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AbstractIn History of Gil Blas of Santillana, the novel's geography is not very consistent; Gil never crosses any international border although his companions or other secondary characters show more spirit of adventure. The most mobile would seem to be Raphaël, who takes ship from Spain to Majorca and unexpectedly arrives in Florence after a detour through the city which, in this novel, replaces the Orient: Algiers. Two aspects of the story characterize the Lesagian handling of the topos. The Oriental material is taken up in a humorous novelistic style (wandering adventures filled with tears and laughter), in the style of melodramatic theatre (family recognition), comedy (the lovers' farce in preparation for an elopement) and tragedy (high treason through passionate love). This playful aspect is completed with a suggestion concerning the link between the Orient and Woman (the actress Lucinda, mother of Raphaël, betrays her country out of love for a renegade Greek) as opposed to the masculine pole of cultural fidelity to the Occident, represented by Raphaël.