Les enjeux moraux, dramatiques et esthétiques du suicide de l’héroïne tragique aux xvi^e et xvii^e siècles

The female character redeems the impurity of passions illustrated in the very act of suicide, which is paradoxical from the point of view of Christian morals. The heroin determines the action and finds in this virile act the way of imposing her grandeur on stage. Lastly, this article shows that, as in painting (Lucrèce), a strongly aesthetic dimension of the representation of female death on stage may cause fear and admiration as a fascinated audience contemplates a scene where erotism and horror are intricately interwowen.