Flaubert's Correspondence as A Testimony of His Poetics

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to point out, on the basis of Flaubert's explicit poetics expressed in numerous letters, the fact that there are numerous deviations and even contradictions when it comes to Flaubert's poetic principles which he adhered to in his artistic practice, and aesthetic attitudes from the rich correspondence in which it has a lot of details from his personal life.

The paper explores his relationship to the art of romanticism, realism, the concept of reality and objectivity, the demand for dispassion and the disappearance of the author from the work, tireless polishing of style and confinement in an ivory tower.

The paper analyzes Flaubert as a theorist, Flaubert as a storyteller and Flaubert as a man with a deep inner life, and the phenomenon of correspondence itself, which as a medium allows one to see all three aspects of Flaubert's personality.