The symbiosis between the clothing and the identity of characters in Les Diaboliques

With the aim of studying the link between characters and their clothing, this article shows how, in Les Diaboliques, Barbey d’Aurevilly uses a particular narrative device: he develops a symbiosis between the identity and the clothing of characters, by focusing on one key aspect of their identity and materializing it through clothing. In this way, he highlights the key aspect of the protagonist’s being and transmits different messages.