Quaderni IRCrES-CNR, (2018) vol. 3, n. 3 cap. 2

« Présence de la Méditerranée » dans l’œuvre de Jean Giono

« The Presence of the Mediterranean » in Jean Giono’s work

Jacques Mény

Président de l’Association des amis de Giono
corresponding author: jacquesmeny@wanadoo.fr

Abstract

Born in Provence “by accident”, from a father of Piedmontese origin and a mother from Picardy, Jean Giono is an unusual Southern man who prefers rain rather than shine, winter rather than summer. For lots of readers, his work is a song for his never left native land. Nevertheless, Giono defends the independence of his imaginary from Provence. He is fond of his homeland, whose colours, odours, landscapes, lights meet his sensuality, but he focuses his creative work on the fabrication of a fictional South, a “Giono’s region” such as Faulkner did with his Yoknapatawpha County. Giono defines himself more as a Latin and a Mediterranean than a Provençal. Paradoxically, he needs the mediation of literature to fabricate and further develop his Mediterranean soul: Homer, Greek dramatists, Virgil, The Arabian Nights contribute to the construction of “Giono’s world” with his re-writing of the Mediterranean great myths of Arabian, Greek and Latin origin. His vision emphasizes an ancient suspended Mediterranean world, at risk of disappearing because of mechanization. He makes its latest splinters shine in an aesthetic fullness, which preserves its magic. Southern man of Mediterranean culture, Giono belongs to the Mediterranean world, both through his literary imaginary and a feeling of rooting.

Keywords: Giono’s region, Homer, Myths, Provence.

DOI: 10.23760/2499-6661.2018.010

How to Cite this Article

Mény J., 2018. “« Présence de la Méditerranée » dans l’œuvre de Jean Giono”, in Emina A. (a cura di), Narrazioni dal Secolo Breve. Ripensare il Mediterraneo, Quaderni IRCrES-CNR, vol. 3, n. 3, pp. 15-33, http://dx.doi.org/10.23760/2499-6661.2018.010