Abstract: The mythical figure of Sappho exerts a powerful hold over male writers of the second half of the nineteenth century (Verlaine, Banville, and Cantel), who associate her with lesbianism.
Keyword: Littérature du xixe siècle, poésie du xixe siècle, arts du xixe siècle, histoire du genre, sociologie, sexualité, homosexualité, lesbianisme, femme, médecine, droit