Research Article
BibTex RIS Cite

Sinizm ve Sorumluluk Arasında: Gece Yarısına Yolculuk (1932) Romanında Bardamu’ya Levinasçı Bir Yaklaşım

Year 2026, Volume: 14 Issue: 38, 325 - 346, 24.03.2026
https://doi.org/10.31126/akrajournal.1751769
https://izlik.org/JA64WC98ZX

Abstract

Bu makale, Louis-Ferdinand Céline, Voyage au bout de la nuit adlı romanı Emmanuel Levinas’ın etik felsefesi ışığında yeniden değerlendirerek, ana karakter Ferdinand Bardamu’nun ahlaki boyutunu tartışmayı amaçlamaktadır. Geleneksel olarak derin bir alaycılık ve nihilizmle anılan Bardamu, bu çalışmada Levinas’ın radikal öteki, başkasıyla karşılaşma ve sonsuz sorumluluk kavramları temelinde yeniden yorumlanmaktadır. Céline’in dili ve anlatı tonu ilk bakışta etik bağlılığa direniyor gibi görünse de, Bardamu’nun kayıtsızlığı ve umutsuzluğu aslında insan kırılganlığına yönelik derin bir farkındalık ve süreğen bir sorumluluk hissini yansıtıyor olabilir. Roman, “abjekt” edebiyat bağlamında ele alınarak Bardamu’nun yolculuğu, klasik etik karakter modelleriyle karşılaştırılmakta ve Céline’in parçalı, konuşma diliyle örülmüş anlatımı, biçimsel olarak bir etik alan yaratma potansiyeli taşıdığı savunulmaktadır. Levinas’ın erken dönem metinlerinde Céline’e yaptığı az bilinen göndermelerden de yararlanılarak, Voyage au bout de la nuit’un acı, utanç ve ahlaki uyanış imkânı üzerine derinlikli bir düşünsel sorgulama sunduğu ileri sürülmektedir.

Project Number

1

References

  • Alméras, P. (2008). Sur Céline. Paris: Editions de Paris.
  • Benveniste, É. (1970). L’appareil formel de l’énonciation. Langages, (17), 12–18. Reprinted in Problèmes de linguistique générale (Vol. 2, pp. 79–88).
  • Céline, L.-F. (1932/1983). Journey to the end of the night (R. Manheim, Trans.). New Directions.
  • Céline, L.-F. (1952). Voyage au bout de la nuit. Paris: Gallimard.
  • Cooke, R. (2017). Bardamu’s triangular trade: The modern slavery of Voyage au bout de la nuit. The Modern Language Review, 112(4), 882–898. https://doi.org/10.5699/modelangrevi.112.4.0882
  • Daunais, I. (2010). Ethique et littérature: À la recherche d’un monde protégé. Études françaises, 46(1), 63–75.
  • Davis, C. (1996). Levinas: An introduction. University of Notre Dame Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvpj740w
  • Deleuze, G. (1997). Essays: Critical and Clinical (D. W. Smith & M. A. Greco, Trans.). Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
  • Eaglestone, R. (1997). Ethical criticism: Reading after Levinas. Edinburgh University Press. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3366/j.ctvxcr9vx
  • Hewitt, N. (2003). Céline: The success of the “monstre sacré” in postwar France. SubStance, 32(3), 29–42. https://doi.org/10.2307/3685526
  • Kristeva, J. (1982). Powers of horror: An essay on abjection (L. S. Roudiez, Trans.). Columbia University Press.
  • Lacan, J. (1986). Le Séminaire, livre VII: L’éthique de la psychanalyse. Paris: Seuil.
  • Lévinas, E. (1934). Quelques réflexions sur la philosophie de l'hitlérisme. Esprit, (26), 199–208.
  • Lévinas, E. (1979). Le temps et l’Autre. Montpellier: Fata Morgana.
  • Levinas, E. (2003). On escape (B. Bergo, Trans.). Stanford University Press. (Original work published 1935)
  • Lévinas, E. (1999). Totality and infinity: An essay on exteriority (A. Lingis, Trans.). Du-quesne University Press. (Original work published 1961)
  • Sapino, R. (2015). Ouvrir les yeux: Violence et éthique dans le Voyage au bout de la nuit de Louis-Ferdinand Céline. In G. Bosco & R. Sapino (Eds.), I cadaveri nell’armadio. Torino: Rosenberg & Sellier.
  • Vitoux, F. (1988). La vie de Céline. Paris: Grasset.
  • Wolff, E. (2010). Le mal, le destin et l’éthique: Lévinas et Voyage au bout de la nuit. Études littéraires, 41(2), 73–89. https://doi.org/10.7202/044942ar

Year 2026, Volume: 14 Issue: 38, 325 - 346, 24.03.2026
https://doi.org/10.31126/akrajournal.1751769
https://izlik.org/JA64WC98ZX

Abstract

Project Number

1

References

  • Alméras, P. (2008). Sur Céline. Paris: Editions de Paris.
  • Benveniste, É. (1970). L’appareil formel de l’énonciation. Langages, (17), 12–18. Reprinted in Problèmes de linguistique générale (Vol. 2, pp. 79–88).
  • Céline, L.-F. (1932/1983). Journey to the end of the night (R. Manheim, Trans.). New Directions.
  • Céline, L.-F. (1952). Voyage au bout de la nuit. Paris: Gallimard.
  • Cooke, R. (2017). Bardamu’s triangular trade: The modern slavery of Voyage au bout de la nuit. The Modern Language Review, 112(4), 882–898. https://doi.org/10.5699/modelangrevi.112.4.0882
  • Daunais, I. (2010). Ethique et littérature: À la recherche d’un monde protégé. Études françaises, 46(1), 63–75.
  • Davis, C. (1996). Levinas: An introduction. University of Notre Dame Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvpj740w
  • Deleuze, G. (1997). Essays: Critical and Clinical (D. W. Smith & M. A. Greco, Trans.). Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
  • Eaglestone, R. (1997). Ethical criticism: Reading after Levinas. Edinburgh University Press. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3366/j.ctvxcr9vx
  • Hewitt, N. (2003). Céline: The success of the “monstre sacré” in postwar France. SubStance, 32(3), 29–42. https://doi.org/10.2307/3685526
  • Kristeva, J. (1982). Powers of horror: An essay on abjection (L. S. Roudiez, Trans.). Columbia University Press.
  • Lacan, J. (1986). Le Séminaire, livre VII: L’éthique de la psychanalyse. Paris: Seuil.
  • Lévinas, E. (1934). Quelques réflexions sur la philosophie de l'hitlérisme. Esprit, (26), 199–208.
  • Lévinas, E. (1979). Le temps et l’Autre. Montpellier: Fata Morgana.
  • Levinas, E. (2003). On escape (B. Bergo, Trans.). Stanford University Press. (Original work published 1935)
  • Lévinas, E. (1999). Totality and infinity: An essay on exteriority (A. Lingis, Trans.). Du-quesne University Press. (Original work published 1961)
  • Sapino, R. (2015). Ouvrir les yeux: Violence et éthique dans le Voyage au bout de la nuit de Louis-Ferdinand Céline. In G. Bosco & R. Sapino (Eds.), I cadaveri nell’armadio. Torino: Rosenberg & Sellier.
  • Vitoux, F. (1988). La vie de Céline. Paris: Grasset.
  • Wolff, E. (2010). Le mal, le destin et l’éthique: Lévinas et Voyage au bout de la nuit. Études littéraires, 41(2), 73–89. https://doi.org/10.7202/044942ar

Between Cynicism and Responsibility: A Levinasian Reading Of Bardamu in Voyage Au Bout De La Nuit (1932)

Year 2026, Volume: 14 Issue: 38, 325 - 346, 24.03.2026
https://doi.org/10.31126/akrajournal.1751769
https://izlik.org/JA64WC98ZX

Abstract

This article is an attempt to provide a Levinasian reading of the novel Voyage au Bout de la Nuit (1932) by Louis-Ferdinand Céline as way to reconsider the ethical component of the work’s protagonist, Ferdinand Bardamu. Classically considered as a deeply nihilistic and cynical character, Bardamu is here re-evaluated based on Emmanuel Levinas’s ethical philosophy, especially his notions of infinite responsibility, radical alterity, and the face of the Other. While Céline’s language and narrative style may seem to resist moral engagement, this study argues that Bardamu’s clear detachment and desperateness reveal deeper understanding of human condition and a shattered yet resilient awareness of responsibility. When locating Voyage au Bout de la Nuit within the context of abject literature and contrasting Bardamu’s character with traditional figures of the “ethical character,” the article highlights how Céline’s style-marked by disconnected structures and ideas, orality, and harsh emotional register-creates an ethical space through the narrative form itself. Considering critical studies and formerly understudied references to Céline in Levinas’s early works, the article eventually suggests that Voyage au Bout de la Nuit offers a powerful meditation on suffering, shame, and the possibility of moral awakening in a disenchanted world.

Project Number

1

References

  • Alméras, P. (2008). Sur Céline. Paris: Editions de Paris.
  • Benveniste, É. (1970). L’appareil formel de l’énonciation. Langages, (17), 12–18. Reprinted in Problèmes de linguistique générale (Vol. 2, pp. 79–88).
  • Céline, L.-F. (1932/1983). Journey to the end of the night (R. Manheim, Trans.). New Directions.
  • Céline, L.-F. (1952). Voyage au bout de la nuit. Paris: Gallimard.
  • Cooke, R. (2017). Bardamu’s triangular trade: The modern slavery of Voyage au bout de la nuit. The Modern Language Review, 112(4), 882–898. https://doi.org/10.5699/modelangrevi.112.4.0882
  • Daunais, I. (2010). Ethique et littérature: À la recherche d’un monde protégé. Études françaises, 46(1), 63–75.
  • Davis, C. (1996). Levinas: An introduction. University of Notre Dame Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvpj740w
  • Deleuze, G. (1997). Essays: Critical and Clinical (D. W. Smith & M. A. Greco, Trans.). Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
  • Eaglestone, R. (1997). Ethical criticism: Reading after Levinas. Edinburgh University Press. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3366/j.ctvxcr9vx
  • Hewitt, N. (2003). Céline: The success of the “monstre sacré” in postwar France. SubStance, 32(3), 29–42. https://doi.org/10.2307/3685526
  • Kristeva, J. (1982). Powers of horror: An essay on abjection (L. S. Roudiez, Trans.). Columbia University Press.
  • Lacan, J. (1986). Le Séminaire, livre VII: L’éthique de la psychanalyse. Paris: Seuil.
  • Lévinas, E. (1934). Quelques réflexions sur la philosophie de l'hitlérisme. Esprit, (26), 199–208.
  • Lévinas, E. (1979). Le temps et l’Autre. Montpellier: Fata Morgana.
  • Levinas, E. (2003). On escape (B. Bergo, Trans.). Stanford University Press. (Original work published 1935)
  • Lévinas, E. (1999). Totality and infinity: An essay on exteriority (A. Lingis, Trans.). Du-quesne University Press. (Original work published 1961)
  • Sapino, R. (2015). Ouvrir les yeux: Violence et éthique dans le Voyage au bout de la nuit de Louis-Ferdinand Céline. In G. Bosco & R. Sapino (Eds.), I cadaveri nell’armadio. Torino: Rosenberg & Sellier.
  • Vitoux, F. (1988). La vie de Céline. Paris: Grasset.
  • Wolff, E. (2010). Le mal, le destin et l’éthique: Lévinas et Voyage au bout de la nuit. Études littéraires, 41(2), 73–89. https://doi.org/10.7202/044942ar
There are 19 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects European Language, Literature and Culture, French Language, Literature and Culture
Journal Section Research Article
Authors

Badreddine Loucif 0009-0004-0151-6700

Nabila Yousfi 0009-0003-9060-9134

Project Number 1
Submission Date July 27, 2025
Acceptance Date December 24, 2025
Publication Date March 24, 2026
DOI https://doi.org/10.31126/akrajournal.1751769
IZ https://izlik.org/JA64WC98ZX
Published in Issue Year 2026 Volume: 14 Issue: 38

Cite

APA Loucif, B., & Yousfi, N. (2026). Between Cynicism and Responsibility: A Levinasian Reading Of Bardamu in Voyage Au Bout De La Nuit (1932). AKRA Kültür Sanat Ve Edebiyat Dergisi, 14(38), 325-346. https://doi.org/10.31126/akrajournal.1751769

Evliya Çelebi Mahallesi Hatboyu Caddesi, No: 2/2 TUZLA / İSTANBUL Tel: +90 532 732 00 21 (Türkçe İletişim) Tel: +90 533 578 27 54 (For English)  Tel: +90 545 933 24 14 (Pour le Français), akrajournal@gmail.com 18436 18471


14035  14036  14037  14038  16497  1657116772  16827 18435 19333