Abstract
what is left out of a text can be as important as what is explicitly present. Readers interpret omissions according to principles of inference that are generally assumed by participants in communication. This essay discusses omissions, or ellipses, and their literary effects in Flaubert’s Un Coeur simple.
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Notes
- 1.
Grice’s lectures are now available: Hubert P. Grice, “Logic and Conversation,” in Syntax and Semantics, 3: Speech Acts, ed. P. Cole and J. Morgan (New York: Academic Press, 1975), pp. 41–58. They have produced much interesting discussion in the linguistic and philosophical literature.
- 2.
Chafe uses this phrase in a discussion of the notion “topic.” Wallace Chafe, “Givenness, Contrastiveness, Definiteness, Subjects, Topics, and Point of View,” in Subject and Topic, ed. C.N. Ki (New York: Academic Press, 1976), pp. 25–55.
- 3.
There are, of course, other properties of discourse organization that affect the interpretations of pronouns.
- 4.
We do not include here pronouns that refer without an antecedent, although such pronouns occur often, especially in conversation (one may designate a person in full view of the hearer, for instance, simply by a pronoun).
- 5.
In this essay “definite noun phrase” is a noun phrase that refers to a definite entity. It has a semantic rather than a strictly syntactic definition, since so-called indefinite forms can refer definitely. See, for instance, the use of the indefinite article in reference to moths cited later in this essay.
- 6.
For interesting discussions of this notion, see Eugene Charniak, “With Spoon in Hand This Must Be the Eating Frame,” in Theoretical Issues in Natural Language Processing (TINLAP), 2, Association for Computational Linguistics, 1978, pp. 187–193; Marvin Minsky “A Framework for Representing Knowledge,” in The Psychology of Computer Vision, ed. P.H. Winston (New York: McGraw-Hill 1975), pp. 211–277.
- 7.
This sentence comes from Un Coeur simple, paragraph 176.
- 8.
This point is discussed by Raymonde Debray-Genette, “Les figures du récit dans ‘Un Coeur simple,’ ” Poétique, 3 (1970), 349.
- 9.
Luke 4:22.
- 10.
A very interesting discussion of how Flaubert creates a sense of reality in this story was published by Roland Barthes in Communications, 11 (1968), pp. 84–89 under the title, “L’Effet de Réel.”
- 11.
These examples are discussed by Svend Johansen, “Ecritures d’Un Coeur simple,” Revue Romane, 2, No. 1 (1967), pp. 108–120.
- 12.
The name of Madame Aubain appears 44 times in the text; she is called “Madame,” as Félicité would, 15 times; 15 times she is referred to by some other noun: “la maîtresse,” “sa mère,” “une bourgeoise,” or some collective noun. She is referred to 53 times by a third person singular pronoun and 10 times by a third person plural pronoun. Virginie is called by that name 22 times, and 27 times by other nouns, singular or plural, such as “fille,” “enfant,” “petite,” or “mademoiselle,” these last two in indirect quotes. She is referred to by 37 singular and 13 plural pronouns. As for Félicité, her name is used 62 times, and other nouns only 6 times: “bonne,” “servante” (3 times), “jeune fille,” and “femme.” But we find 315 third person singular personal pronouns referring to her and 20 plural. Whereas all in all Félicité is mentioned four times as often as Virginie and almost three times as often as Mme. Aubain, the latter is called by a name or a noun more often than Félicité (74 times as opposed to 68), and the former considerably more than half as often (49 as opposed to 68). Comparing the number of third person pronouns, one finds that they are used for Félicité over 5 or 6 times more often than for Mme. Aubain or Virginie.
- 13.
In an article entitled “Schizophrenia and the Mad Psychotherapist,” reprinted in his Ways of the Will (New York: Harper & Row, 1968), Leslie Farber discusses the tendency to overdramatic behavior on the part of some therapists working with nonverbal patients. An unsuspecting visitor to a sanatorium for schizophrenics “would have to conclude that … these therapists had apparently abandoned what must once have been their more usual habits of expression in favour of some more florid and declamatory style.…” Farber attributes this change to a desire to celebrate the nonverbal at the expense of the nuances and complexities of language. Writers can fall into the same trap. Flaubert obviously does not.
- 14.
For use of presupposition in literary analysis, see Gerald Prince, “On Presupposition and Narrative Strategy,” Centrum, 1, No. 1 (1973), pp. 23–31; and Milton C. Butler, “Factive Predicates and Narrative Point of View,” Texas Linguistic Forum, 13 (1979), pp. 34–39.
- 15.
For a summary and discussion of presupposition, see Lauri Karttunen and Stanley Peters, “Requiem for Presuppositions,” Proceedings of the Berkeley Linguistic Society, Univ. of California, Berkeley, (1977), 360–371.
- 16.
See Susumo Kuno, “Subject, Theme, and the Speaker’s Empathy,” in Subject and Topic, ed. C.N. Li (New York: Academic Press, 1976), pp. 417–444.
- 17.
Marcel Proust, “A propos du ‘style’ de Flaubert,” Chroniques (Paris: Gallimard, 1927), p. 205.
- 18.
Discussed by Jonathan Culler, Flaubert (Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press, 1974), pp. 121–22.
- 19.
Albert Thibaudet, Gustave Flaubert (Paris: Plon, 1922), p. 311.
- 20.
We realize that the aspects of Flaubert’s style we are discussing often involve the style indirect libre. The large number of third person pronouns and possessives in the text, as well as their occasional uncertain references, surely result from this narrative strategy, as do the unanchored definite references. The interpretation of conversational implicature is assisted by our recognition of indirectly reported speech in a sentence such as “Mme. Aubain lui défendit de les baiser à chaque minute.” While acknowledging the links between our analysis and the studies of Flaubert’s style indirect libre, we do not feel we can, in the scope of this essay, treat all the relationships satisfactorily.
- 21.
Culler discusses Flaubert’s verbal irony with admirable clarity in his Flaubert, pp. 185–207.
- 22.
In several translations we have consulted, the ellipses are either evaded or made easier to interpret. Evasions occur when a proper name is given, while the original has a pronoun. Interpretation is made easier when more information is given in the translations than in the original text. These changes make the English more fluent, but fail to convey the spirit of the French.
Acknowledgement
We would like to thank Janet Letts and Richard Pearce for invaluable discussions; Isabel Kenrick, Gerald Prince, Michael Smith, and Bonnie Webber also have made helpful comments.
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Appendix: Examples and Analyses
Appendix: Examples and Analyses
We present here a set of exemplary cases from the text that involve the construction of a noun phrase or recognition of an unexpected referent (implicatures are omitted since Grice and others have dealt with them extensively). For each example we give the various types of information and inference that are relevant to its interpretation. This is a level of detail that is crucial to the understanding of the examples but could not have been given in the main body of the essay without marring the exposition.
The first set of examples involve identification of the referent of an NP. In some cases there is one clear route to the correct interpretation; in others, more than one route is possible because more than one type of information can be drawn on.
The interpretations are presented in terms of identification of the NP; we do not attempt to fill in the information that is missing from the text. To state what is missing would be misleading, if not impossible. There might be more than one way of arriving at an identification, and different routes might involve different omissions—stating “the” route would fix things too solidly. More serious, there is no unique set of omissions for a given route: events can be chunked together in different ways and can be broken down into many smaller events.
We distinguish between actual words in the text that lead to identification, and general information from the text that does so. The two are not mutually exclusive: a lexical item may appear in a sentence that gives relevant information, and itself key identification. The NPs of these examples do not have anchors in the text, nor are they anchored by framing or unique reference. We took as anchors appropriate previous references; grammatically related possessives, genitives, and locatives; and certain transitive verbs of which the NP in question is an object. The examples below are organized according to the notional relation between the referent of the NP and the referent of related material in the text. In these examples we focus on the way material in the text leads to identification of the NPs.
Part to whole: the definite NP may indicate a part, which must be identified as belonging to some whole. The text may give both but without making explicit the relation between them, as in example 2; or the text may give only clues as to the whole, as in examples 3 and 4.
The first sample of text has two NPs needing identification; the text samples are numbered according to paragraph.
(a) 130 Le couvent se trouvait au fond d’une ruelle escarpée. Vers le milieu, elle entendit des sons étranges, un glas de mort. “C’est pour d’autres,” pensa-t-elle; et Félicité tira violemment le marteau. 1. the knocker of the door of the convent (a) Text: the convent; (b) Information in text: Félicité’s destination is the convent; (c) General knowledge: convents are buildings with doors, and doors have knockers, and one uses a knocker to gain entrance to a building; (d) Inference: Félicité is now at the convent door.2. the middle of the alley where the convent is Text: the bottom of a steeply sloping alley; toward; (b) Information in text: Félicité’s destination is the convent; (c) General knowledge: rules of language (the same, roughly, for French and English) that relate the NP in question to the preceding NP; (d) Inference: Félicité is now in the middle of the alley.
Both these NPs have the same narrative function. They move the narrative forward by requiring the inference that a character, Félicité, has moved to the place of the definite NP.
(b) 63–64 à partir de Noël, elle mena tous les jours la petite fille au catéchisme. Quand elle avait fait à la porte une génuflexion, elle s’avançait sous la haute nef entre la double ligne des chaises, ouvrait le banc de Mme. Aubain, s’asseyait, et promenait ses yeux autour d’elle. 3. the door of the church (a) Text: catechism, genuflect, nave, pew; (b) Information in text: Félicité went to the place where catechism is held; (c) General knowledge: catechism is often held in church, and nave, etc., are uniquely associated with church; the actions are appropriate to entering church.
This example, by assuming an identification that would be automatic for inhabitants of the town, presents their point of view to the reader.
(c) 49–50 …les chevaux trottaient, l’âne galopait; tous enfilèrent un sentier, une barrière tourna, deux garçons parurent, et l’on descendit devant le purin, sur le seuil même de la porte. La mère Liébard, en apercevant sa maîtresse, prodiga les démonstrations de joie. 4. the door of the Liébard’s farmhouse (a) Text: manure pile, Mother Liébard; (b) Information in text: Liébard is a farmer and tenant of Mme. Aubain; (c) General information: farms have manure piles, and farmhouses have doors; (d) Inference: Mother Liébard is near the door.
Note that one could not be sure from the text just where Mother Liébard is: she might have been beside the door, waiting to welcome the travelers, or she may be inside the door.
This example requires much of the reader because there is no preparation for it in the text. In 3, the notion of catechism is introduced just before the NP in question. But here the travelers have a final destination (known to the reader) that is not the Liébard farm, and there is no mention of an intermediate stop. Both 3 and 4 have clues in the text; the difference between them is a matter of how much prior information has been given.
Another general relation that obtains between definite NPs and material in the text is that of a conventional connection: event B is generally known to follow event A. Such a connection can serve to identify B, if A is established clearly. There are several examples of this type of connection, all involving Catholic life, which was a frame taken for granted at the time.
(d) 69–71 Ce fut de cette manière, à force de l’entendre, qu’elle apprit le catéchisme, son éducation religieuse ayant été négligée dans sa jeunesse; et dès lors elle imita toutes les pratiques de Virginie, jeûnait comme elle, se confessait avec elle. A la Fête-Dieu, elles firent ensemble un reposoir.
La premiere communion la tourmentait d’avance. Elle s’agita pour les souliers, pour le livre, pour les gants. Avec quel tremblement elle aida sa mère à l’habiller!
Pendant toute la messe, elle éprouva une angoisse…. 5. the thought of the first communion Virginie will make (a) Text: catechism, in advance, the shoes, etc.; (b) Information in text: Virginie, who attends catechism, is the young daughter of the household where Félicité is a servant; Félicité is totally devoted to the child with no expectations for herself; (c) General knowledge: catechism leads to first communion, which is a solemn ceremony with much pomp; (d) Inference: Félicité is worrying about Virginie, not her own communion.
This fragment is less ambiguous in context than it seems here. The focus of the story on Félicité is well established, and her character is clear when this fragment occurs.
6. the shoes and gloves, etc., Virginie will wear at communion (a) Text: first communion; (b) Information in text: the family is small-town bourgeoisie; (c) General knowledge: one wears special shoes, etc., at a first communion, especially bourgeois little girls; (d) Inference: Virginie’s first communion is at hand.
This use of the definite article here may be compared to situations common in American life. As Thanksgiving nears, one might worry about “the turkey,” and no identification would be needed; before a wedding, one might talk about “the dress.”
7. the mass being said at Virginie’s first communion (a) Text: the mass; (b) Information in text: Virginie is dressed for her first communion; (c) General knowledge: Mass is part of the first communion ceremony; (d) Inference: the scene has moved to the first communion.
The following examples are varied. The first two are anaphoric elements without explicit antecedents, and the third differs from all preceding examples in introducing entirely new material.
(e) 46–49 …le docteur conseilla les bains de mer de Trouville.
Dans ce temps-là, ils n’étaient pas fréquentés. Mme. Aubain prit des renseignements, consulta Bourais, fit des préparatifs comme pour un long voyage.
Ses colis partirent la veille, dans la charetle de Liébard. Le lendemain, il amena deux chevaux …et Paul enfourcha l’âne de M. Lechaptois. …
La route était si mauvaise que ses huit kilomètres exigèrent deux heures. Les chevaux enfonçaient….
8. the night before the trip to Trouville (a) Text: trunks, as if for a long trip; (b) Information in text: Mme. has prepared for a trip, and been advised to go to Trouville; (c) General information: one takes trunks on a trip, and they are sent just before the trip; (d) Inference: Mme. is going to take a trip to Trouville, and the trip is about to begin.
It is difficult to assess the contribution of the second phrase noted in (a). This phrase suggests an antecedent for the definite NP, but cannot actually serve as one because of “as if.”
9. the next morning, following the night when the trunks left (a) Text: the next day; (b) Information in text: the trunks left at night; (d) Inference: the reference point for “next” is the night the trunks left.
The juxtaposition of NPs 8 and 9 is odd, because neither has an explicit antecedent and there is a shift of focus between them. “The night before” precedes the trip; “the next morning” does not follow the trip, but rather the night before. The function in the narrative will be discussed in the section on pronouns, where there are other examples of shifts of focus.
10. the road to Trouville (a) Text: sea baths at Trouville; (b) Information in text: a trip to Trouville is planned, the horses are mounted, trunks have been sent; (c) General knowledge: traveling on horseback involves a road, one mounts a horse before setting out; (d) Inference: the travelers were ready to leave, are now on the road.
(f) 61–62 comme Virginie toussait et que la saison n’était plus bonne, elle revint à Pont-l’Evêque.
M. Bourais l’éclaira sur le choix d’un collège. Celui de Caen passait pour le meilleur. Paul y fut envoyé.…
11. the choice that Mme. Aubain will make of a school to which Paul will be sent (a) Text: Paul; (b) Information in text: Paul is 7 years old, and was sent to a school in Caen; (c) General knowledge: 7 is school age, children are sometimes sent away to school and if so, a school must be chosen; (d) Inference: Mme. has decided to send Paul away to school, and, following advice, chose Caen.
Note that the choice itself is passed over in the text. We surmise that the school at Caen was chosen because Paul was sent there. The narrative is advanced by this treatment of the choice, which is abrupt and unprepared-for.
Most of these ellipses function to move the narrative forward. Identification of the NP means recognizing a new time and/or place, and inferring that the scene has shifted to that time or place. Most such shifts are relatively small and not unexpected; the most dramatic shift occurs in 11, where the unanchored NP introduces a new topic.
1.1 Pronominal References
Since such reference is discussed extensively in the body of this essay, we present here only a few examples. In the first two, an antecedent for the pronoun must be constructed; the third example has an unexpected focus shift.
(a) 66 Le prêtre fit d’abord un abrégé de l’ Histoire Sainte. Elle croyait voir le paradis, le déluge, la tour de Babel, des villes tout en flammes.… Puis, elle pleura en écoutant la Passion. Pourquoi l’ avaient-ils crucifié, lui qui chérissait les enfants.…
1. him: Christ (a) Text: the Passion; (c) General knowledge: the Passion is the story of Christ.
Here knowledge of matters Catholic not only identifies a reference, but also allows the construction of a referent.
(b) 191–92 A l’ église, elle contemplait toujours le Saint-Esprit, et observa qu’il avait quelque chose du perroquet. Sa ressemblance lui parut encore plus manifeste sur une image d’Epinal, représentant le baptême de Notre-Seigneur. Avec ses ailes de pourpre et son corps d’émeraude, c’était vraiment le portait de Loulou.…
L’ayant acheté, elle le suspendit.…
2. its: dove in the baptism of Christ of the Epinal print (a) Text: baptism of Christ, Epinal print, purple wings; (c) General knowledge: doves appear in pictures of the baptism of Christ.
This is the only example that may seem obscure to modern readers. A fairly detailed knowledge of Christian iconography, and familiarity with a certain type of reproduction, are assumed.
3. it: an exemplar of the Epinal print (a) Text: Epinal print, truly a portrait of Loulou; (b) Information in text: Félicité is poor, she bought a picture; (c) General knowledge: Epinal prints are cheap, brightly colored reproductions (made in the town of Epinal) available in quantity; one usually buys exemplars of prints; “truly” is not to be taken literally in this context; (d) Inference: the portrait bought was an Epinal print.
The delicacy of the distinction between the Epinal print and the portrait of Loulou is clearer in French than in English. “A print” has feminine gender and “a portrait” has masculine gender. The pronoun in the text is masculine and must refer to the portrait; what Félicité actually bought was the print.
Examples of this type are fairly frequent in Flaubert’s story but do not survive translation into English.Footnote 22 (See the discussion in the body of the essay of the first paragraphs of the story.) The reason is that French pronouns have gender whether they refer to animate or inanimate objects; most of the cases where contiguity prevails over discourse organization (usually to one’s surprise) involve a pronoun whose immediate antecedent is inanimate and whose more remote possible antecedent is animate.
There are two discourse functions served by the examples of this section. They underline or actually make shifts of focus, and they force readers to follow the text quite closely, because normal expectations are not always borne out. We have suggested that both of these have an important literary effect. They indicate to readers that attention is necessary, that the most plausible and normal expectations may not occur; readers must sort things out in the material presented to them.
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Whitaker, J.T., Smith, C.S. (2009). Some Significant Omissions: Ellipses in Flaubert's Un Coeur Simple . In: Meier, R., Aristar-Dry, H., Destruel, E. (eds) Text, Time, and Context. Studies in Linguistics and Philosophy, vol 87. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2617-0_14
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