Jardins et enclos : enonciation et construction de l'espace dans Connaissance de l'Est

The figure of the garden can be read as an emblem of space in Connaissance de l'Est, especially inasmuch as the garden stands in contrast to all representations of cities, tightly circumscribed and closed in upon themselves. The space construed here is not to be understood solely in regards to its physical or esthetic manifestations but in terms of writing and in response to a constructivist impulse. Recent studies on enunciation (Culioli, 1999, 2000; Maingueneau, 1999; and Perret, 2005) lead us to observe divers strategies of spatialization that are at work in Claudel's prose poetry. In underscoring the processes by which the poet's geography is sketched, our purpose in this article is to study the construction of the spatial dimension in several garden texts from Connaissance de l'Est ("Jardins", "Portes", "Heures dans le jardin", "Ça et là"). Among the various means of inserting space into the poems, we note especially the presence of features designed to attract attention, the role of certain microstructural figures and of spatial connectors, among others. Entering into the poet's "oriental" universe by the angle of enunciation gives us the opportunity to reflect on the numerous spatial-temporal markers that are found in Claudel.