Entre solitude et sociabilité : l’idée du bonheur dans l’Histoire d’Estévanille Gonzalez de Lesage

Abstract

In this paper, we aim to present the idea of happiness in the History of Estévanille Gonzalez of Lesage. The quest for happiness, this concept that preoccupied the Enlightenment, appears to be a subject that fuelled a great deal of philosophical and literary reflection at the time. Between asceticism and libertinism, the morality of mediocrity emphasised the search for balance. Balance between God and the world, movement and rest, solitude and companionship. The question arises: how does all this manifest itself in Lesage's novel, written at a time when the genre of the novel was constantly evolving? To answer this question, we will first examine the definitions of happiness given in the Encyclopédie. We will then analyse the connection between the idea of happiness and adventure, an essential element of the picaresque novel. Finally, we will take a closer look at a particular ‘space of happiness’ where these ideas intersect: the space of retirement.