French Literature Reviews - 2026

A.-M. Christin, L'Image écrite ou la déraison graphique
Literary Theory, Linguistics and Stylistics

Anne-Marie Christin

L'Image écrite ou la déraison graphique

Flammarion, coll "Champs"

2009

13.00 €

456 pages

EAN13: 2081228904

Publisher's presentation

Writing does not reproduce speech; it makes it visible. The ideographic system originated in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and China from the combination of two modes of communication that coexist in all societies: language, which structures the group and governs its internal exchanges, and the image, which allows the group to access the invisible world where its speech holds no sway. The purpose of this book is to demonstrate that, within this combination, the determining medium was not language but the image, and that the medium or surface supporting the image played a far more essential role than its figures. The concept of the screen preceded that of mythography. It is therefore no coincidence that the ideogram shares the same striking originality across the three civilizations that created it: it is a sign to be interrogated, capable of assuming vastly different verbal functions depending on the context in which it appears. The universe of writing is profoundly irrational. Our alphabetic civilization has strived—and continues to strive—to ignore this fact. However, Mallarmé's Un Coup de dés revealed to us that Western writing has never truly severed its ties with its iconic origins. This marked the beginning of a return to ideograms—various aspects of which are analyzed in the second part of this book, drawing on both literary and graphic productions in 19th- and 20th-century France—a trend that may well be ongoing.

Anne-Marie Christin investigates the foundational relationship between writing and visual culture, arguing that the ideogram originated from the interaction of language and imagery across ancient civilizations including Mesopotamia, Egypt, and China. By asserting that the image and its supporting surface took precedence over spoken language, the study challenges traditional linguistic models of script development. The work offers a profound reflection on how graphical supports shape human communication and why the universe of writing remains inherently connected to visual representation.

The book will particularly interest scholars and readers of literary theory, semiotics, and the history of communication systems, especially those examining the intersections between text and image. By tracing the persistence of iconic origins in Western literature from Stéphane Mallarmé onward, Christin provides essential tools for understanding modern graphic experimentation. It serves as a valuable resource for anyone seeking to interrogate the visual dimensions of the written word across different historical and cultural contexts.