“The scars are eminently literary”

“Scars are first and foremost meanings. » In his latest and fascinating work published by Éditions Métailié, the academic is interested in this form of “body language” which always says something about the story of the person wearing them. “Always dressed in meaning, the skin never ceases to overflow and reveal personal meanings, even those we wish to conceal.” Through it, he analyzes the stories, the pain, the traumas, the prejudices that result from them in order to better overcome them.

LE FIGARO. – You have already worked on the body and its pain, its wounds, tattoos, why were you interested in scars?

David LE BRETON. –Scars are a sort of common thread in my research. I have worked a lot on adolescent suffering, scarification, but also on pain, the after-effects of accidents and surgical interventions. For example, I worked with