Abstract

Blushing faces are an important presence in Robert Antelme's "L'Espèce humaine". When a face turns red (or pink) there is always a hidden meaning: the author of this essay demonstrates that, in this book, blushing and shame are heavily linked. The essay is divided in two sections: in the first, the author introduces the theme of faces in Antelme's work; then, he compares two opposite interpretations of peculiar passages in "L'Espèce humaine". Indeed, Giorgio Agamben states that red faces are often a sign of shame as ontological feeling; on the other side, Ruth Leys states that in "L'Espèce humaine" there isn't any link between blushing and a fixed emotion and, especially, that shame does not have a role in this book.