• Cross-Cultural Studies
• /
• v.45
• /
• pp.349-380
• /
• 2016

In this article we tried to discover the predilection of the Goncourt brothers for the noble culture of the eighteenth century. It is well known that two brothers sought to bring forth the aristocratic world formerly reigned by Louis XV and Louis XVI. The favorite themes of the Goncourts included rococo, rocaille, Kings' mistresses, and antiques. Were the brothers fascinated by the culture of the eighteenth century only because they were themselves in the lineage of an aristocratic family? Are there any other reasons behind their predilection for the eighteenth century? This research started from these questions, because we believe that, in their preoccupation with such culture, there must be other reasons beyond their aesthetic predilection. We first studied ideological grounds to answer these questions. Our attention was particularly drawn to the relationship between their attachment to aristocratic culture and their rejection of bourgeois culture in their time. We then attempted to discern the meaning of their studies on the French Revolution, in the wake of the revolution of 1848. By means of this approach, we found that they overestimated the vibrant and energetic culture of the eighteenth century, and they wanted to propose such culture to their contemporaries, in an effort to forget the terrible memory of the year 1848. We can therefore say that the Goncourt brothers proposed a remedy for the psychological torment of their time.