Le châtiment au féminin: cas du cliché narratif des «amours illégitimes punies» en littérature

الملخص

This article explores a problem that is both literary and anthropological: the recurring narrative trope in which punishment falls solely on women in stories of illicit love. It examines why such a gendered sanction persists, especially in literary spaces that claim to push against limitations and promote freedom. Using an inductive approach, the study begins by surveying a range of novels from diverse sociocultural backgrounds, observing how the same pattern reappears—stories in which only the female lover is punished, often through death, exile, or disgrace. Particular attention is paid to the singularity of this narrative form compared to other types of love stories. Beyond identifying this structural pattern, the article seeks to uncover its deeper meaning. It argues that literature unintentionally perpetuates a cultural logic where women’s desire is met with disproportionate violence. To better understand this repression, a psychoanalytic reading is introduced, drawing on Freud, Lacan, and Julia Kristeva. This analysis reveals how literature can serve as an outlet for a collective unconscious that associates femininity with danger or moral disorder. Given the complexity of explaining the ontological association between femininity and evil, the study also turns to Michel Foucault’s philosophy and René Girard’s anthropological theory of scapegoating. These frameworks shed light on the cultural mechanisms that link female transgression to collective punishment. Ultimately, the article aims to expose the enduring myth of “the sinful woman” and to reflect on the obscure desire to feminize evil, a narrative instinct still deeply embedded in literary and cultural traditions.