L’écriture des mythes bibliques dans le roman catholique : Cas de « le nœud de vipères et Yobo » de Francois Mauriac, « la spirale de l’épreuve » de Joseph Befé Ateba.

Abstract

François Mauriac and Joseph Befé Ateba, use biblical myths in their works in general and the biblical intertext particulary in their novels Le Nœud de vipères and Yobo, la spirale de l’épreuve ; hence the problem of the influence of the Bible in a modern and secularized context. From this problem arises the following problem: What are the biblical myths which influence the literary imagination of François Mauriac and Joseph Befé Ateba? How does Catholicity influence the productions of novelists? What are the aims of their common writing? From this problem we can state the following general hypothesis: the Bible, through certain myths, influences the writing and imagination of novelists. It constitutes the basis of their literary imagination and allows them to express their faith and religious convictions. We have retained mythocriticism as the main critical method to analyze and understand the phenomenon of the writing of biblical myths in the Catholic novel. To this method, we associated that of intertextuality to show that biblical borrowings constitute the motifs of the major themes common to the two authors. Each of them having rewritten them with a personal aesthetic. Myths such as the myth of Job, Judas and original sin which find their basis in the Bible reveal the interest that the authors have in the spiritual state. The presence of elements such as the sacraments, the metaphysical extension of the characters and the dogmas engage the authors in the Catholic novel. As a result, it appeared to us that François Mauriac and Joseph Befé Ateba use intertextual practices consciously or unconsciously of the biblical mythical background in their stories, in order to better express themselves on the realities of their times and to deliver their religious visions on catholicity and faith.