Author: Abbas Hadi Jebur
Jebur, Abbas Hadi, 2018 Expressions of well-being and happiness in Les Grandes Marées and Le Vieux Chagrin by Jacques Poulin, Flinders University, College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
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This thesis focuses on two novels by Jacques Poulin: Les Grandes Marées (1978) and Le Vieux Chagrin (1989). In particular, it aims to investigate the manifestations of well-being and happiness through the prism of the thematic network identified in the two novels. We analyse the concepts of well-being and happiness according to Seligman’s PERMA model, a framework that describes the state of well-being and happiness through five core pillars. The PERMA model offers a convenient way to identify and analyse textual data. Moreover, it constitutes an original way of investigating well-being and happiness in a textual context. Our analysis indicates that Poulin has woven a subtle message through his narratives: life satisfaction, the result of well-being and happiness, cannot be achieved individually, nor can it be achieved through social construct and imposition. However, people can be happy and satisfied through intimacy, mutual understanding and the simplicity of everyday life. Happiness cannot be forced on people, rather it must flourish naturally and emotionally through meaningful interactions.
Keywords: Well-being, happiness, PERMA model, thematic approach
Subject: Languages thesis
Thesis type: Masters
Completed: 2018
School: College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
Supervisor: Associate Professor Eric Bouvet