L’identité littéraire ou le défi d’une transmutation – du déni de la lecture à l’impératif de l’écriture
Literary identity or the challenge of transmutation—from the denial of reading to the imperative of writing

Summary/Abstract: The article examines the complex dynamics that underpin the metamorphosis of a literary identity in the specific case of French writer Agnès Desarthe. By attributing the value of an authorial palimpsest to the corpus of study, based mainly on the autobiographical narrative Comment j’ai appris à lire (How I Learned to Read, 2013), the analysis identifies the points of rupture, transgression, and conversion in the construction of literary identity. The denial of reading constitutes a paradoxical detour and a form of creative diversion that undeniably fuels the conversion to writing. The linguistic conflict linked to a complex family genealogy, the cultural clash between minority heritage and dominant culture with multiple conflicts of loyalty, and the educational model dissensions between legitimate readings and personal readings all merge into the claim for an identity that comes through reading. The analysis of literary scenography assuming various behaviors reveals and reconstructs the secret passages that lead from a hatred of reading to a love of books, writing, or translating books, while investigating the process of literary creation and the metamorphosis of the creative self.

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