ABSTRACT

How was transexual identity represented in fiction during the turning to the 20th century? Hardly recognized by so called cientific literature and modalities of sexuality, trans identity was restricted to the “homossexual” category. Han Ryner’s novel, La Fille manquée (1903), questions such theories, by underlining the complexities of human nature. From this scope, we propose here an interpretation of its main character, François (“the failed girl” from the title, an expression designating the male homosexual) and his/her suffering as being incapable of fully conceiving his feminine identity, indicated in many parts of the narrative. For such, we refer to (pseudo)scientific discourses of the 19th centuries, which are reviewed by the author, and to studies by Freud, namely about Leonardo Da Vinci and the concept of narcissism, considering the structure of the novel, the character construction and the literary contexto of that time.

KEYWORDS:
trans identity; scientific literature; homosexuality; 19th century; Freud; narcissism