ABSTRACT
Chapter 6 interprets the results of the fieldwork research method when streamed into an assessment of the perception of Marie Antoinette and the Petit Trianon as communicated by the visiting public today. The chapter focuses on French, American and Japanese perceptions of the site by building on the fieldwork research results supported by the ethnographic study on ‘imaginary social worlds’ (Caughey 1984). The fieldwork research method was developed to answer questions regarding the perception of the Petit Trianon as home to Marie Antoinette. Moreover, it focused on ascertaining the prevalence of the four major narratives (historical, cinematic, architectural, heritage) relevant to the site’s contemporary interpretation and perception. Particular attention will be given to the artificial types of memories induced mainly through ‘collective memory’ (Halbwachs 1980) but will also be given to a specific form of false and time-line independent recollections introduced by the imaginary social interaction of individuals with historical figures. The term ‘imaginary social memories’ is thus coined in this chapter. Nora’s (1984a) ‘places of memory’, uncanny memory constructs which, under the sign of nostalgia, could embody what is lost, also play an important role in the analysis of visitor discourses. From the perspective of the hermeneutical paradigm interpretation underpinning the methodology, Chapter 6 provides perspectives on the cultural conditioning and ‘prejudice’ manifested by contemporary visitors at the Petit Trianon.
