SOURCE: Berrong, Richard M. “Salammbô: A Myth of the Origin of Language.” Modern Language Studies 15, no. 4 (fall 1985): 261-8.

In the following essay, Berrong asserts that Flaubert depicted a myth of the creation of language in his Salammbô.

Of all the French novelists of the second half of the nineteenth century, certainly none was more concerned with form than Gustave Flaubert. His correspondence is filled with such remarks as: “Je cherche … le dessin” (12:617; to Louise Colet, 11/12/47); “Tout dépend du plan” (13:165; to Colet 1/2/52); “Nous avons trop de choses et pas assez de formes” (13:323; to Colet 6/4/53); “L'ordre des idées, voilà le difficile” (13:474; to Colet 19/3/54); etc.¹ While working on Madame Bovary he complained about “la vieillesse de toutes les formes connues” (13:289-90; to Colet 29/1/53). It would seem fairly clear that Flaubert felt the need for a definite structure, an “ossature,” on which to build his narratives.

At the same time...