Une étude lexicologique du mot 'fatal' dans La Chartreuse de Parme

Throughout La Chartreuse de Parme certain adjectives, through their frequency and pattern of occurrence, suggest a significance beyond conventional import. Among them is the term fatal that appears twenty-eight times in adjectival form and three as the substantive la fatalité. The manner in which Stendhal applies this term indicates both literary intention and meaning that merit investigation. This lexicological study concentrates on the grammatical and structural context in which the term is found, the role played by fatal in dialogue, monologue and narrative passages and the position of the term in conjunction with particular substantives. Relationships among central figures in the novel are highlighted through the prism of this single term. The noticeable augmentation of the frequency of the term in the second part of the novel reveals the increased intensity of the presence of destiny, danger or the threat of disaster. (In French) (LAR)