A Sociocritical Analysis of the Representation of Islam and Muslims in Michel Houellebecq’s Submission, through the Theory of Claude Duchet

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

Department of French Language and Literature, Faculty of Foreign Languages ​​and Literature, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

10.22059/jor.2025.394012.2632

Abstract

Submission is a French novel by Michel Houellebecq whose publication in 2015 sparked considerable controversy and media hype. The writer addresses the question of the Muslim presence in France and examines the growing influence of Islam in social institutions. He interprets this as a real problem, yet presents it in fictional form. This article seeks to analyze the image of Islam and Muslims in the novel using the sociocritical method. To this end, the article employs the tools and concepts developed by Claude Duchet in order to answer the following questions: With reference to which social realities and which probable personalities is the society of the novel constructed? What relationship exists between the novel’s society and the referent society? Around which issues do the social discourses form? Overall, what vision of Islam and Muslims do these discourses reflect? The results of the research show that the novel’s society both reflects and reinforces stereotypes and false prejudices concerning Muslim beliefs and customs; they demonstrate that this image is built upon representations disseminated by the media, especially by the French far-right media. The social discourses in the novel revolve around government, the education system, and the family, insofar as these institutions are permeated by Islam. Driven by the author’s negative and pessimistic vision, and by a process of generalizing isolated and exceptional cases, these discourses evoke phobia, hatred, and increasing violence against Muslims.

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References

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Research in Contemporary World Literature
Volume 31, Issue 1
April 2026
Pages 115-128

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