Mont-Oriol or Maupassant’s Auvergne : The Geopoetic Approach

Based on Mont-Oriol by Guy de Maupassant, the geopoetic approach questions the representation of Auvergne, land of volcanoes and thermal springs, crystallizing the multiple tensions between man and space. The trope of the spa town focuses on water as an agent of transformation and as a flow diluting the boundary between individuals and their immediate environment. Changing and ambivalent, Maupassant’s Auvergne is sometimes depicted as an untouched space, exempt from human action, and, therefore, conducive to idylls. On the other hand, it appears as an anthropic space, revealing man’s control over Nature and leading to numerous disruptions in balance.