L’antagonisme du féminin et du masculin dans Salammbô de Flaubert

Abstract

In Salammbô by Flaubert, the representation of the ancient universe reveals a struggle between two opposing principles, masculine and feminine, which takes on a character that is both mythological and cosmological. While revealing the dangers of the encounter between these two poles, the story stages a fierce confrontation between these two imaginaries presenting themselves as mutually exclusive. This antithetical construction will give rise to a whirlwind of passion and cruelty that will consecrate the triumph of monstrosity over amorous emotions. In the Punic work, the language of violence prevails over that of love so much so that the deep energy that nourishes amorous desire is transformed into a veritable force of generalized annihilation. Flaubert’s nihilism strives to undermine the highest values of bourgeois culture, which disgusts it, and reaches its peak when it attacks the roles it assigns to the opposite sexes.

Keywords

• gustave flaubert
• salammbô
• antagonism
• myth
• sexual stereotypes
• feminine vs. masculine
• desire
• subversion