Constant: Adolphe

Dr Wood traces in detail the frequently paradoxical development of themes and situations introduced in the opening chapters and lays stress on the novel’s intricate writing. He places the book in its historical, intellectual and biographical context and examines its reception by writers as various as Stendhal, George Eliot, and Tolstoy.

Preface; List of abbreviations; Chronology; 1. Biographical background; 2. The background of ideas; 3. Adolphe: the narrative and its framework; 4. Adolphe: the art of paradox; 5. Character and circumstance; 6. The portrait of Ellénore; 7. A choice of evils; 8. Adolphe and its readers.