I, Pierre Riviere, Having Slaughtered My Mother, My Sister and My Brother.: A Case of Parricide in the 19th Century

Michel Foucault (Editor)

ISBN 10: 0803268572 / ISBN 13: 9780803268579

Published by University of Nebraska Press, 1982

About this Item

First Bison Book Printing. Translation by Frank Jellinik of "Moi, Pierre Riviere, ayant egorge ma mere, ma soeur et mon frere." (Gallimard, 1973). Softcover volume, measuring approximately 5.25" x 8", is like new. xiv/288 pages. "To free his father and himself from his mother's tyranny, Pierre Rivière decided to kill her. On June 3,1835, he went inside his small Normandy house with a pruning hook and cut to death his mother, his eighteen-year-old sister, and his seven-year-old brother. Then, in jail, he wrote a memoir to justify the whole gruesome tale. Michel Foucault, author of "Madness and Civilization" and "Discipline and Punish," collected the relevant documents of the case, including medical and legal testimony, police records. and Rivière's memoir. The Rivière case, he points out, occurred at a time when many professions were contending for status and power. Medical authority was challenging law, branches of government were vying. Foucault's reconstruction of the case is a brilliant exploration of the roots of our contemporary views of madness, justice, and crime.".

Seller Inventory # ABE-1650536072172

Bibliographic Details

• Title: I, Pierre Riviere, Having Slaughtered My Mother, My Sister and My Brother.: A Case of Parricide in the 19th Century
• Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
• Publication Date: 1982
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0803268572
• ISBN 13: 9780803268579
• Binding: Soft cover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: As New

About this title

Synopsis

To free his father and himself from his mother's tyranny, Pierre Rivière decided to kill her. On June 3,1835, he went inside his small Normandy house with a pruning hook and cut to death his mother, his eighteen-year-old sister, and his seven-year-old brother. Then, in jail, he wrote a memoir to justify the whole gruesome tale.

Michel Foucault, author of Madness and Civilization and Discipline and Punish, collected the relevant documents of the case, including medical and legal testimony, police records. and Rivière's memoir. The Rivière case, he points out, occurred at a time when many professions were contending for status and power. Medical authority was challenging law, branches of government were vying. Foucault's reconstruction of the case is a brilliant exploration of the roots of our contemporary views of madness, justice, and crime.

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French