Prolégomènes à une interprétation de la figure du zombie
No figure, in the Twentieth Century, and today, is comparable to the zombie. Its proliferation and reiteration make it an exceptional case study. Yet a figure is inseparable from the discourses that give birth to it. There is a profound and subtle correlation between the figure’s productions and interpretation, as well as the economy of meaning generating it. My modest ambition, in this thesis, is anchored in an epistemological reflection in which the narrative stakes and the critical notions framing the zombie phenomenon will be examined. For that economy of sense to emerge, the metaphor’s modalities of meaning must be grasped. Thus, this thesis takes the form of a series of prolegomena necessary for understanding an important contemporary problem: the interpretation of a figure such as that of the zombie.  The first chapter presents a synthesis of the figure’s manifestations. The 60s bring an important transformation in the zombie (and horror) corpus that is conveyed in George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead. The second chapter focuses on narrative issues and critical notions framing the zombie phenomenon. The strict separation between form and content shapes the horror discourse and many of its interpretations from which Zombie Studies emerge. Subsequently, I revisit Todorov’s and Ingarden’s thought about representation in order to grasp the fundamental issues of interpretation. Ultimately, the question concerns knowing whether the zombie can be taken à la lettre. The third chapter examines metaphor’s inherent modalities of meaning. This chapter is divided into two sections that represent the essential aspects of metaphor: production and reading. In this connection, I refer to the theoretical tradition on metaphor so as to discern the nature of the poetic affirmation that, through metaphor, links zombies and humans. What does this affirmation signify, as it takes up and guides both the zombie figure’s narrative and the metaphorical reading of the human being? In conclusion, I reflect on the modalities of reading underlying interpretations of the zombie figure. In this sense, I will explore the inextricable link between the mode - that is, the metaphor - and its content or, rather, interpretations.
Chronotope Zombie Horror Fantastic Figure Metaphor Chronotope Epistemology Economy of meaning