STÉRÉOTYPE ET SUSPENSE DANS LE CAPITAN DE MICHEL ZÉVACO

Abstract

: The serial novel appeared in the 19th century. It is a method of publishing that consists of publishing daily passages in the lower part of a newspaper, also called “the ground floor”. This type of novel pays great attention to public taste and demand of the audience, hence the frequent use of stereotypes which present narrative strategies and fixed images, known and easily accessible by the reader. Likewise, suspense, or the art of keeping the reader in suspense, occupies a large part in the serial novel in order to capture the interest of the readers and encourage them to continue reading. Michel Zévaco's serial novel Le Capitan is characterized not only by its form but above all by its content as a cloak and dagger novel; famous for its brave knights, their various adventures, their love stories and especially their duels which occupy a large part of it. This type of novel is also in immediate correlation with the historical novel characterized by the imprint of History through certain points of reference such as dates linked to certain events, places and historical figures without charging them with reality total. This article aims to study stereotypes, their various forms and their functions with particular emphasis on their role in evoking suspense in Le Capitan by Michel Zévaco, which was published in 1906 in the newspaper Le Matin .