Abstract: From La Mariane to La Mort de Sénèque, Tristan L'Hermite reworks the same dramatic scheme and reuses the character of the innocent persecuted by the criminal tyrant. This tragic type is heroized on the model of the saintly or martyred heroes of hagiography. This heroization is mediated by a dramaturgy of admiration that is expressed in an exemplary death, as much imposed by a tyrant moved by others as desired as a heroic achievement of the persecuted character.
