George Sand's Mauprat: an ecological tale? For an ecopoetic reading of chapter IV.

Abstract

Chapter IV of the novel Mauprat distinguishes itself by an ecopoetic dimension aimed at denouncing Bernard de Mauprat’s ecological crime through the murder of the Patience’s owl. To this end, Sand uses the poetic codes of the fairy tale as literary material to sensitize the reader to Bernard's reprehensible crime. Indeed, Sand uses the topical motif of the punishment scene, inflicted on the tale's heroes by a sorcerer or fairy, to inscribe a didactic message in favour of respect for animals and environment. She also uses the terrifying setting of the wood to offer an eye-opening experience that invites Bernard to discover the supernatural powers of nature and become aware of its smallness. Thenceforth, the punishment scene is transformed into an ontological experience that leads the story to rediscover the origins of myth through the folkloric motifs of the tale. This aesthetic experience responds to Jean-Christophe Cavallinés recent ecopoetic vow: the ecology of story aims to return to an archaic world, reconnecting the human to the environment.