Henry Bauchau et Antigone. Pour une esthétique contemporaine

Henry Bauchau’s interest and fascination for the Theban myth resulted in the publication of two novels: Œdipe sur la route in 1990 and Antigone in 1997. The latter constitutes a very important stage in his career because it is thanks to it that Bauchau is recognized as an internationally renowned writer. In order to deepen the study of the genesis of the novel, in this work we have taken into consideration some significant passages of the essay La lumière Antigone, published within the collection L’écriture à l’écoute, to try to better understand its very complex evolution, characterized by a constant process of reformulation and rewriting. It is also possible to observe that the character of Antigone assumes such a deep meaning that it goes beyond the boundaries of the novel and the myth, to become part of the author’s private life. Precisely for this reason, the evolution of the character of Antigone that Bauchau associates with the image of light and that becomes a symbol of his rebirth through writing has become the object of our study.