Le plat pays vallonné ou comment se déconstruit et se reconstruit le stéréotype paysager de la Belgique

Landscapes, just like stereotypes, should be perceived as mental constructions. They appear in literature as indispensable tools in the development of identity, both collective and individual. The present paper traces the evolution of this construction and its different uses changing with time: from the emergence of the Belgian literature (and Belgium) to the present days. Literary examples used in the paper refer, among others, to the works by Gautier, Verhaeren, La Garde, Gevers, Masson, Rolin, Bertrand, Delaive and Gunzig.