L'EXPÉRIENCE DU NOUVEAU ENTRE LA CONSTRUCTION DE SOI ET LA DESCRIPTION DU MONDE : LE TEXTE COMME LA RENCONTRE D'EXIGENCES LITTÉRAIRES ET SCIENTIFIQUES. LE CAS D'ISABELLE EBERHARDT

The thesis describes the work of Isabelle Eberhardt, a travel writer who explores Algeria and Tunisia between 1897 and 1904. The establishment of the original edition of her texts presents several problems considering that quite a number of publishers modified them. The analysis of the editions that are available today and the consultation of manuscripts retained in the Archives nationales d'outre-mer in Aix-en-Provence, allowed to obtain some helpful clarification on this subject, even if the situation remains delicate. Isabelle Eberhardt travels to the islamic Maghreb with the intention of living in Algeria for good, in the desire to construct her new identity, write publishable texts, learn more about local traditions. The diversity of projects means that there is a personal involvement as well a literary and scientific intention. The research method used by our writer during her journeys has been investigated and summerized by the alternation of engagement and estrangement. Eberhardt's poetics is equally clear and it is based on the valorization of the lieu's vitality as well as on the definition of an existential and living space. The texts are the product of a formation process knowledge-based and with a literary purpose. They have been analyzed with a critical and interpretative approach. Isabelle Eberhardt's experience and the values that it promotes make possible a rapprochement with the studies exploring connections between literature and geography.