Anastasis: Research in Medieval Culture and Art (Nov 2018)
Fantaisies monacales: de Rutebeuf au Marquis de Sade
Abstract
The aim of the article is to present the approach of the same theme – a girl penetrating in a monastery of monks – in two literary works belonging to different historical ages: the fabliau Li diz De Freire Denize Le Cordelier by Rutebeuf and an episode of the novel Justine or the misfortunes of virtue by the Marquis de Sade. Even though the aims of the two authors diverge, the common narrative structure evocates a fantasy that has survived over the centuries, the main focus of which is the violation of the sacred. It is also out of this common background that the contraries are emphasized at particular levels of the texts. The points analysed in the article include the portrait of the main character, the disguises used so that the “crime” is hidden, the interaction between the actors of the text and their vision of eroticism. In general lines, while Rutebeuf focuses on the public and its wellness, in both senses of amusement and education, Sade seems to write against the public, using a widespread fantasy not to entertain, but rather to vex.
