The aim of this diploma thesis is to analyse the conception of marriage in the works of two Indian female authors, namely Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni's novels Sister of My Heart and its sequel The Vine of Desire and Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things. The thesis consists of two parts. The objective of the theoretical part is to portray the position of marriage within Indian society and to introduce two female authors and their novels where the theme of Indian marriage plays a significant role. The practical part of the work focuses on a thorough analysis of three chosen female characters. Their roles within the marriage and the influence of marriage on their lives will be further discussed. The result of this part will be an overall comparison of how the chosen authors approach the theme of traditional Indian marriage in their works. . KEY WORDS Indian society, arranged marriage, marriage of one's own will, Indian vs. American marriage, social roles related to marriage, transgressions of marital laws, divorces

Au XVIe siècle, nous assistons à deux types de récits criminels : dans la presse, les faits divers, produits sous la forme de « canards », et dans la littérature, les histoires tragiques, forme narrative brève essentiellement véridique et à tonalité pathétique. Lorsque Pierre Boaistuau, appelé aussi Launay, publie Les Histoires tragiques, il sélectionne six récits parmi les Novelle de Matteo Bandello. Le travail de Boaistuau ne se limite pas à la traduction de ces textes mais également à la fondation d’un genre qu’est l’histoire tragique. François de Belleforest, son ami, en poursuit la traduction et en varie les sources ; il publie entre 1559 et 1582 sept volumes d’histoires tragiques. Notre étude porte sur la justice, un thème clé pour comprendre les textes de ces deux auteurs. En effet, leurs récits révèlent un intérêt particulier pour les différentes formes de justice (humaine, naturelle et divine), pour le procès judiciaire et ses protagonistes. Nous analysons tous ces points ainsi que le thème de la transgression à travers différents crimes, principalement les crimes de paillardise (« macquerellage », rapt, viol et adultère). Notre réflexion porte également sur le châtiment et ses fonctions ainsi que sur le comportement du condamné au moment de son exécution. Enfin, nous nous intéressons aux stratégies discursives déployées par nos auteurs notamment à la rhétorique judiciaire et à la rhétorique délibérative. Les enjeux soulevés à travers l’étude du discours rhétorique permettent d’explorer les liens entre le discours judiciaire et le discours politique et donc entre justice et politique. Somme toute, la dernière partie de notre travail permet de cerner les rapports entre rhétorique, justice et politique. / In the sixteenth century, two types of criminal narratives predominate: short news items in the press, printed separately as canards, and brief narrative literary forms that constitute the tragic story genre, combining truth with a tone of pathos. When Pierre Boaistuau, also called Launay, publishes Les Histoires tragiques, he selects six stories from Matteo Bandello’s Novelle. Boaistuau's work is not limited to the translation of these texts but also establishes the tragic story genre. His friend François de Belleforest continues the translation and varies the sources; between 1559 and 1582 he published seven volumes of tragic stories. My thesis focuses on justice, a key theme for understanding the texts of these two authors. Indeed, their stories reveal a particular interest in the different forms of justice (human, natural and divine), in the judicial process and in its protagonists. I analyze all these points as well as the theme of transgression through an examination of various crimes, mainly crimes of debauchery ("macquerellage" –sex trafficking–, abduction, rape and adultery). I also consider the different functions of punishment as well as the behavior of the convicted person at the time of execution. Finally, I am interested in the discursive strategies deployed by these authors, including judicial rhetoric and deliberative rhetoric. The issues raised through the study of rhetoric make it possible to explore the links between judicial discourse and political discourse and therefore between justice and politics. The summative, final part of our work further elucidates the relationships between rhetoric, justice and politics.