Internal conflict in F. Sagan’s «Bonjour, tristesse» through the prism of «ethics of care» and its interpretation by modern youth

Abstract

The paper is targeted to explore the internal conflict between different generations, the gap in their moral values and lifestyles, depicted in F. Sagan’s novel “Bonjour, tristesse” from the perspective of “ethics of care” and study modern youth’s opinions and regards on it. The study sample was 20 students of Sumy State Pedagogical University who majored in French and read the novel for their individual work. Employing the text interpretation method, they were looking for the answer to the research question: where is the bounding line between the loving care that can be accepted by the free will of a person and abusive care that crosses personal boundaries? It was found out that the conflict described in this book was inevitable because the voluntary care and the wish and the ability to receive this care, if not to give it back, did not always correspond with each other.