Reinventing the fairy tale’s heroine in the novel 'Barbe bleue' of Amélie Nothomb

Simona Locic

doi:10.5209/thel.63252

Abstract

In the 20th and the 21st centuries, many writers have shown an interest in rewriting traditional fairy tales. In contemporary literature, fairy tales are thus reinvented, adapted to the historical reality, the vices, the weaknesses and the imperfections of contemporary human beings. This study analyses the reinvention of the fairy tale’s heroine in Barbe bleue, by French writer Amélie Nothomb, and published in 2012. This study will show how the rewriting of this millenary text questions the schematic and stereotyped relations between characters in traditional fairy tales.

Highlights

many writers have shown an interest in rewriting traditional fairy tales
This study analyses the reinvention of the fairy tale's heroine in Barbe bleue
Les métamorphoses de ce genre s'inscrivent dans une littérature contemporaine vue par Roland Barthes comme une perpétuelle réécriture des œuvres

Summary

Introduction

In the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, many writers have shown an interest in rewriting traditional fairy tales. Saturnine est la femme contemporaine qui n’a pas besoin d’un personnage auxiliaire pour se sauver. Saturnine Puissant, l’héroïne suggère la force, l’importance, la grandeur de ce personnage féminin qui bouleverse à travers ses actions la matrice d’un conte de fées dont le dénouement est universellement connu et accepté.

Results

Conclusion