The Esthetics of Covid-19 in Les enfants de midi by Koutchoukalo Tchassim

Towards the end of 2019, the whole world learned of the appearance of Covid-19, a virus which is decimating part of the Chinese population. While it was believed that this virus would be limited to China alone, it spread across our planet with lightning speed, forcing political authorities to take exceptional measures to curb its effects and health specialists to think to remedies. This article therefore aims to study the role that writers were able to play in this time of health crisis. Among the many novelistic productions relating to the writing of Covid-19, we have chosen to look at ‘’Les Enfants de midi’’ by Koutchoukalo Tchassim published in 2020, the time when the crisis was at its peak. His work presents itself as the diary of the second wife of the main character whose acts of infidelity deprive him of a bright future. Beyond the representation of the theme of Covid-19 and its implications, this study reveals man’s awareness of his fragility. The semiotic approach of Joseph Courtés, whose attention is paid to the structure and in particular to the form of the content, will serve as a guide for the study. Keywords: Aesthetics, Health Crisis, Semiotics, Despair, Responsibility