L’imaginaire d’Albert Cossery – une modalité de transcender le temps et l’espace

This thesis offers an analysis of the works of Albert Cossery, an Egyptian writer who wrote novels in French, even though all of them – with the exception of a single book – describe only the country he left behind – Egypt. In order to continue to live mentally in « Egypt » while in Exile, and to cope with the malady of nostalgia, he recreated his own Egypt in his books with the help of the five senses, which made this imaginary Egypt plausible. He also played the role of his characters, thus defying time and space. Although he did not mentally live in France or in Egypt, he existed in the story he imagined and, according to him, through the characters that represented him. Time and space were no longer barriers to him, as his writing transcended both.

The five senses attune us to the world. They are the gateway to the exterior, and they help human beings acknowledge their surroundings. Moreover, they validate the world for us. Albert Cossery’s works become a body attuned to the world, and Cossery helps us become aware of the world he describes - Egypt: the land he sees and hears from his past. Through the prism of his own past experiences, we are able to discover the habits, verbal patterns, beliefs, struggles and hopes of the Egyptian people. Albert Cossery’s work thus becomes a clear reflection of Egypt, and the carrier of its ancient culture.

Albert Cossery, through characters chosen from among the poor - the underground - builds pyramids all over again. In his works, it is the Egyptian people who mirror and convey the image and the culture of their country. In the past, Egyptian kings gave the orders, but, just like in Cossery’s works, it was the Egyptian people who toiled, and their efforts brought to life one of the eternal image of a fascinating Egypt – the pyramids.