The construction of Flanders and of the Flemish character in Bruges-la-Morte

This article tackles the representation of Flanders and of the Flemish character in Bruges-la-Morte (1892) by Georges Rodenbach. By producing different effects according to the discursive voices concerned (that of the author, of the narrator, or of different characters), this representation participates in a subtle operation of construction, which is ambivalent, or even antithetic. Through its multiple discursive voices, Bruges-la-Morte reveals a stereotyped construction of Flanders and of the minor Flemish character, to whom the narrator(s) denies/deny the right to have a voice.