A Sociocritical Analysis of the Representation of Islam and Muslims in Michel Houellebecq’s Submission, Through the Lens of Claude Duchet’s Literary Theory [Persian]

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

Assistant Professor University of Tehran

Abstract

Submission is a French novel, written by Michel Houellebecq. The writer addresses the presence of Muslims in France, and examines the growing influence of Islam in social institutions. This is interpreted from his point of view as a real problem, but presented in the form of fiction. This article seeks to analyze the image of Islam and Muslims in this novel, according to the sociocritical method. Thus, we use the tools and concepts presented by Duchet, in order to answer the following questions: Is the society of the novel in this text constructed with reference to which social realities and which probable personalities? What relationship is there between the society of the novel and the society of the referent? Were social discourses formed around which questions? Overall, what vision of Islam and Muslims do these speeches reflect? The results of this research show that the society of the novel, on the one hand reflects, and on the other hand reinforces stereotypes and false prejudices concerning the beliefs and customs of Muslims; they prove that this image is structured from the image disseminated by the media, and especially the media of the French extreme right on Islam. The social discourses of this novel revolve around the government, the education system, and the family, as long as they are imbued with Islam. Based on the negative and pessimistic vision of the writer, following the process of generalization of singular and exclusive cases, these speeches evoke phobia, hatred and increasing violence against Muslims.

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Research in Contemporary World Literature

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 21 July 2025

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