Adolescence in the modern novel. Three readings : Robert Musil, Alain-Fournier, Witold Gombrowicz

The paper analyzes three novels of the beginning of the 20th century in order to show how each of them sketches a different image of adolescence : adolescence as an identity crisis, or rather as a crisis of society in Musil ; adolescence as an age of adventure, desire and dream in Alain-Fournier ; adolescence as an age of immaturity in Gombrowicz, who adopts an ironic vision of adolescence seen as a lyrical age. But, as I show in the second part of the article, these novels also have common features that give a specific status to this age.