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    STUDIA PHILOLOGIA - Issue no. 2 / 2005  
         
  Article:   DEMOCRITE DANS LE MIROIR / DEMOCRITUS IN THE MIRROR.

Authors:  MIREILLE BREMOND.
 
       
         
  Abstract:  At the end of the first part of Yourcenar’s book L’Œuvre au noir, Zénon, looking at himself in a Florentine mirror and seeing his image in multiple reflections, considers the Greek philosopher Democritus’s theory of the Plurality of Worlds. We then ask ourselves what Democritus’ importance holds in Yourcenar’s works, as well as the role of the pre-Socratic philosophers. We also examine the reoccurring theme of the mirror which appears in all her novels. It seems that Yourcenar is most interested in the link between the thinkings of the pre-Socratic philosophers and the Orient. Furthermore, the theme of the mirror, referring back to the myth of Narcissi, allows the author to expose several other themes that come into play in the majority of her works. For example the role of the “self” and the difficulty her characters have in identifying themselves as an individual and the philosophy of the Orient.  
         
     
         
         
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