Pascal’s Fragments d’un discours amoureux

Abstract

Abstract In this article, Pascal’s Écrits sur la Grâce is considered from an unusual angle. Using Barthes’s Fragments d’un discours amoureux as an intertext, it is argued that the Écrits, seemingly so intractable and impersonal, is Pascal’s most deeply personal work, to be read on both theological and existential levels. Through the writings of Donald Winnicott, which feature prominently in the Barthes text, the crucial role played by abandonment (délaissement) is explored in the Écrits and in other Pascalian works.