“Class defectors” are everywhere. The revelation on the front page of Paris Match, March 12, of the relationship between the 2018 Prix Goncourt, Nicolas Mathieu, a popular-class writer, and the Princess of Monaco, Charlotte Casiraghi, has sparked a number of reactions, with some fans accusing the writer of being a traitor to the cause.
Laélia Véron is lecturer in stylistics and French language at the University of Orléans. This associate professor of modern literature publishes with Karine Abiven, lecturer in discourse analysis at Sorbonne University, Betray and avenge (La Découverte, 232 pages, 19.50 euros), a work to be published on April 4 on the stories of class defectors. The authors analyze the paradox between the media and editorial success of this category while it is only supported by a small handful of writers. They question in particular the way in which these works, based on self-narratives, depict a vision of social ascension far removed from current realities.
What is the definition of “class defector”?
It is first of all a sociological concept to describe a movement of upward social mobility, moving from one class to another. It has fallen into everyday language over the past ten years and has become an identity label that people use to tell their stories about themselves, in a story written in the first person, which intends, in particular, to rehabilitate the environment of origin.
The criterion most often taken into account is the parents’ profession and the situation of the preceding generation. But it is still debated in sociology. Can grandparents be taken into account? Resources outside the profession – heritage, legacy? Is it based on economic or cultural capital? In the best-known stories, we describe an ascent towards intellectual categories.
Who are the main figures today?
Annie Ernaux is the leading figure. We can also cite Didier Eribon, Edouard Louis, Rose-Marie Lagrave and Nicolas Mathieu. But they are very different paths. Edouard Louis’ parents, for example, come from a very precarious background. Annie Ernaux grew up in a family of traders, which can be considered by some as an environment that has already benefited from social advancement. As for Nicolas Mathieu, he himself said that he grew up in a middle-class family with no real financial problems. Moreover, Their children after them is not his personal story, but a fiction. Referred to as a “class defector” by certain media, he maintains an ambiguous relationship with this label, which he rejects and claims at the same time.
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