Anthropomorphisme et empathie dans le cycle naturaliste de Jules Michelet

The tendency to anthropomorphise in Michelet’s natural history can seem surprising. Rather than see it as poetic licence or a sign of the time, however, the double movement through which Michelet invests in his subjects needs to be analysed. It is, first, an identification with nature which restores a sense of community and enables cognitive empathy, and, second, a mastery of anthropomorphism which endorses his mission to speak on behalf of animals.