La Théorie de l'imprégnation

The article attempts to bring into focus the theory of impregnation, a theory that quickly shows itself to be a myth. The article focuses in particularly upon the function of this myth in the nineteenth-century view of the Creation, in other words as a new elaboration of the classical Pygmalion myth. After a theoretical introduction the article brings in Michelet's L'Amour (1858) with its claim that man is woman's creator. It supplements with other examples from the nineteenth century: Zola's Madeleine Férat (1868), Ibsen's The Woman from the Sea (1888), and Strindberg's The Creditors (1888). Finally another aspect of the myth is treated: the theme of the mechanical puppet, e.g. Hoffmann's Der Sandmann (1815), the novel L'Eve future (1891) by Villiers de L'Isle-Adam, in order to show how far the male fantasy and narcissism can reach. (In French) (HHO).