Charm Of Catastrophe: A Study Of Rabelaiss Quart Livre; Author: Berry, Alice Fiola; Paperback

Author: Berry, Alice Fiola
North Carolina Studies in the Romance Languages and Literatures (Paperback); Paperback
168 pages
Published: January 2001
The University of North Carolina Press
ISBN: 0807892718

Published in two parts in 1548 and 1552, Le Quart Livre is Rabelais's last book of certain authenticity and his most difficult and mysterious work. In it, Pantagruel and Panurge undertake a sea voyage and a quest for the word of the Divine Bottle, but the islands they visit along the way are inhabited by strange beings whose nature and physiognomy defy natural categories. Expressing the elderly writer's despair at the failure of all his dreams as a young humanist, the voyage traces the last phase of the heroic quest, the cycle of old age and death. It is a descent into the underworld, but one that is undertaken hopefully, for the Quart Livre continues the search for a wife and for paternity begun in the Tiers Livre. Ultimately, all of these strivings may beA study of Le Quart Livre, Rabelais's most mysterious work. Alice Fiola Berry examines the voyage for the word of the Divine Bottle, which traces the last phase of the heroic quest, the cycle of old age and death, and shows how it affirms the healing power of wine, laughter and words.