The Enlightenment originated in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries and

 

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15 
 
 
 
 
Enlightenment literature in France 
17th-century French literature was written throughout the Grand Siècle of 
France, spanning the reigns of Henry IV of France, the Regency of Marie de 
Medici, Louis XIII of France, the Regency of Anne of Austria (and the civil war 
called the Fronde) and the reign of Louis XIV of France. The literature of this 
period is often equated with the Classicism of Louis XIV's long reign, during 
which France led Europe in political and cultural development; its authors 
expounded the classical ideals of order, clarity, proportion and good taste. In 
reality, 17th-century French literature encompasses far more than just the classicist 
masterpieces of Jean Racine and Madame de La Fayette. 
In Renaissance France, literature (in the broadest sense of the term) was 
largely the product of encyclopaedic humanism, and included works produced by 
an educated class of writers from religious and legal backgrounds. A new 
conception of nobility, modelled on the Italian Renaissance courts and 
their concept of the perfect courtier, was beginning to evolve through French 
literature. Throughout the 17th century this new concept transformed the image of 
the rude noble into an ideal of honnête homme ("the upright man") or the bel 
esprit ("beautiful spirit") whose chief virtues included eloquent speech, skill at 
dance, refined manners, appreciation of the arts, intellectual curiosity, wit, a 
spiritual or platonic attitude towards love and the ability to write poetry. 
Central to this transformation of literature were the salons and literary 
academies which flourished during the first decades of the 17th century; the 
expanded role of noble patronage was also significant. The production of literary 
works such as poems, plays, works of criticism or moral reflection was 
increasingly considered a necessary practice by nobles, and the creation (or 

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16 
patronage) of the arts served as a means of social advancement for both non- and 
marginalized noblemen. In the mid-17th century, there were an estimated 2,200 
authors in France (mostly nobles and clergy), writing for a reading public of just a 
few tens of thousands.Under Cardinal Richelieu, patronage of the arts and literary 
academies increasingly came under the control of the monarchy. 
Henry IV's court was considered by contemporaries a rude one, lacking the 
Italianate sophistication of the court of the Valois kings. The court also lacked a 
queen, who traditionally served as a focus (or patron) of a nation's authors and 
poets. Henry's literary tastes were largely limited to the chivalric novel Amadis of 
Gaul.In the absence of a national literary culture, private salons formed around 
upper-class women such as Marie de Medici and Marguerite de Valois, devoting 
themselves to discussions of literature and society. In the 1620s, the most famous 
salon was held at the Hôtel de Rambouillet by Madame de Rambouillet; a rival 
gathering was organized by Madeleine de Scudéry. 
The word salon first appeared in French in 1664 from the Italian word sala, 
the large reception hall of a mansion. Before 1664, literary gatherings were often 
called by the name of the room in which they occurred -- cabinet, réduit, alcôve, 
and ruelle. For instance, the term ruelle derives from literary gatherings held in the 
bedroom, a practice popular even with Louis XIV. Nobles, lying on their beds, 
would receive close friends and offer them seats on chairs or stools surrounding the 
bed. Ruelle ("little street") refers to the space between a bed and the wall in a 
bedroom; it became a name for these gatherings (and the intellectual and literary 
circles evolving from them), often under the wing of educated women in the first 
half of the 17th century. 
In the context of French scholastica, academies were scholarly societies 
which monitored, fostered, and critiqued French culture. Academies first appeared 
in France during the Renaissance, when Jean-Antoine de Baïf created one devoted 
to poetry and music, inspired by the academy of Italian Marsilio Ficino. The first 
half of the 17th century was marked by a phenomenal growth in private academies, 

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17 
organised around a half-dozen or a dozen individuals who met regularly. 
Academies were generally more formal and more focused on criticism and analysis 
than salons, which encouraged pleasurable discourse about society. However, 
certain salons (such as that of Marguerite de Valois) were closer to the academic 
spirit. In the mid-17th century, academies gradually came under government 
control and sponsorship and the number of private academies decreased. The first 
private academy to fall under governmental control was L'Académie française, 
which remains the most prestigious governmental academy in France. Founded in 
1634 by Cardinal Richelieu, L'Académie française focuses on the French language. 
In certain instances, the values of 17th-century nobility played a major part 
in the literature of the era. Most notable of these values are the aristocratic 
obsession with glory (la gloire) and majesty (la grandeur). The spectacle of power, 
prestige and luxury found in 17th-century literature may be distasteful or even 
offensive. Corneille's heroes, for example, have been labeled by modern critics as 
vainglorious, extravagant and prideful; however, contemporary aristocratic readers 
would see these characters (and their actions) as representative of nobility. 
The chateau of Versailles, court ballets, noble portraits, triumphal arches – 
all of these were representations of glory and prestige. The notion of glory 
(whether artistic or military) was not vanity or boastfulness or hubris, but rather a 
moral imperative for the aristocracy. Nobles were required to be generous, 
magnanimous and to perform great deeds disinterestedly (i.e. because their status 
demanded it, without expectations of financial or political gain), and to master 
their own emotions (especially fear, jealousy and the desire for revenge). 
One's status in the world demanded appropriate externalisation ( or 
"conspicuous consumption"). Nobles indebted themselves to build prestigious 
urban mansions (hôtels particuliers) and to buy clothes, paintings, silverware, 
dishes and other furnishings befitting their rank. They were also required to show 
generosity by hosting sumptuous parties and by funding the arts. Conversely, 
social parvenus who took on the external trappings of the noble classes (such as the 

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18 
wearing of a sword) were severely criticised, sometimes by legal action (laws 
concerning sumptuous clothing worn by the bourgeois existed since the Middle 
Ages).
]
These aristocratic values began to be criticised in the mid-17th 
century; Blaise Pascal, for example, offered a ferocious analysis of the spectacle of 
power and François de La Rochefoucauld posited that no human act—however 
generous it pretended to be—could be considered disinterested.
Classicism In an attempt to restrict the proliferation of private centers of 
intellectual or literary life (so as to impose the royal court as the artistic center of 
France), Cardinal Richelieu took an existing literary gathering (around Valentin 
Conrart) and designated it as the official Académie française in 1634.
Other original members included Jean Desmarets de Saint-Sorlin, Jean 
Ogier de Gombauld, Jean Chapelain, François le Métel de Boisrobert, François 
Maynard, Marin le Roy de Gomberville and Nicolas Faret; members added at the 
time of its official creation included Jean-Louis Guez de Balzac, Claude Favre de 
Vaugelas and Vincent Voiture. This process of state control of the arts and 
literature would be expanded even more during the reign of Louis XIV. 
In 1674 there erupted an intellectual debate (la querelle des Anciens et des 
Modernes) on whether the arts and literature of the modern era had achieved more 
than the illustrious writers and artists of antiquity.
The Académy was dominated by the "Moderns" (Charles Perrault, Jean 
Desmarets de Saint-Sorlin) and Perrault's poem "Le Siècle de Louis le 
Grand" ("The Century of Louis the Great") in 1687 was the strongest expression of 
their conviction that the reign of Louis XIV was the equal of Augustus. As a great 
lover of the classics, Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux found himself pushed into the 
role of champion of the Anciens (his severe criticisms of Desmarets de Saint-
Sorlin's poems did not help), and Jean Racine, Jean de La Fontaine and Jean de La 
Bruyère took his defense. Meanwhile, Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle and the 
newspaper Mercure galant joined the "Moderns". The debate would last until the 
beginning of the 18th century. 

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19 
The term "classicism" is also linked to the visual arts and architecture of 
the period where it is also known as Style Louis XIV, most specifically to the 
construction of the Palace of Versailles (the crowning achievement of an official 
program of propaganda and regal glory). Although originally a country retreat used 
for special festivities—and known more for André Le Nôtre's gardens and 
fountains—Versailles eventually became the permanent home of the king.
By relocating to Versailles Louis effectively avoided the dangers 
of Paris (in his youth, Louis XIV had suffered during the civil and parliamentary 
insurrection known as the Fronde), and could also keep his eye closely on the 
affairs of the nobles and play them off against each other and against the 
newer noblesse de robe. Versailles became a gilded cage; to leave spelled disaster 
for a noble, for all official charges and appointments were made there.
A strict etiquette was imposed; a word or glance from the king could make or 
destroy a career. The king himself followed a strict daily regimen, and there was 
little privacy. Through his wars and the glory of Versailles Louis became, to a 
certain degree, the arbiter of taste and power in Europe; both his château and the 
etiquette in Versailles were copied by the other European courts. However, the 
difficult wars at the end of his long reign and the religious problems created by the 
revocation of the Edict of Nantes made the last years dark.
Classicism flourished most vividly in 17th century France. in the context of 
the growth of the big bourgeoisie, which was drawn towards the "court". Russian 
classicism, despite its official imitation, had a different meaning than that of 
French. In the second half of the 17th century, new aspects of classicism were 
discovered. During this period, F. Fenelon's novel «The Adventures of Telemak», 
Sh. Saint-Evremon's plots, the playwright J. Racine (1639-99), «Andromaxa», 
«Britannica», «Phaedra» were created. Rococo literature appeared in the early 18th 
century. He was known for his geodenism, skepticism, and very free thought. J. B. 
Russo tried to reconcile the playful Rococo with the norms of classicism. 
Enlightenment thinkers such as Montesquieu, Voltaire, and Diderot also made 

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20 
extensive use of Rococo. In the first half of the 18th century, the comedy and novel 
genres developed. Molyer, A.R. Lesaj, P.K. Marivo, F.N. Detush, Sh. L. 
Montesquieu («Persian Letters») is one of the leading representatives of this genre, 
in which Voltaire played a leading role. From 1751 D. Didro, J.L. The 
Encyclopedia was published by D'Alambert and other enlighteners. In France in 
the mid-seventeenth century, literature began to take on a higher dimension. 
During the Great French Revolution, writers as well as publicists encouraged 
members of society to unite around their ideas.
Beaumarchais's The Marriage of Figaro, Lille's The Song of Marseillaise, 
Marat's The Devil's Wallet, and Robespierre's The Crowd Can't Wake Up at Night. 
In Pote's Paris Commune, Emil Zolya's Or, and Mopassan's short stories, life in 
society is criticized for injustice. By this time, great writers such as Balzac, 
Shaplen, and Descartes had emerged, who had a profound impact on the spiritual 
life and culture of all of Europe. About a thousand artists, such as Balzac, Shaplen, 
Descartes, Moler, Vauclin, Deport, Marivo, Russo, Kazot, Beranje, Barbusse, 
Alain, Dumas, Stendhal, Camus, Sartre, Michel Turnier, Montesquieu, Charles 
Perrault, Voltaire, are prominent representatives of French literature. Can be 
counted. The works of many of them are well known to Uzbek readers.
Today, the Writers 'Union of Uzbekistan and the French Writers' Union 
have established a partnership for the complete and re-translation of such works. 
This will enrich the spiritual treasures of the two nations, which have their own 
rich history and traditions. Classicism flourished most vividly in 17th century 
France. in the context of the growth of the big bourgeoisie, which was drawn 
towards the "court". Russian classicism, despite its official imitation, had a 
different meaning than that of French. In the second half of the 17th century, new 
aspects of classicism were discovered. During this period, F. Fenelon's novel «The 
Adventures of Telemak», Sh. Saint-Evremon's plots, the playwright J. 
Racine (1639-99), «Andromaxa», «Britannica», «Phaedra» were created. 
Rococo literature appeared in the early 18th century. He was known for his 
geodenism, skepticism, and very free thought. J. B. Russo tried to reconcile the 

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21 
playful Rococo with the norms of classicism. Enlightenment thinkers such as 
Montesquieu, Voltaire, and Diderot also made extensive use of Rococo.
In the first half of the 18th century, the comedy and novel genres 
developed. Molyer, A.R. Lesaj, P.K. Marivo, F.N. Detush, Sh. L. Montesquieu 
(«Persian Letters») is one of the leading representatives of this genre, in which 
Voltaire played a leading role. From 1751 D. Didro, J.L. The Encyclopedia was 
published by D'Alambert and other enlighteners. In France in the mid-seventeenth 
century, literature began to take on a higher dimension. During the Great French 
Revolution, writers as well as publicists encouraged members of society to unite 
around their ideas. Beaumarchais's The Marriage of Figaro, Lille's The Song of 
Marseillaise, Marat's The Devil's Wallet, and Robespierre's The Crowd Can't Wake 
Up at Night. In Pote's Paris Commune, Emil Zolya's Or, and Mopassan's short 
stories, life in society is criticized for injustice. By this time, great writers such as 
Balzac, Shaplen, and Descartes had emerged, who had a profound impact on the 
spiritual 
life 
and 
culture 
of 
all 
of 
Europe.
About a thousand artists, such as Balzac, Shaplen, Descartes, Moler, Vauclin, 
Deport, Marivo, Russo, Kazot, Beranje, Barbusse, Alain, Dumas, Stendhal, 
Camus, Sartre, Michel Turnier, Montesquieu, Charles Perrault, Voltaire, are 
prominent representatives of French literature. Can be counted. The works of many 
of 
them 
are 
well 
known 
to 
Uzbek 
readers.
Today, the Writers 'Union of Uzbekistan and the French Writers' Union have 
established a partnership for the complete and re-translation of such works. This 
will enrich the spiritual treasures of the two nations, which have their own rich 
history and traditions. 

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22