SOURCE: Wright, Barbara. “Fromentin's Concept of Creative Vision in the Manuscript of Dominique.” French Studies: A Quarterly Review 18, no. 3 (July 1964): 213-26.

In the following essay, Wright considers the manner in which Fromentin's use of creative vision in Dominique changed in the transition from manuscript to published text.

In describing the adolescent awakening of Dominique, Fromentin gives a valuable account of poetic inspiration. The expansive urge of the young hero is closely paralleled in the burgeoning of springtime, as he walks through the countryside in a state of rapture, ‘dans une sorte d'ivresse, rempli d'émotions extraordinaires’.¹ Back in his room, Dominique continues to experience this state of intense vigilance, responding with his whole being to the various sense-impressions which impinge upon him, ‘écoutant, voyant, sentant, étouffé par des pulsations d'une vie extraordinaire’ (D.78). The sunset seems to illuminate the images around him in a new and stimulating way...