Aspects and functions of sounds in l’abbé Prévost’s Cleveland
In writing Cleveland, his famous memoir-novel, l’abbé Prévost gives great importance to sounds. He first insists on the noises in the action, and on the voices of the characters (cries, emotions, seduction). Beyond this physiological precision, the novelist uses music in several episodes and gives it a role in the search for happiness. The novel can even be compared to an opera in its construction, its scenery and its situations. As a result, sounds contribute to the moral and dramatic expression of feelings.