Flaubert’s notes on Diderot’s De la poésie dramatique, Le Fils naturel, its related theoretical dialogue Entretiens sur le Fils naturel, and Le Père de famille

Isolating the notes on Diderot’s theatrical thought and practice found within the preparatory dossiers for Bouvard et Pécuchet sheds light on the genesis of the lapidary remarks of the two accomplices on the “comédie sérieuse ou tragédie bourgeoise.” The publication of this part of the dossiers makes it possible to focus on the more complex relationship that Flaubert apparently maintained with the dramatic aesthetics of the eighteenth century in general and with those of Diderot in particular.