A comprehensive new biography on the life of a French intellectual of international prominence who crossed the boundaries of literature, history, psychology, sociology, anthropology and religion. Many of us felt this honor was long overdue, given his international prominence as a French intellectual whose works had crossed the boundaries of literature, history, psychology, sociology, anthropology and religion.
The title is apt. Mimetic desire gives rise to rivalries and violence and eventually to the scapegoating of individuals and groupsโa process that unites the community against an outsider and temporarily restores peace.
Girard believes that the scapegoat mechanism has been intrinsic to civilization from its beginning to our own time. With his thick dark hair and leonine head, he was an imposing figure whose brilliance intimidated us all. Yet he proved to be generous and tolerant, even when I announced that I was to have another childโmy third in five years of marriage. Whatever his private feelings about maternal obligationsโhe and his wife, Martha, had children roughly the same age as oursโhe always showed respect for my perseverance in the dual role of mother and scholar.
Under his direction, I managed to finish my doctorate in and commenced a career as a professor of French. Fast forward to , when Girard came to Stanford University. I had been a member of the Stanford community for two decades, first through my husband, then on my own as a director of the Center for Research on Women. On campus, Girard quickly became a hallowed presence, a status he maintained long after his official retirement.
Among the people drawn into his life at Stanford was Ms. Her carefully researched biography is a fitting tribute to her late friend and one that will enlighten both specialists and non-specialists alike. Think of the lynching of African-Americans, the systematic extinction of Jews in Nazi Germany, the murder of Christians in Muslim countries, and the current animus toward immigrants in Europe and America.
