André and Philippe de Lajarte focus on the narrative strategies of the
book, Tournon exploring the generic innovations implicit in its frame
structure and de Lajarte elaborating on its original staging of narrative and
authorial voice.

As in the shady meadow of Notre Dame de Sarrance, there are some
disagreements among the voices in this volume. However, they have deep-
ened and altered our understanding of the Heptameron so much that we
have endeavored, in our afterword, to assess their implications for the
book's place in the history and theory of narrative. In so doing we do not
attempt to foreclose the voices of our contributors but to open a dialogue
that we hope readers of this volume will want to continue.

-xii-