature of the
personal novel through its connection with other
genres of autobiographical prose. The question of the
closeness of the personal novel to the diary and
autobiography was raised, for example, by A. Oliver in
his book Benjamin Constant: Writing and the Conquest
of the Self. The issue of the relationship between the
personal novel and the diary was examined by B. Didier
in his work The Diary. The literary scholar starts from
the question of the degree of fictionality, noting that,
unlike the diary, the personal novel contains fiction that
operates at the level of intrigue, organizing the
development of the plot.
In personal writing, every thought expressed by the
writer has a profound ethical foundation. Even if we
admit that a narrative intended for publication involves
some element of play, it is a play taken seriously.
Personal writing is an act for which the writer bears full
responsibility. The writer is fully aware that their
statements about themselves progressively and
coherently organize their life, constituting its very
existential essence. For the writer, all statements about
themselves form a unified whole (life is written like a
book), which also justifies considering all texts in which
the «I» acts as both the subject and the object of
writing as a unified entity functioning in the closest
interrelation. Every thought expressed by the writer
about themselves somehow enters into a semantic
connection with their previous statements about
themselves.
Personal writing allows us to speak of the character as
the embodiment of the writing «I,» engaged in its own
existence and shaping its own destiny. In other words,
the writer remains a living «I,» a unique individuality in
its entirety. This corresponds to the goals set by
modern literary studies and philosophy, which have
grown out of Romantic culture: «To take a person... in
the actions through which they express themselves, in
the consciousness in which they recognize themselves,
in the personal history in which they establish
themselves. » The «I» in personal writing is
consciousness that is always its own foundation.
Therefore, one must start from the laws of its own
movement, try to define its activity from within itself,
and see how it organizes itself in this activity.
Attempts have already been made to consider all the
autobiographical texts of a single author as a unified
whole. This applies primarily to the work of Benjamin
Constant: his novel Adolphe is closely associated with
his other autobiographical writings
–
Cécile, My Life,
Amélie and Germaine. A perspective close to the issue
of personal writing
–
where we aim to discover the
living presence of the author
–
is found in the approach
of M.-C. Valois, as presented in her book Female
Fictions: Madame de Staël and the Voices of the Sibyl.
The scholar speaks of the close relationship between
life and literature in Staël’s work, where she strives to
approach the «living source of the text,» which, for her,
is the spoken word.
Thus, the concept of the «author» is replaced by the
notion of «voice»: «a woman does not write, she
converses, she chats.» According to M.-C. Valois,
Madame de Staël «introduces a special linguistic
experience, in which the spoken word differs little from
writing, and literature from life. Writing, reading,
conversation, correspondence, and life form a single
whole.» This approach to her creative work helps
explain why, in Staël’s case, «it is difficu
lt to determine
the boundaries between the simple transmission of
emotion and its ‘literary’ expression, between lived
experience and aesthetic reflection. When reading her
youthful letters, one gets the impression that she does
not know where the line lies between reality and
fiction. Reading, life, and writing amplify each other
and blend together as equally valid and mutually
reinforcing modes of existence.»
M.-C. Valois believes that Madame de Staël
experiences literature as fullness, as unity: «This
tendency toward emotional eloquence, toward
dramatization
–
this vibrating excess
–
interests us
because of its distinctly literary character: the
transformation of ordinary events and feelings into
something more beautiful, more truthful, more
emotionally resonant.»
In French literary studies, there is a strong and
consistent tendency to unite various autobiographical
genres in order to explore the specificity of the writer’s
self-expression. The term «personal writing» (écriture
personnelle) generally refers to texts belonging to the
genres of autobiographical prose
–
diaries, letters,
memoirs, autobiographies, confessions, self-portraits,
notebooks, travel journals, sketchbooks, and the
personal novel. These are texts in which the «I» acts
simultaneously as both the subject and the object of
writing. What unites all these genres is the
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International Journal Of Literature And Languages (ISSN: 2771-2834)
phenomenon of the writing self
–
that is, the self being
created through the word «I.»
The most widely used term in French literary theory to
designate this phenomenon is l'écriture de soi (writing
of the self), though less frequently one may also
encounter l'écriture sur soi (writing about the self) or
parole de soi (speech of the self). Alongside these,
other terms appear, such as l'écriture de moi (writing
of «me») or l'écriture du Moi (writing of the Self), the
latter employed by Georges Gusdorf to emphasize the
role of individuality. Philippe Lejeune uses the term
l'écriture intime (intimate writing), and l'écriture
personnelle (personal writing) is also commonly used,
with both emphasizing the deeply individual, person-
centered nature (personne) of the writing.
The concept of l'écriture de soi has found broad
application in the analysis of texts from the 18th to the
21st centuries. It is used in reference to
autobiographical genres, first-person narratives, or
more generally, to any literary use of the «I» - marking
the writer’s search for self
-expression through
language.
Personal writing is a trans-literary phenomenon,
extending into the realms of linguistics, philosophy,
history, and psychology. The problem of personal
writing inevitably raises the fundamental question of
how fully language can express the inner self
–
a
question that remains central to philosophical inquiry.
In this regard, one may agree with Paul Ricœur,
who, it
seems, offered a certain conclusion to the long-
standing debate on whether language belongs to the
subject: «Henceforth, the position of the subject to
which the entire tradition of the Cogito appeals must
be relocated within language itself, and not sought
outside of it.» In other words, the thinking «I» is a
linguistic «I.» In our understanding, «I am» is
equivalent to «I think» and «I speak/write.» On this
matter, Ricœur remarked: «Language is capable of
designating the foundation of existence from which it
arises, and of recognizing itself as the very mode of
being it speaks about.»
In examining the history of personal writing, it is
essential to account for the deep connection between
the texts and the cultural-historical epoch from which
they emerge. This is precisely what Philippe Lejeune
refers to when he observes that the intimate writings
of a particular generation are often quite similar, since
their authors are immersed in the same historical
circumstances, confronted by the same challenges, and
witnesses to the same events.
Ultimately, a key scholarly task lies in recognizing the
author as a writing self
–
a consciousness identical with
itself, thereby determining the internal unity of
everything they write about themselves. All personal
writing can be understood as a single, unfolding text
–
one that continually becomes, developing according to
its own laws within the temporal flow of writing (a time
that is embedded within human life itself!). In personal
writing, the «I» is in a constant process of self-
reflection, through which it expresses the indivisibility
of its own existence.
The verbal fabric of the text reveals the life-structuring
meanings of the writer’s being, who, in the very process
of writing, discloses the deepest possible truth of their
self.
The study of the tension that arises between the «truth
of life» and the «truth of literature» makes it possible
to determine the extent to which the word constitutes
a personal utterance
–
to what degree it belongs to the
author and where the guarantee of its authenticity lies.
Framing the question in this way shifts the focus from
genre to the problem of the «self» writing about itself
–
that is, to the author's pursuit of self-knowledge, in
which literature played a defining role during the
Romantic period.
This leads to the question of how the «I,» as it unfolds
through language, becomes a text shaped by the laws
of literary discourse.
The very formulation of the problem of personal
writing brings to the forefront a range of important
questions: the narrative strategy used to portray the
self; the principles of plot construction in relation to the
«I»; the word (in its broadest sense, including literary
discourse) as a vehicle for conveying individual
experience; the relationship between author, narrator,
and protagonist; and writing as the act of recording
events as structured by the writer’s temporal
experience.
In this context, it becomes crucial to define the author’s
presence in the text
–
a presence revealed through the
intentionality of the writing, the genre and stylistic
principles guiding the development of the text, and its
figurative and semantic dominants.
Typically, when addressing the degree of personal
content in the personal novel, scholars turn either to
the issue of fiction versus truth
—
leaning toward a
biographical approach
–
or to the concept of
autofiction, focusing exclusively on formal markers as
tools of the writer’s game with the reader. However,
these approaches, it seems, should be avoided. The use
and theoretical grounding of the concept of personal
writing should instead allow us to uncover the author’s
intention as a self-testifying subject
–
one who writes
the self, that is, who creates the self through language,
revealing their true identity. In studying personal
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writing, critical attention should shift toward the
subject: the «I» of the text must be understood as a
subject writing itself.
Personal writing offers a way to trace the development
of literature through the writer’s personal quest for the
self. It unfolds as the intentional act of the «I,» which
constructs its own meanings and, in doing so, adapts
the genre-specific and stylistic (linguistic) practices of
literature to its needs.
Personal writing resists everything dogmatic, rigid, and
fixed
–
any structure lacking flexibility. It is marked by
the fluidity of form, which is subordinated to its primary
imperative: self-expression through language.
When using the term personal writing, we refer
specifically to the autobiographical texts of
Romanticism,
beginning
with
Rousseau
(the
justification for this position will be addressed
separately in the study). The problem of the authorial
«I» and historical time is treated in this work as follows:
the «I,» as the bearer of language, is also the bearer of
cultural consciousness and, through language, belongs
to its historical epoch, expressing the semantic
potential of its time.
It should be noted that some scholars divide the div
of texts that constitute personal writing in the work of
a single author into two categories: texts written for
oneself and texts intended for publication. This
approach is represented, for example, in
A. Oliver’s
book Benjamin Constant: Writing and the Conquest of
the Self. In the present study, such a division will not be
maintained, although the distinction between the
intimate and the public
–
as well as the author’s
intention regarding the reader’s
reception of the
written text
–
will be taken into account.
This study focuses on how the text captures personal
consciousness, which necessarily requires that the
category of time be anchored in the act of writing
–
the
time of the writing process, the ti
me of the writer’s life,
and the time recorded within the narrative. Thus,
personal writing must be considered in its processual
nature
–
as something in the making.
From this perspective, the author’s intention becomes
crucial, as it is largely shaped by how 19th-century
Romantic culture conceived of the self. It is important
to avoid the risk of reducing literature to a mere game
in which the writer’s individuality is lost.
Instead, we must firmly establish the domain of writing
as the space in which the very essence of personal self-
awareness is defined
–
placing an equal sign between
the writing self and the act of writing itself.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS
The analysis conducted has shown that French prose of
the first half of the 19th century is marked by an active
interplay between fictional literary forms and personal,
autobiographical modes of writing
—
such as memoirs,
diaries, letters, and autobiographies. These forms
reveal a clear tendency toward novelization: elements
of fiction increasingly permeate texts that were
traditionally perceived as documentary. As a result, the
boundaries between the fictional and the non-fictional
become blurred.
One of the key conclusions is that personal writing in
the Romantic era should not be viewed as a simple
opposition between fiction and truth. On the contrary,
the fictional nature of personal writing should be seen
not as distortion but as a distinctive mode of self-
expression that conveys the inner truth of the author.
Romantic culture shaped the understanding of the self
as a text
–
mutable, sensitive, and inherently
contradictory. In this context, the written «I» becomes
not merely a reflection of identity but its active
construction.
Thus, personal writing in the 19th century is less an act
of documentary testimony and more a form of literary
self-reflection. It plays a significant role in the evolution
of French prose genres, encouraging a shift from
classical autobiography toward new forms of narrative
rooted in individual perception of the world.
To analyze personal writing in 19th-century literature
effectively, an interdisciplinary approach is required
–
one that combines philological, cultural, and
philosophical-anthropological methods. Only such a
perspective can adequately account for the complex
nature of texts in which the literary and the personal
merge into a unified expressive whole.
CONCLUSION
This article examines how the author’s concept of the
self is realized in language, how aesthetic intentions
correspond to spiritual experience, and how the word
becomes that very experience
–
in other words, how
the «I» develops within the word, which itself is a word
of literature.
It should be emphasized that the core issue of this
study is not so much the delimitation of personal
writing forms by genre, but rather their convergence.
Only such an approach - one that takes into account
both the distinctive features of autobiographical genres
and their mutual influence and fusion in the 19th
century
–
allows for a deeper understanding of the
phenomenon of personal writing and the processes
that led to the birth of a new artistic expression.
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