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Search - Rameau's Nephew (World Cultural Heritage Library)

Rameau's Nephew - World Cultural Heritage Library
Author: Denis Diderot

Rameau's Nephew, or the Second Satire (French: Le Neveu de Rameau ou La Satire seconde) is an imaginary philosophical conversation written by Denis Diderot, probably between 1761 and 1772. The scene takes place in the Palais-Royal, where Moi ("I"), a narrator-like persona supposed to stand for Diderot himself, claims he enjoys a daily walk. Ther... more »e he comes across Lui ("Him"), meaning Jean-François Rameau, supposedly the nephew of the famous composer, who engages him in conversation. Recurring themes in the discussion include the education of children, the nature of genius, and money. The often rambling conversation pokes fun at numerous prominent figures of the time. In the prologue that precedes the conversation, the first-person narrator depicts Lui as a true original, eccentric and extravagant, full of contradictions, "a mixture of the sublime and the base, of good sense and irrationality". Effectively being a provocateur, Lui extols the virtues of crime and theft, and raises his beloved gold to the level of a religion. Moi seems to have a didactic role, while the nephew (Lui) succeeds in conveying a cynical, if perhaps immoral, vision of reality. Though the two characters actually existed, the characters of the novel are meant as allegorical figures, and the dialogue is in fact Diderot's own ruminations on life and morality. In Rameau's Nephew, Diderot attacked and ridiculed the critics of the Enlightenment, but he knew from past experience that some of his enemies were sufficiently powerful to have him arrested or the work banned. Diderot had done a spell in prison in 1749 after publishing his Lettre sur les aveugles (Letter about the Blind) and his Encyclopédie had been banned in 1759. Prudence, therefore, may have dictated that he showed it only to a happy few.

Denis Diderot (October 5, 1713 ? July 31, 1784) was a French philosopher and writer. He was a prominent figure during the Enlightenment, his major contribution to the Enlightenment being the Encyclopédie. Diderot also contributed to literature, notably with Jacques le fataliste et son maître (Jacques the Fatalist and His Master), which emulated Laurence Sterne in challenging conventions regarding novels, their structure and content, while also examining philosophical ideas about free will. Diderot is also known as the author of the dialogue, Le Neveu de Rameau (Rameau's Nephew) upon which many articles and sermons about consumer desire have been based. His articles included many topics of the Enlightenment. - Wikipedia

ISBN-13: 9781438791951
ISBN-10: 143879195X
Publication Date: 9/9/2009
Pages: 150
Rating:

0 stars, based on 0 rating

Publisher: Intl Business Pubns USA
Book Type: Paperback
Members Wishing: 0
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

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