Genevoix et la « parole » animale. Du brouillage énonciatif à la spiritualité de l’oikos

Over the years Alain Rabatel has developed the theory of the Point of view (PDV), an imperfect kind of inner monologue, a non-verbalised form of speech, whereof the subject is not totally conscious. By the application of Rabatel’s theory to the representation of animals in Literature, we can analyse a non-human interior universe, the animal’s perceptions and representations which only produce “unspeakable sentences”. Maurice Genevoix’s attention to the animals’ conscience is paradigmatic. In this paper we analyse the elementary forms of the animal’s “inner speech” in two novels (Rroû [1931] and especially La Dernière Harde [1938]): Genevoix’s “enunciative blurring” reveals his moral position and, consequently, his spiritual need, which is fulfilled by the contemplation of the force of life, moving through every living creature.