View source for L'Hymne à la Femme et au Hasard

''L’Hymne de la Femme et au Hazard'' was published in the literary journal ''alire'' n° 7. In the program, the reader has first access to a matrix. He has the choice to enter these matrixes choosing the order of their apparition. The categories are the following: the woman, randomness, and nothingness. Then, the reader can access the matrix and can read it. Once the reading is complete, the reader accesses a surtext, a variation of the images of the matrix. The surtext functions as a mold, mold conditioned by the reader. When one reads the surtext, a feeling of disengagement arises. Indeed, he/she has to do a nontrivial effort to read. Bootz had previously defined the reading experience as “an effort”, and “a commitment”. The reader reads two different texts, disjointed in time. More precisely, when a verse appears, it quickly disappears to make space for another. Besides, the speed at which the verses pass, make it difficult for the human eye to catch, decipher or memorize these words. Some words and groups of words seem to be repeating themselves, but a feeling of disengagement is largely experienced and the esthetic of frustration appears. The reader then has to be aware that he/she cannot read all and he/she has to select what to read. When making this choice, the reader then submits himself to the surtext’s expressivity. When traversing the text, several characteristics can be observed. ''L’Hymne de la Femme et au Hazard'' is an undetermined dynamic text, because it uses randomness. The text also is transitory, as the program generate itself the verses. The access to the text is constrained because the reader has to wait for the next sequence to be displayed on the screen. The linkage is conditional, meaning that the links between the different parts of the surtext are not explicit. At last, the reader has an interpretative function, since he/she is forced to follow a path, path the program has chosen for the reader to take. Esthetically speaking, the images and the theme of the text are in symbiosis. The theme of sexuality and fantasy developed textually are illustrated by the juxtaposition of images on the screen. The multitude of images corresponds to the multitude of fantasies one can have and imagine. Likewise, the woman who appears on the screen represents the masculine fantasy par excellence. Her mysterious, hypnotic and seductive look echoes the verses.

(Source: Johanna Montlouis-Gabriel)