The aim of the article is to show the evolution of classical melodrama, the complexity of the genre and the influence of Pixerécourt’s melodrama on Victor Hugo’s romantic drama which mani-fests itself in contradictory and hyperbolic means. Indeed, Victor Hugo faces the same obstacle as the author of melodrama: how to represent the duality of the universe without falling into a simplify-ing and gnomic vision? While Victor Hugo opts for the constant use of antithesis, Pixerécourt seeks to adapt his heroes to the new reality under the Restoration: by temporarily reversing the roles, he makes women, at least momentarily, the pillar of social life.
L’œuvre de Pixerécourt sous la Restauration: entre valeurs de l’ancien régime et source d’inspiration pour l’école romantique