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Monday, June 05, 2006
Michael Riffaterre… …who wrote wonderful essays on French literature, has died at the age of 81. With Charles Newman’s NY Times obit fresh in my mind - especially the detail about his having been married five times - I noted with interest the paper’s formulation in the case of Riffaterre: Professor Riffaterre was married several times. He is survived by his wife, Hermine, also a scholar of French literature… Does this mean that Riffaterre was married more than five times? Does the Times go to “several” when it’s over five? Or does it mean that no one can remember how many wives he had? |