Contradiction as the basis of the narrative structure of the novel “la vraye histoire comique de Francion” (1623–1633) by Charles Sorel

Abstract

The article analyzes the specifics of the narrative structure of the novel “La vraye histoire comique de Francion” by Ch. Sorel (1623–1633). As a result of the comparative analysis of the three editions of the novel, we conclude that Sorel’s goal is to encourage readers to critical thinking, which in the first edition is achieved through satire on religion, state structure and traditions, in the third edition is realized through the destruction of the novel form and intellectual play with the reader at the level of narrative structure, the unity of which based on the principle of “contradiction”.