Récit de vie et nécrologie : le cas de Stéphane Hessel comme figure emblématique

Abstract

This paper analyzes the ways in which the French press announced the death of Stéphane Hessel, thus contributing to the study of obituary as a genre of discourse. By exploring the way in which the media have narrated the trajectory of S. Hessel on the occasion of his death, it shows their divergences, while underlining that they have all participated in the re-actualization of a narrative that validates the construction, and the maintenance, of the tutelary figure. The article proposes a contrastive analysis of the discourse of three major French newspapers of different tendencies (Le Monde, Libération, Le Figaro) by observing the weight of the narratives on the configuration of the event, and the way in which they set up contradictory interpretations of Hessel and his political commitment in relation to current social issues. By relying mostly on an enunciative analysis, the article thus seeks to make the link between collective memory and tutelary figure in order to shed light on the social construction of what can be considered as a heritage.

Keywords

• heritage
• Hessel
• obituary
• tutelary figure