{"id":4615,"date":"2019-05-17T10:20:42","date_gmt":"2019-05-17T14:20:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.harvard.edu\/preserving\/?p=4615"},"modified":"2019-05-17T10:22:00","modified_gmt":"2019-05-17T14:22:00","slug":"you-say-utopian-i-say-dystopian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/preserving\/2019\/05\/17\/you-say-utopian-i-say-dystopian\/","title":{"rendered":"You say Utopian, I say Dystopian"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"\u00a0\u00a0<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Utopia and dystopia are recognized genres of fiction that probe the fabric of humanity’s social, political, and cultural framework. Utopian novels present the author’s philosophical perspective of an ideal society, while dystopian fiction examines how civilization is prone to social and moral afflictions, technological compromises, and political abuse, corruption, and oppression. Some early pioneers and novels in this genre have been forgotten, but at the time of publication, these works were influential and models for subsequent landmark works.<\/p>\n

The utopian novel,\u00a0Voyage du prince de Montberaud dans l’\u00cele de Naudely<\/em>\u00a0(1703) by\u00a0Pierre de\u00a0Lesconvel, has fallen into obscurity. However, it still offers an interesting insight into France during the reign of Louis XIV. The story takes place on a fictitious island, Naudely, a supposed 3 month journey from Amsterdam. The island is ruled by an absolute monarch with a pious, righteous, and frugal population. The island boasts peace, prosperous trade, and wealth, where the ruling is benign and principled. The book was dedicated to the Duke of Burgundy, the son of King Louis XIV, perhaps as a way to invite the duke to endorse a higher moral code when he ascends to the throne. Pierre de Lesconvel’s utopic morality has adulterers forced to wear conical hats and attacked by dogs as punishment.\u00a0For the majority of the novel, we follow a discussion of topics between the Prince de Montberaud and the Governor of Merinde (the capital of Naudely). Their discussions touch upon reform and the removal of corruption, as well as a governing class established upon merit and examinations. There is no consensus on whether the novel should be considered a criticism or satire of Louis XIV’s rule, or a model for reform.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

the nobles receive the kiss of peace from the judges<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"<\/a>

dogs attacking the adulterer<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

 
\nEmile Souvestre published the dystopian novel,\u00a0Le Monde Tel Qu’il Sera<\/i><\/i>\u00a0[The World As It Will Be] in 1846, with several interesting predictions and commentaries on what he foresaw as the inevitable trajectory for an expanding industrial society.\u00a0The novel presents a French couple, Maurice and Marthe, who are taken by a man on a flying locomotive, named “John Progress”, to the year 3000. Upon arrival, the couple encounter subways, submarines, telephones, and even power shoes. The world has become consolidated under a single nation called “The Republic of United Interests,\u201d where society is ruled by corporations and consumerism. Children are engineered in greenhouses and assigned roles in society. Some of Souvestre’s predictions seem prophetic, including his projection that news will\u00a0 be available to the public 24\/7 and envisioning female equality and independence. Ironically, Souvestre’s dark vision of the future is wrapped in humor and whimsical illustrations making the story seem lightweight and frivolous. Souvestre died young (1854), but his daughter,\u00a0Marie Souvestre, became a notable the feminist writer and educator who taught Eleanor Roosevelt.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

aerial excursions<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"<\/a>

students are raised under glass<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"<\/a>

children raised in material excess and pleasures <\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
\n
Description:<\/dt>\n
Lesconvel, Pierre de. Relation historique et morale du voyage du Prince de Montberaud dans l’\u00eele de Naudely, o\u00f9 sont raport\u00e9es toutes les maximes politiques & chr\u00e9triennes qui forment l’harmonie d’un parfait gouvernement. Merinde : P. Fortun\u00e9, 1709.<\/dd>\n
Persistent Link:<\/dt>\n
http:\/\/nrs.harvard.edu\/urn-3:FHCL:10931616<\/a><\/dd>\n
Repository:<\/dt>\n
Widener Library<\/dd>\n
Institution:<\/dt>\n
Harvard University<\/dd>\n
<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
\n
<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
Description:<\/dt>\n
Souvestre, \u00c9mile. Le monde tel qu’il sera. Paris : W. Coquebert, [1846].<\/dd>\n
Persistent Link:<\/dt>\n
http:\/\/nrs.harvard.edu\/urn-3:FHCL:9654567<\/a><\/dd>\n
Repository:<\/dt>\n
Widener Library<\/dd>\n
Institution:<\/dt>\n
Harvard University<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0 Utopia and dystopia are recognized genres of fiction that probe the fabric of humanity’s social, political, and cultural framework. Utopian novels present the author’s philosophical perspective of an ideal society, while dystopian fiction examines how civilization is prone to social and moral afflictions, technological compromises, and political abuse, corruption, and oppression. Some early pioneers […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2559,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4615","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/preserving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4615","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/preserving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/preserving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/preserving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2559"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/preserving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4615"}],"version-history":[{"count":47,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/preserving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4615\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4963,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/preserving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4615\/revisions\/4963"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/preserving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4615"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/preserving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4615"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/preserving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}