Blurring of identity in Isabelle Eberhardt: the mystery of the woman in disguise

Abstract

This article looks at the issue of identity scrambling at Isabelle Eberhardt. Indeed, his taste for anarchism as well as his education at Bakunin, lead him to shake the rules drawn previously by society. This rejection is reflected first and foremost by disguise, a means of challenge and demand that allows it to defend itself against a phallocratic society. A trick that also allows him to discover the outside world that seems to be made for the male. Added to this is the use of male pseudonyms, seen as a prosthesis helping him to reconstitute himself and gain an identity. In addition, there follows a "new masquerade" of grammatical order, linked to his desire to write in the masculine. All these means are such a cure that helps him to get rid of his apprehensions related to his natural identity.