Constant jusques à /lamOö/ A syntactic-psychoanalytic model of desire in Baudelaire’s Une Martyre

Abstract

This thesis undertakes a linguistic-psychoanalytic study of Baudelaire's understudied poem "Une Martyre." The poem's expression of violent passion and desire is highly compatible for study under Lacanian theory, linking intense desire to destruction and death. Lacan's emphasis on the relevance of linguistic structure to unconscious desire motivated the usage of syntactic analysis for the basis of psychoanalytic interpretation. After examining theta role distributions of agents, benefactives, and themes, I note irregularities in agentive assignments. These predominantly take the form of the dead "martyr" being linguistically coerced into an agentive role. I ultimately connect patterns in theta role assignments to the identities of the poet, murderer, and "martyr", and examine their connection to the Lacanian model of desire. I ultimately conclude that the death-oriented desire of "Une Martyre" is contradictory and destructive through its unsuccessful attempt to mediate desire between life and death.