Boule de Suif, de Maupassant à Li-An : enjeux intersémiotiques et intralinguistiques d’une adaptation jeunesse en bande dessinée Boule de Suif, from Maupassant to Li-An: Intersemiotic and Intralinguistics Issues in a Youth Comic Book Adaptation

Abstract

This study is based on a comparative and contrastive analysis of a hetero-semiotic pair: Guy de Maupassant’s short story Boule de Suif and its graphic novel adaptation by Li-An, published by Delcourt in 2009. The central aim of this study is to explore how the passage from a literary medium to a verbo-iconic one reshapes the original narrative, not only in terms of discourse and narration but also in its semiotic structure. Basing our analysis on the outline proposed by Thierry Groensteen, we examine the key components that are subject to adaptation: the historical context, the plot or fable, the medium, the discourse, and the textual features. Special attention is given to intralinguistic variations resulting from the transition from one medium to another. We argue that reformulations, transpositions, modulations, additions, omissions, and clarifications are not infrequent and reflect the necessity of adapting the source material to the constraints of the sequential art form. Therefore, this analysis shows how comics, as a multimodal medium, often require a reconfiguration of enunciation: the narrative and descriptive prose of the source text is often transformed into dialogue, images, and a new spatial organization. In this sense, words are frequently replaced or supported by images, and narration is rendered through dynamic visual storytelling. Moreover, certain formal choices (such as visual humor, the updating of the language, and the presence of talking animals) reflect the adaptor’s intention to address a young audience. At the same time, this study considers adaptation as a real act of translation, an act that intersects with translation studies, narratology, and intersemiotic theory. In this perspective, Li-An’s adaptation becomes an interesting case study in verbo-iconic transposition, illustrating how graphic storytelling can both preserve and reinterpret a canonical literary text, introducing new expressive dimensions specific to the comics medium.