Although it is widely accepted that seventeenth-century France derived great stability and power from centralization, little has been written about the forces of rupture that can undermine this mechanism of order. I contend that a pervasive and many-faceted fear of disruption in societal continuity betrays an anxiety that coexists with the apparent triumph of le grand siècle. This is clearly seen in works like Rodogune by Corneille and Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme by Molière, which I chose because they represent distinct genres (tragedy and comedy) and separate political eras (the interregnum and Louis XIV's reign). Despite these differences, both plays show that the fear of familial and political rupture are often intricately and inextricably linked. In addition, they show that linguistic continuity is persistently entwined with the larger questions of monarchy and patriarchy. I further demonstrate this with a detailed study of the often-misunderstood treatise on French, Les Remarques, by Vaugelas. Although it is considered to be a simple usage guide, the subtle authorial presence betrays the same fear that is found in the works of fiction.

My primary interest in the problematic of rupture in seventeenthcentury France derives from its pandemic quality, the manner in which it threatens every corner of political, societal, and cultural life. For this reason, the linguistic approach is not the only interdisciplinary aspect of my thesis. It also treats the historical debate over the existence of the absolute monarchy, the scientific advancements represented by the growing awareness of the circulatory system and the heliocentric solar system, as well as the larger philosophical transition from an age of relativism to one of absolutism. Using Rabelais' Pantagruel as counterpoint, I describe the change in perspective from the sixteenth century to the seventeenth as an evolution and not a revolution. It was a shift where the lack of continuity inherent in a relative viewpoint was abandoned in favor of the stability that comes from the absolute certainty of centralization. Rupture represents the force that could have returned France to the age of civic chaos and to the Rabelaisian abandonment of fixed hierarchies.