The néofantastique: Between the Transgression and the Spirit of Conservatism Cover Image

Le néofantastique : entre la transgression et l’esprit conservateur
The néofantastique: Between the Transgression and the Spirit of Conservatism

Author(s): Katarzyna Gadomska
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego
Keywords: Fantasy literature; new fantasy; (néo)fantastique; transgression; taboo; fear; ambiguity; short fiction; the uncanny

Summary/Abstract: The néofantastique (neo-fantasy) literature abounds in representations of transgressions, be it moral, religious, and social. This literary genre often deals with crimes, pornography, cannibalism, necrophilia, etc. Because the new fantasy literature breaks various cultural taboos, many critics perceive it as a genre liberal par excellence. However, there are also conservative, or didactic, works inscribed in the genre in which all transgressions are punished by the death of the transgressor. This study analyzes this ambiguity of the néofantastique on the basis of a number of short stories in the French language by various Belgian and French authors.

  • Issue Year: 2010
  • Issue No: 5
  • Page Range: 195-207
  • Page Count: 13
  • Language: French