Abstract

In Leila Slimani’s Chanson Douce (2016), the perfect nanny becomes a murderer: the novel reproduces a narrative of evil nannies who set themselves up in perfect harmony in a family before murdering the children. Louise is portrayed both as a heroine who ‘saves’ the family and as a murderous monster. Her body serves as a representative of this ambiguity: despite her fragile body, Louise possesses astonishing physical strength. Drawing on anthropological, social and cultural concepts, this contribution will analyse the linguistic and literary representation of Louise’s body, with reference to specific constructs and parts of her body: her employee’s body, her doll’s body, her hands and her face.