This collection investigates the intersection of language, mortality, and the construction of historical narrative within the works of Gustave Flaubert and the broader Romantic tradition. Eugenio Donato, a prominent scholar of post-structuralist thought, utilizes these ten essays to analyze how authors navigate the isolation of the creative process. By applying an archaeological approach to literary history, Donato argues that the act of writing is fundamentally circumscribed by the author's awareness of their own mortality and the limitations of language.

Experts recognize this collection as a foundational text for understanding the application of post-structuralist theory to nineteenth-century literature. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose, which requires a strong background in literary theory to fully appreciate the author's complex arguments.