Persian Letters

Persian Letters ( Lettres Persanes ) is a famous and widely read of his time epistolary novel by Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu. He appeared anonymously in 1721 in Amsterdam and was soon thereafter banned by the censorship. In the 161 letters, which includes the novel, Montesquieu addresses for many of the historical and political philosophy themes he will develop later on. Today, the small business is considered a key text of the Enlightenment.

The content of the novel is the fictional correspondence between two fictional Persian, Uzbek and Rica, which allegedly left Persia in 1711 and travel through Turkey and Italy to France, where they reside to 1720, particularly in Paris and exchange letters with folks back home. Here they describe - this is the Enlightenment core of the work - their correspondence partners, cultural, religious and political conditions, particularly in France and especially in Paris with a mixture of amazement, shaking his head, ridicule and disapproval. In addition, find Montesquieu opportunity to deal with from the different perspectives of its letter writer and also the respondents further the Enlightenment important issues, such as religion and priesthood, slavery, polygamy, etc. In addition, he weaves to the left at home harem Uzbek type a novelistic storyline that certainly contributed to the success of the book.

The author's intention was to let his readers consider the habits and customs as well as religious and political institutions of his home country France from a distanced and critical outside perspective and to compare "foreign" relations with one's own. The view of Montesquieu, as it were, the "shell" of the whole, corresponds to the ideas of the first generation of philosophers of the Enlightenment.

That he come its travelers from Persia and can also Haremsdamen occur partly explained by the fact that the Orient after the success of the stories of the Thousand and One Nights ( 1704-08 ) was at this time in fashion.

Edits

Ludwig Plakolb, editor of the Eipeldauer letters (1785-1813; successors continued until 1821), points out that as the formal model of the Lettres persanes and recorded in the estate of Montesquieu's son, also widely read work L' espion turc dans les cours des princes chrétiens; Giovanni Paolo Marana, are to be considered in 1684.

Herbert Rosendorfer varies the formal approach of Lettres in his novel letters of the Chinese past.

Comments

External links and sources

• Article " Montesquieu " in names, titles and dates of French literature

• Literary work
• Literature ( French)
• Literature (18th century)
• Satire
• Travel literature