ABSTRACT
In his preface to Monsieur Vénus, Barrès suggests that: “Rachilde’s imagination smells of death” (Barrès, 1977, p. 19). Eliante’s various juggling performances reveal that death is a predominant theme in La Jongleuse and is commonly linked with sexuality. We have seen how black is the colour most often associated with death linked to sexuality. By choosing to dress her heroine in white at the end of the novel, Rachilde presents a complete contrast to her heroine’s previous costumes, since the colour of this gown returns to the illusion of (re)birth and virginal purity. By using the white dress to signal innocence, simplicity, and purity of soul, it is in this final scene that Rachilde uses colour as a mere prop in Eliante’s performance, designed this time to trick her male suitor.
