Victor Hugo contre la peine de mort : quand l'argument littéraire bouleverse la vie politique

Details

Supervisors

Lisse, Michel

Faculty

Faculté de philosophie, arts et lettres

Degree label

Master [120] en langues et lettres françaises et romanes, orientation générale, à finalité approfondie

Abstract

enThis work aims to demonstrate how literature, particularly the literary argument present throughout the works of Victor Hugo, has nourished political debates in France and Europe, and influenced successive societies to eventually achieve the abolition of the death penalty. Several writings by Victor Hugo are analyzed, carefully identifying the poetic and political tricks employed by the author, and an attempt to describe their effects on the reader. A similar analysis will be provided for Robert Badinter's speech about the abolition of the death penalty in front of the French National Assembly in 1981. This dissertation also take into account Jacques Derrida's works regarding the death penalty, its connection to literature, as well as its relationship with writers and philosophers who hold opposing views on capital punishment. In summary, revolving around the question of the death penalty and its abolition, these lines address philosophy, politics, history, literature, and their interconnections and reciprocal influences. The conclusion of these lines responds to the hypothesis formulated in the introduction, namely that the literary tradition which has grown up around the question of the death penalty has incontestably worked to upset the mores, and whose illustration is the political choice of abolition.