The article deals with the national character in Jules Michelet. Michelet supports an essentialist version of the character. According him, it is caused by natural elements: geography, food and the various regions that make up France. These elements are spiritualized over time: it is the history that gave rise to the character of the French. The result is the complete fusion of all differences in a nation-individual: a generous person towards humanity. The French character is contrasted with the English character: selfish, greedy, all devoted to work and earnings. It is precisely because of their different characters that France has given the world the Revolution and England the Industrial Revolution, a phenomenon that mechanizes work, that destroys the body and soul of the workers.
University of Florence, Italy - ORCID: 0000-0002-4635-3667
Chapter Title
Il carattere di Jules Michelet
Authors
Michela Nacci
Language
Italian
DOI
10.36253/978-88-5518-160-0.08
Peer Reviewed
Publication Year
2020
Copyright Information
© 2020 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Book Title
Nazioni come individui
Book Subtitle
Il carattere nazionale fra passato e presente
Editors
Michela Nacci
Peer Reviewed
Number of Pages
158
Publication Year
2020
Copyright Information
© 2020 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Publisher Name
Firenze University Press
DOI
10.36253/978-88-5518-160-0
ISBN Print
978-88-5518-159-4
eISBN (pdf)
978-88-5518-160-0
eISBN (epub)
978-88-5518-161-7
Series Title
Studi e saggi
Series ISSN
2704-6478
Series E-ISSN
2704-5919