Past and pathos: symbolic practices of reconciliations during the French Restoration

This article explores the ways in which the challenge of reconciling a politically divided country is reflected in the memory culture of the early French Restoration. It analyzes both the official politics of representation and a broader popular discourse. The main argument is that these popular (lyrical) texts provided a specific way of dealing with the Restoration's central problem of how to deal with the presence of the revolutionary past which was challenging the legitimacy of the present order. By combining certain symbolic-metaphoric devices with a style of pathos, these texts created a sentimental cultural practice of reconciliation which made it possible to remember the fundamental political conflict and simultaneously make it disappear behind the strong emotions that were evoked.