Aragon, the confusion of genres
So as not to forget Castille
by Daniel Bougnoux
The seventh chapter
In an article in Le Monde, the very cautious Josyane Savigneau writes: "Since it is forbidden to do so, let us give a few sentences, which are not those generally cited, and leave the comments free" ("Polemic around a sulphurous chapter of Aragon's life", 26.10.2012).
But no Madame! France is a country of law, and even written law, which prides itself on no longer knowing prior censorship. As long as a writing has not been explicitly forbidden by a court, and for good reasons appearing in the grounds of the judgment, we are free to give it to read, with the agreement of its author, of course, and it is up to the reader to judge whether Gallimard was wrong to submit it, before publication, to Aragon's right holder, whether J.B. Pontalis, the collection director, was right to convince Daniel Bougnoux to publish his book amputated of a chapter, whether the latter did well to accept while reserving the right to proclaim everywhere that he was a victim of Gallimard censorship.
For my part, I have never had an opinion except on documents. I have read Aragon, the confusion of genres, a work to which I am sensitive because it deals with the researcher's relationship with the object of his study, and I give to read below the incriminated chapter. It is up to each one to determine, text in hand.