ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on a selection of texts by Théophile Gautier with a view to test the pertinence of yet a different approach in the study of the self-constructed myth of the artist, that of stylistic identity advanced by Marielle Macé. Style, as a non-narrative way of constructing identity, is here seen as complementary to narrative identity. The modes in which stylistic identity operates are primarily rhythm, relaunch, and variation, all contributing to a contraction of time that can generate a non-linear unity based on aesthetic experience. This method of analysis is here combined with Laurent Jenny’s notion of aesthetic life to reveal important aspects of identity construction that have not been touched upon in the previous chapters. The texts analysed here are Gautier’s parodic sketches of artists in Les Jeunes-France (1833), The Golden Fleece (1838), a short autobiographical notice published in L’Illustration (1867), and the posthumous History of romantism. The persona that emerges through Gautier’s travel writings is also briefly discussed.
