The Voyage De Groenland as Literature

Abstract

On superficial examination the Greenland novel is similar to Jacques Massé. The story may be divided into three main sections — the life and adventures of the hero-narrator before the discovery of an unknown country (I, pp. 1–40), the period spent in that country (I, p. 40–11, p. 193) and the escape and eventual return home (II, pp. 193–283). Included in these sections are, as in Jaques Masse, digressions of all kinds, attacks on religion, entertaining anecdotes, and stories of passion and excitement. In short, the framework and the general sequence of events in the second novel are clearly much the same as in the first. On closer inspection, however, the Greenland novel reveals important differences of emphasis and intent.