Sylphs and sylphides in French literature (1670-1801)

Thesis

This thesis analyses imaginary creatures called sylphs and sylphides which appear in numerous texts of the long eighteenth century. These beings are one of four elemental spirits corresponding to the Aristotelian elements and are associated with air. Although there are many such texts belonging to different genres and written by a variety of authors (around 70 titles appeared between 1670 and 1800), sylphs and sylphides have hitherto received limited scholarly attention. That which exists has been restricted to two avenues: sylphs as allegories of desire in seduction narratives, and sylphs as part of the merveilleux tradition. This study expands the breadth and depth of previous work by starting with the two moments key to the creation of this motif: the original mythology put forward by Paracelsus in the sixteenth century, and its reimagining by Montfaucon de Villars who introduced these creatures to French literature in 1670 with 'Le Comte de Gabalis', reprinted many times in the subsequent century, and which inspired numerous other texts. This thesis incorporates around 40 such works in its analysis of the ways in which the motif developed after Paracelsus and Villars. By undertaking close readings, examining engravings, and drawing on relevant contemporaneous fictional and non-fictional sources, this thesis investigates how sylphs and sylphides differed from other pre-existing literary esoteric beings and why they were used by authors, while also mapping out the field of the literary production that featured them and trying to understand the place of sylph narratives within cultural production more widely. It also tackles the difficulty in defining sylphs by examining their appearance, behaviour, and sexuality. This work is framed around two fundamental questions which have not been previously answered satisfactorily: what is a sylph? and is there such a thing as sylph literature?

Authors: Sorochina, E

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-jnm18ovyg
• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: French, English
• Keywords: sylphs and sylphides; literary sub-genres; gifts; gender ambiguity; manipulation; sylph literature; aesthetics; racial difference
• Subjects: eighteenth-century French literaure; sylphs