Ritual , Secrecy , and Civil Society
mere imitation of Fénelon ’ s Les Aventures de Télémaque ( The Adventures of Telemachus ). It is true that the work uses an historical ellipsis to present an account of the education of a prince who will one day be called upon to rule . Robert Granderoute , in his thesis Le Roman pédagogique de Fénelon à Rousseau , writes that “ Cyrus , in imitation of Telemachus , is clearly a pedagogical work . Telemachus is a novel about the education of Ulysses ’ son , just as Cyrus is an account of the education of Cambyses ’ son ”. 5 As in the case of Fénelon ’ s work , the young prince journeys into neighboring lands and across the seas , experiencing new adventures at each stage that contribute to his moral education . Yet there are some notable differences . The Adventures of Telemachus takes place within a restricted time frame , since Ulysses ’ son , having set off to find his father , returns to Ithaca at the same time as him . In The Travels of Cyrus , on the other hand , the story begins when the prince is still a child and ends when the hero has become king and has freed the exiled Jews . Between these two points , Cyrus gets married and becomes a widower . His wanderings are not all attempted in one go . Instead , they are part of a gradual process , sometimes separated by gaps , and punctuated by returns to Persia . Moreover , Cyrus had been a recurring fictional character since Le Grand Cyrus by Mlle de Scudéry . Robert Granderoute observes that in the works of many novelists of the time “ the presence of Cyrus can be noted , and this consequently seems to be significant in terms of pedagogical reflection in the first third of the century ”. 6 Ramsay ’ s narrative has an undeniably educational aim , but while it contains some political keynotes , this author ’ s priority is no longer teaching a young prince the art of government . Other themes are added to the primary objective .
The bildungsroman and the didactic tale are associated as a matter of course to initiation . First of all , it is important to understand the precise meaning of this last term : as pointed out by Simone Vierne , it does not only relate to the notion of beginning that is suggested by its Latin etymology . 7 In the present case , it is important also to take into account the idea of attainment contained in the Greek word τελετη . Thus , each chapter represents a physical and symbolic stage reached by the protagonist , who is taught a new lesson to supplement and reinforce the lesson that came before . In this way , the hero gains new insight into the preceding events and is able to understand the integrity of the path he has travelled . As Magali Fourgnaud writes , “ the transfer of knowledge therefore becomes initiation , during which the disciple is led toward self-improvement ”. 8 In this
5 Robert Granderoute , Le Roman pédagogique de Fénelon à Rousseau , vol . 1 ( Bern etc .: Peter Lang , 1983 ), p . 234 . ( Our translation ).
6 Granderoute , Le Roman pédagogique , p . 233 . ( Our translation ). 7 Simone Vierne , Rite , roman , initiation ( Grenoble : Presses Universitaires de Grenoble , 2000 ), p . 7 .
8 Magali Fourgnaud , “ Du conte didactique au conte philosophique , de Fénelon à Saint-Hyacinthe ,” Dix-huitième siècle 44 ( 2012 ): 463 . ( Our translation ).
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