Between Fear and Necessity: The Motive of War in the Utopias of the 17th and 18th Centurie

Abstract

The war seems an inappropriate element in the commentary on utopian texts. Yet it is one of the recurring motifs in fictions about Elsewhere in the 17^th and 18^th centuries. In the article, through famous works as well as those little known, we try to sketch the place and role of the warrior motif in the representation of fictional worlds and in the narrative construction. In the 17^th century, it is only a question of the allusions and discreet mentions of the experience of the war which express the fears of the Utopians against the European conquerors. On the other hand, in the 18^th century we observe the appearance of warlike episodes which are part of the storyline, which expresses the hold of the novel on the traditional model of utopia. War then becomes a necessity to accomplish a radical change undergone by the utopian community.