Spécificités de la mythologie décadente : le cas de Salomé

Before defining and analysing the decadent (re)interpretations of the myth of Salomé, it is necessary to summarize its historical development and determine its structural components (mythemes). Originating in Antiquity (Flavius Josephus, New Testament), the myth acquired a strongly moral meaning in the Middle Ages, which was subsequently adopted by classicism and then completely deconstructed by romantic authors in the 19th century. Symbolist and decadent readings of Salomé are characterized by their rejection of origin, the disintegration of all traditional “sacred couples” (Herod/Herodias, Salomé/John the Baptizer), frequent journeys of initiation made by an egocentric protagonist who dreams of self-knowledge and, last but not least, a strikingly open structure, which leads to a decomposition of the heroine: Salomé turns from a woman to an image, a gesture or even an incarnation of decadence itself.