Any literary body of work can be exploited, and Ramuz’s work has been subject to the most diverse Any literary body of work can be exploited, and Ramuz has been subject to all kinds of attempts at recuperation. But since the 1930s, it has been the conservative and patriotic right who have most effectively extended their hold on the corpus. It is undoubtedly because this right-wing movement held the key to the reception and dissemination of literary works that its vision took hold. Nevertheless, Ramuz’s work did lend itself to a patriotic reading. Both the recurring themes and the regional grounding of the work led to the belief that it was produced to serve the country’s interests. Even more problematic is the image bequeathed to posterity by its author, which is conducive to the establishment of a posthumous cult. Ramuz undoubtedly failed to appreciate the combined effects of his multiple heritage, which led to him becoming a privileged figure for the projection of “national” values.
In many ways, then, Ramuz unwittingly paved the way for his own recuperation, which is problematic inasmuch as it has profoundly altered our understanding of his work. Sacralized, this became an untouchable and intimidating monument, not to be approached with impunity, particularly from a critical standpoint and in the Swiss context.
« You have to write for yourself, which means for everyone and for no one–for those who will want it, not for those who want something. »
Diary, April 28, 1942