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Reading Short Forms Cognitively: Mindreading and Procedural Expressions in La Rochefoucauld and La Bruyère

Reading Short Forms Cognitively: Mindreading and Procedural Expressions in La Rochefoucauld and... <jats:p> Drawing primarily on Relevance Theory, this essay explores mindreading strategies in the works of La Rochefoucauld and La Bruyère. The first part shows how La Bruyère exploits such strategies in bridging the gap between author and reader and in building his character portraits through observation of bodily behaviour. It also shows how he stages mindreading between characters. The second part analyses the procedural expressions ‘souvent’ and ‘ne que’ as linguistic clues to mental processes, more specifically as a device for bypassing readers' epistemic vigilance mechanisms. Rather than providing evidence for exceptions to the ruling principle of self-interest (as is commonly argued), such expressions block readers' attempts to draw such conclusions, thereby rendering their cognitive environment more uncertain. Endemic in La Rochefoucauld's Maximes, they prepare the ground for and help to construct the pessimistic world-view and wit that characterize the work as a whole. </jats:p> http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Paragraph Edinburgh University Press

Reading Short Forms Cognitively: Mindreading and Procedural Expressions in La Rochefoucauld and La Bruyère

Sellevold, Kirsti
Paragraph , Volume 37 (1): 96 – Mar 1, 2014
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References (5)

Publisher
Edinburgh University Press
Copyright
© Edinburgh University Press 2014
Subject
Literary Studies
ISSN
0264-8334
eISSN
1750-0176
DOI
10.3366/para.2014.0112
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

<jats:p> Drawing primarily on Relevance Theory, this essay explores mindreading strategies in the works of La Rochefoucauld and La Bruyère. The first part shows how La Bruyère exploits such strategies in bridging the gap between author and reader and in building his character portraits through observation of bodily behaviour. It also shows how he stages mindreading between characters. The second part analyses the procedural expressions ‘souvent’ and ‘ne que’ as linguistic clues to mental processes, more specifically as a device for bypassing readers' epistemic vigilance mechanisms. Rather than providing evidence for exceptions to the ruling principle of self-interest (as is commonly argued), such expressions block readers' attempts to draw such conclusions, thereby rendering their cognitive environment more uncertain. Endemic in La Rochefoucauld's Maximes, they prepare the ground for and help to construct the pessimistic world-view and wit that characterize the work as a whole. </jats:p>

Journal

Paragraph – Edinburgh University Press

Published: Mar 1, 2014

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