Sauvage Civilé
A Thesis
Presented to
The Faculty of the Department of World Languages and Literatures
San José State University
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Degree
Master of Arts
by
Christopher J. Barros
May 2010
UMI Number: 1477356
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UMI 1477356
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Christopher J. Barros
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The Designated Thesis Committee Approves the Thesis Titled
VOLTAIRE ET LE « SAUVAGE CIVILISÉ » by Christopher Joseph Barros
APPROVED FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF WORLD LANGUAGES AND
LITERATURES
SAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY
May 2010
Danielle Trudeau
Department of World Languages and Literatures
Jean-Luc Desalvo
Department of World Languages and Literatures
Dominique van Hooff
Department of World Languages and Literatures
ABSTRACT
VOLTAIRE ET LE « SAUVAGE CIVILISÉ » by Christopher J. Barros
This thesis explores Voltaire’s interpretation of human nature, society, and progress vis-à-vis the myth of the “noble savage,” an image that was widespread in the literature, imagination, and theater of the 17th and 18th centuries. For many people at that time, the “bon sauvage” embodied a certain happiness, simplicity, and equality that were lost when humankind exited its “primitive” state and became “civilized.”
Rousseau’s Discours sur l’origine et les fondements de l’inégalité parmi les hommes, which was vehemently