LE CYNISME DANS LES ROMANS DE FREDERIC BEIGBEDER ET VIRGINIE DESPENTES (1990-2010)

Abstract

This thesis presents the first comparative study of cynicism in Beigbeder and Despentes' literary production between 1990-2010, highlighting the different meanings of cynicism in their work and addressing their vision of French society. Cynicism was a philosophy which criticized the values of Ancient Greek society, considering them false and preventing people from attaining true happiness. The Cynics praised autarchy, apathy and freedom. Happiness to them was to live in agreement with nature; eating when hungry, drinking when thirsty, mating when aroused. Centuries later, it may be argued that modern cynics continue to observe astutely the flaws of their society, but now they use and transgress these flaws for their own ends. It would seem that, since the development of capitalism, moderation has been replaced with overconsumerism, a theme pointed up by and central to the works of Beigbeder and Despentes. Both authors present three cynical movements: First, they appear to advocate nihilism: the desire to destroy societal customs and values, paired with a refusal to build new ones. Then, from the 2000s onwards, both publish books that articulate a more altruistic cynicism; Beigbeder denounced the power of advertising with verifiable facts, while Despentes liberated her characters from gender norms. In this way, both authors imply the possibility of refusal of the (immoral) impact of overconsumerism and excess. In parallel, they blur the limits between author and narrator, fiction and non-fiction. Autofiction allows them to address social alienation and the definition of the self in a globalised world. Both Beigbeder and Despentes define the markers of what may be defined as a specific genre, cynical modern French literature. Through this development, cynicism is no longer a pessimistic fin-de-siècle bourgeois attitude: it has regained its political engagement for a better world.