Fictional Representations of Small Literary Milieu: The Case of Luxembourgish Literature

Abstract

Reflecting on the literary milieu through the lens of a small literature reveals existing configurations, prevalent dynamics and structural constraints characteristic of a given milieu. Firstly, author interviews conducted in the context of our research project Observatory of the Franco-Luxembourgish literary milieu (Obslit) will be examined in order to highlight the conflicting views regarding the properties of the milieu. These fluctuate between a perceived vitality and the very negation of the existence of the milieu. Secondly, these opposite views will be investigated further by analysing the fictional representations of the milieu as cast in Georges Hausemer’s 1989 novel Kleines luxemburgisches Sittenbild and its rewriting in the 2018 novel Kleine luxemburgische Literaturgeschichte. The confrontation of the two versions enables us to retrace the development of the milieu in the wake of the emergence of new mediation devices and to showcase how this evolution was commented on by Hausemer, a key figure of the milieu.