Love, Desire and Transcendence in French Literature Deciphering Eros

Paul Gifford paints a clear and coherent picture of the evolution of erotic ideas and their imaginary and formal expressions in modern French writing. He retraces the matrix of French tradition by engaging with five classic sources: Plato's Symposium, the Song of Songs, the myth of Genesis, the tension between Greek Eros and Christian Agape, and Nietzsche's declaration of the 'death of God.' The book will appeal not only to students of French literature, but to all those interested in the cultural upheavals of the twentieth century.