SYMBOLIC IMAGES IN GREY SOULS

The purpose of this article is to analyze the book entitled Grey Souls (2003) written by the French author Philippe Claudel who prefers to illustrate with the words rich in sensory evocations the dramatic effect of the First World War on humans instead of telling the story of the war. In our study, we aimed to show how Claudel took hold of the fantastical strength of 19th century symbolists, with regard to his work Grey Souls, which defined by neither white nor black but the completely gray souls of people portrayed in the shadow of the war and reveal the secrets of the human being, through the narrator's inner journey, the conduct of which oscillates between the good and the bad. The human being who can not understand the cause of his existence is in a state of soul exhausted and destroyed on the edge of the abyss. The narrator who tries to hide behind his memories in order to relieve himself and reduce his loneliness, devotes himself to writing to live. When things are over, he chooses death: death is a unique way to let the suffering soul free and to find the dead lover. Like the symbolist artists who benefit from mythological stories, the author adorns his narration with mythological notions in order to drive the reader away from the battlefield. Humanity, which is crushed under the weight of matter and survives without knowing exactly why and for which it avenges itself, loses more and more its human emotions and is invaded by an immense sadness. The narrator who hides behind his memories through countings, love letters and assassinations full of mysteries, tries to demonstrate the atrocity of war by the assassination of a girl. The war that profoundly influences the sensitivity and thinking of people leads the characters to depression, withdrawal or even the desire for suicide.

Keywords

Philippe Claudel, Grey Souls, symbolism, death, mythology, image, archetype