Bourget, Paul

(1852-1935)

   writer

   Known at first for his poetry, Paul Bourget, who was born in Amiens, with his Essais de psychologie contemporaine (1883-85), proposed to analyze, according to the scientific and naturalistic process, the "moral ills" of his age. A traditionalist and didactic novelist, opposed to the naturalism of émile zola, Bourget extolled a return to spiritualism (Le Disciple, 1889) and to Catholicism (Un divorce, 1904; Le Sens de la mort, 1915), and wanted to bring his readers to study the dilemmas of society (André Cornélis, 1887; Mensonges, 1887). He then turned to social studies (Cosmopolis, 1892; L'Étape, 1902) and major works, notably Némésis (1918) and Nos actes nous suivent (1927). Gifted with a sensitive imagination, he brought to his art a rigorous moral analysis, which evokes henri stendhal or benjamin constant, to whom he dedicated some of his essays. His works offer a documentary of the age, but he has also been criticized for painting a positive and flattering image of the wealthy society of the period. Bouret was elected to the Académie Française in 1894.