Jacques Henric on Shame in Literature: Jean-Pierre Martin's 'Le Livre des hontes' and Yann Moix's 'Panthéon'
In a feuilleton for art press, Jacques Henric reviews two books that explore the theme of shame in literature. Jean-Pierre Martin's 'Le Livre des hontes' (Seuil, Fiction & Cie) argues that shame is the primary fuel for literature, citing authors from Rousseau to Annie Ernaux. Martin identifies various sources of shame—individual, historical, political, social—and offers 'dix moyens romanesques de traiter les rougeurs' (ten novelistic ways to treat blushes). Henric also discusses Yann Moix's novel 'Panthéon' (Grasset), which he reads as a response to shame through irreverence and humor. The narrator, a child subjected to beatings, grows into a provocateur who mocks sacred institutions like the Académie française and the Panthéon, as well as figures like François Mitterrand and Ségolène Royal. Henric praises Moix's literary taste, noting references to Guitry, Proust, Edith Stein, Péguy, Jules Renard, Bataille, Artaud, Alphonse Allais, and Céline. The piece reflects on how contemporary literature often deals with tragedy, but Moix offers a comic antidote.
Key facts
- Jean-Pierre Martin's 'Le Livre des hontes' published by Seuil in the Fiction & Cie collection.
- Martin argues that shame is the primary fuel for literature, citing Nietzsche's quote: 'Honte, honte, honte – c'est là l'histoire de l'homme'.
- Authors discussed in Martin's book include Rousseau, Baudelaire, Gogol, Stendhal, Mishima, Hawthorne, Dostoïevski, Conrad, Kafka, Camus, Gombrowicz, Rushdie, Thomas Bernhard, Leiris, Gide, Genet, Duras, Antelme, Proust, Bataille, Queneau, Annie Ernaux, Ponge, Blanchot, Sartre, and Sarraute.
- Martin proposes 'dix moyens romanesques de traiter les rougeurs' in the final chapter.
- Yann Moix's novel 'Panthéon' published by Grasset.
- The narrator of 'Panthéon' experiences beatings as a child and later uses literature for revenge.
- Moix's novel includes irreverent treatment of the Académie française, the Panthéon, François Mitterrand, and Ségolène Royal.
- Henric notes Moix's references to Guitry, Proust, Edith Stein, Péguy, Jules Renard, Bataille, Artaud, Alphonse Allais, and Céline.
- Henric recommends 'Panthéon' as a comic remedy to the tragic tone of many contemporary novels.
Entities
Artists
- Jacques Henric
- Jean-Pierre Martin
- Yann Moix
- Friedrich Nietzsche
- Jean-Jacques Rousseau
- Charles Baudelaire
- Nikolai Gogol
- Stendhal
- Yukio Mishima
- Nathaniel Hawthorne
- Fyodor Dostoevsky
- Joseph Conrad
- Franz Kafka
- Albert Camus
- Witold Gombrowicz
- Salman Rushdie
- Thomas Bernhard
- Michel Leiris
- André Gide
- Jean Genet
- Marguerite Duras
- Robert Antelme
- Marcel Proust
- Georges Bataille
- Raymond Queneau
- Annie Ernaux
- Francis Ponge
- Maurice Blanchot
- Jean-Paul Sartre
- Nathalie Sarraute
- Louis-Ferdinand Céline
- Sacha Guitry
- Edith Stein
- Charles Péguy
- Jules Renard
- Antonin Artaud
- Alphonse Allais
- Ruwen Ogien
- Christophe Kihm
- Claude François
- François Mitterrand
- Ségolène Royal
- André Malraux
Institutions
- Seuil
- Grasset
- Académie française
- Panthéon
- art press
Locations
- France
Sources
- artpress —