Historical writing and artist’s growth narrative in <i>Terrasse à Rome</i> from the perspective of semiotic self

Abstract This research paper examines the novel Terrasse à Rome by renowned contemporary French writer Pascal Quignard, analyzing the historical writing and the artist’s growth narrative in the work, as well as the intrinsic connection between the two. Set in the 17th century, Terrasse à Rome tells the story of the engraver Meaume, who, after suffering facial disfigurement, travels across Europe to revolutionize engraving art. The novel illustrates how the protagonist achieves self-reconstruction through the semiotic self’s interactions amid temporal displacement and spatial transformation. Quignard constructs the dynamic generation of the semiotic self through the temporal dimension of historical writing and presents the tension of the artist’s growth through the polysemy of spatial symbols. Through the growth narrative of an ordinary or marginalized individual, the author deconstructs authoritative history and reevaluates the existential significance of individual life.