Heroes and History's Remainders: The Restes of Pierre Corneille

This essay examines the figure of the reste—the things or people left behind—in the tragedies of Pierre Corneille, in particular though not only in the late plays, which are themselves a body of work left behind by the canon. These remainders provide a new perspective on Corneille's treatment of heroic action and its place in history, and the remainder becomes, in Corneille's work, something capable of redemption and new life. The argument is focused on three tragedies: Médée (1634), Sertorius (1662), and Tite et Bérénice (1670).