THE CANTICLE OF SILENCE IN THE FLAME OF A CANDLE BY GASTON BACHELARD

Abstract

Bachelard, in his text La flamme d'une chandelle (The Flame of a Can­dle) - 1961, does not explicitly address the theme of silence or its experience. However, this should not prevent us from discussing the topic. Bearing this in mind throughout our study, we will first try to trace passages that, somehow, reflect silence and its manifestations, even the most inexpressible ones. We will do so from the point of view of the imaginary (“day dreaming”) and of philo­sophy (“thought thinking”). Admittedly, this is not an easy task since silence is latent in the text. From a philosophical and hermeneutic point of view, we will then try to reflect on a collection of images of silence or associated to silence, without neglecting the educational aspect behind our reflection.