Self, Language and the Social in the Writings of Jules Valles (1833 - 1885) : The Jacques Vingtras Trilogy

This study offers a different and original reading of the Jacques Vingtras Trilogy, contributing a deeper comprehension of the work on a psychological, social, and literary plane.

New dimensions of the text are explored using Girard's concept of desire and Lacanaian thought in an analysis of the protagonist's Self.

The power of discourse, both verbal and non-verbal, is illustrated as exerting the various forms of social control portrayed in the trilogy.

Finally, a look at the unresolved question of classifying Valles' writing shows that he created a full or global view of his subject through the combination of both internal and external realism.