This volume explores the influence of the
lettre de cachet
on both Diderot’s personal life and his works, beginning with an examination of Diderot’s experience as recipient of two such arrest warrants, followed by an analysis of his references to these warrants in three of his fictional works,
Le Père de famille
,
Jacques le fataliste
and
Est-il bon? Est-il méchant?
. A scrutiny of Diderot’s
mémoire/lettre
novel
La Religieuse
proposes that, on the basis of moral cupidity, or self-gain, Madame Simonin sends her daughter Suzanne two veiled
lettres de cachet
that demand her confinement to a convent. The exploration of a fascinating real-life case of Henriette-Émilie de Bautru, a young
comtesse
whose mother confined her to a convent as a result of a
also based on motives of greed, leads to an examination of the similarities between Suzanne and the
Comtesse
in terms of their illegitimacy, questioning of authority and subsequent rebellion. A consideration of writing and communication in
as they relate to this rebellion leads to an investigation of Diderot’s admiration of the mystery of female genius and artistic creativity as discussed in his essay
Sur les femmes
. The works of Julia Kristeva, especially her
Post-Scriptum
addressed to Diderot at the end of her work
Thérèse mon amour: Thérèse d’Avila
, serve as a theoretical basis for an interpretation of Suzanne’s experience as victim of a
and her search for a psychological rebirth of her
être caché
.