Typicality and literary anthropology

This article begins by addressing the general connection between the concept of the typical and literary anthropology, also covering the importance of the portrait as a technique for the literary portrayal of humanity. It then deals with typical aspects of literature and literary enquiry. In a key third section, it examines the rhetorical and stylistic aspects of typification in Balzac’s works. Taking the example of perhaps the most prominent novel in La Comedie humaine, Illusions perdues, the typification of the poet Lucien de Rubempre is explored in the context of Balzac’s literary anthropology. Balzac’s concept of literature and portraiture, his literary anthropology, illustrates his attitudes toward the scientific discourses of his time.