Rêverie e Umwelt. Gaston Bachelard tra teoria della letteratura e ecologia dell'esperienza

This dissertation offers an original interpretation of Gaston Bachelard’s work through the lens of literary theory. The study pursues three principal objectives: (1) to reconceptualize the fundamental dialectic between rêverie – understood as the domain of literary imagination – and the technoscientific Umwelt postulated by Bachelard; (2) to reconstruct the philosopher's Weltanschauung through an analysis of the French intellectual milieu and biographical and epistolary sources; and (3) to situate Bachelard’s philosophical project within the canon of literary theory through original comparisons between the French thinker’s reflections and those of other literary theorists. The dissertation is structured into five parts. Part 1 analyzes Bachelard’s theory of culture, with particular focus on his conceptualization of the historical and axiological tensions between scientific and literary institutions. Part 2 examines his contributions to prominent literary journals – Inquisitions, La Nouvelle Revue française, Messages – during the 1930s, alongside his intellectual exchanges with Jean Cavaillès. Part 3 provides close readings of La psychanalyse du feu (1938) and Lautréamont (1939), exploring Bachelard’s theoretical and methodological innovations. Part 4 examines the French philosopher’s radio work and his 1940s monographs – L’eau et les rêves (1942), L’air et les songes (1943), La terre et les rêveries de la volonté (1948), and La terre et les rêveries du repos (1948). Part 5 investigates Bachelard’s late works – La poétique de l’espace (1957), La poétique de la rêverie (1960), La flamme d’une chandelle (1961) – highlighting key stylistic and theoretical developments. The conclusion synthesizes the study's findings and proposes new directions for reconsidering Bachelard's role in contemporary literary theory.