LEADER 03936nam 2200649Ia 450 001 9910454246003321 005 20200520144314.0 010 $a94-012-0640-6 010 $a1-4356-9528-3 024 7 $a10.1163/9789401206402 035 $a(CKB)1000000000720878 035 $a(EBL)556694 035 $a(OCoLC)301989668 035 $a(SSID)ssj0000266944 035 $a(PQKBManifestationID)12049542 035 $a(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000266944 035 $a(PQKBWorkID)10322818 035 $a(PQKB)11549601 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC556694 035 $a(OCoLC)301989668$z(OCoLC)649903248$z(OCoLC)764535952$z(OCoLC)842973270$z(OCoLC)961578859$z(OCoLC)962560828$z(OCoLC)966226693$z(OCoLC)988473410$z(OCoLC)992112773 035 $a(nllekb)BRILL9789401206402 035 $a(Au-PeEL)EBL556694 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebr10380210 035 $a(EXLCZ)991000000000720878 100 $a20081014d2008 uy 0 101 0 $aeng 135 $aur|n|---||||| 181 $ctxt 182 $cc 183 $acr 200 10$aVeiled encounters$b[electronic resource] $erepresenting the Orient in 17th-century French travel literature /$fMichael Harrigan 210 $aAmsterdam ;$aNew York $cRodopi$d2008 215 $a1 online resource (300 p.) 225 1 $aFaux titre ;$v321 300 $aDescription based upon print version of record. 311 $a90-420-2476-3 320 $aIncludes bibliographical references (p. [273])-294) and index. 327 $aPreliminary Material -- Acknowledgements -- Illustrations -- Introduction -- Capturing Cultural Encounter -- The Literature of Encounter -- Threat and the Near East -- The East Indies: le Jardin de l?Orient -- Aventures in the Orient -- Conclusion -- Bibliography -- Index. 330 $aTravel narratives were the principal source of knowledge about the lands of the Near East and the Indian Ocean Basin in 17th-century France. Claiming the authority of first-hand observation, they paradoxically rely for their legitimization on the tropes of an established literary tradition. The status of these texts remained ambiguous, not least because of their anecdotal depictions of great riches, brutality or sexual promise. Drawing on the insights of post-colonial scholarship, this study tackles a question given scant attention in previous work and suggests that beyond the hazy representation of the Orient, an opposition emerges between the threatening Near East and the indolent East Indies. Distinguishing recognizable representations from those generated by new encounters, this book questions the feasibility of cultural representation through travel, exploring a large corpus of original sources written by French ecclesiastics, gentlemen-travellers, ambassadors and adventurers. Linguistic, religious, cultural or geographical barriers meant most travellers remained distanced from the peoples about whom they would simultaneously become authoritative. The encounter was further transformed in narratives that were intended to entertain and to satisfy the criterion of curiosité . The ?Oriental? that emerges is a supremely variable entity, alternately naked or veiled, barbaric or civilized, menacing or attractive. 410 0$aFaux titre ;$v321. 606 $aFrench prose literature$y17th century$xHistory and criticism 606 $aTravelers' writings, French$xHistory and criticism 606 $aTravel writing$zFrance$xHistory$y17th century 607 $aOrient$xIn literature 608 $aElectronic books. 615 0$aFrench prose literature$xHistory and criticism. 615 0$aTravelers' writings, French$xHistory and criticism. 615 0$aTravel writing$xHistory 676 $a840.9 700 $aHarrigan$b Michael$0615931 801 0$bMiAaPQ 801 1$bMiAaPQ 801 2$bMiAaPQ 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910454246003321 996 $aVeiled encounters$91081890 997 $aUNINA