Jacques the Fatalist by Denis Diderot (Book Analysis): Detailed Summary, Analysis and Reading Guide

By Bright Summaries

Unlock the more straightforward side of Jacques the Fatalist with this concise and insightful summary and analysis!

This engaging summary presents an analysis of Jacques the Fatalist by Denis Diderot, which follows the eponymous protagonist as he travels with his master towards an unknown destination. Along the way, they find themselves in a series of comical situations, meet a colourful cast of characters and debate a range of philosophical subjects. The work’s use of parody, unconventional structure and subversion of the norms of traditional fiction give it greater depth than most novels and permit its author to reflect in depth on philosophy, literature and freedom. Denis Diderot was a leading writer of the Enlightenment in the 18th century, and wrote novels, plays, philosophical dialogues and essays.

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This in-depth and informative reading guide brings you:
• A complete plot summary
• Character studies
• Key themes and symbols
• Questions for further reflection

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• Language: English
• Publisher: BrightSummaries.com
• Release date: Aug 21, 2018
• ISBN: 9782808010832

Book preview

FRENCH WRITER, PHILOSOPHER AND ENCYCLOPAEDIA EDITOR

Born in Langres (France) in 1713.

Died in Paris in 1784.

Notable works:

Addendum to the Journey of Bougainville (1796), philosophical tale

Paradox of the Actor (1830), essay

Rameau’s Nephew (1891), dialogue

Denis Diderot was a novelist, playwright, art critic and one of the most illustrious thinkers of the Age of Enlightenment in the 18th century. He was a passionate believer in freedom, and was incarcerated in Vincennes prison for four months because of his overt atheism and belief in materialism. From 1746 onwards, Diderot and the French mathematician and philosopher Jean le Rond d’Alembert (1717-1783) began working on the Encyclopédie, an ambitious project that aimed to bring together the entirety of human knowledge. In spite of the challenges posed by censorship, the Encyclopédie was one of the greatest successes of the Enlightenment. As well as this monumental work, Diderot wrote a number of other texts and garnered recognition for his writings on theatre and aesthetics, his reflections on morality and his many philosophical dialogues.

A PHILOSOPHICAL REFLECTION ON FATALISM

Genre: novel

Reference edition: Diderot, D. (2006) Jacques the Fatalist. Trans. Henry, M. London: Penguin.

1stedition: 1796

Themes: fatalism, destiny, travel, love, freedom

Diderot began writing Jacques the Fatalist and His Master in 1771, and it was initially published in serial form in the periodical La Correspondance littéraire between 1778 and 1780. As Diderot himself admitted, the novel was inspired by The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman (1759) by the British writer Laurence Sterne (1713-1768).

The novel recounts the wanderings of Jacques and his master, about whom we know next to nothing. They are not travelling to anywhere in particular,