L'écriture expiatoire du viol dans Les Fous de Bassan d'Anne Hébert
The expiatory writing of the rape in Les Fous de Bassan by Anne Hébert

Author(s): Rennie Yotova
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies, Studies of Literature, Novel, Theory of Literature
Published by: Нов български университет
Keywords: novel; literature; Les fous de Bassan; Anne Hébert;
Summary/Abstract: The present article explores the theme of violence in Anne Hébert’s novel «In the Shadow of the Wind» from the viewpoint of moral philosophy. The rape of the two heroines, a central episode in the story, was inspired by a real life event which the author exploits to assign universality to evil. The allusion to Andersen’s Little Mermaid is employed to endorse the pointlessness of suffering. Driven both by misogyny and megalomania, Stevens, the perpetrator of the crime, views the rape as a piece of art, a memorable act which will bring him catharsis and allow him to acquire a new identity. The themes of sin, its redemption, and the impossibility of putting violence in writing testify to the impotence of the word against an act that transcends human reason and defies verbalization.

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