Abstract
To study misreading is to understand a deviation from the norms of reading generally described in literary studies. It's about what the reader does or can do with the text. Bad reading is not the same as failed reading : dysfunctions can be fruitful, and the ways and reasons for bad reading change with the times. In the 19th century, the bad reader was the one who immersed himself in the world of fiction and over-valued the world of texts, to the detriment of reality. They were represented by Don Quixote and Madame Bovary. It is assimilated to the way women and children read. New ways of misreading appeared in the 20th century, at a time when literary theories were constructing the imaginary of the excellent reader (Iser, Eco). Writers (Sartre, Barthes) put these deviant readings on stage. Others, like Henry James or Stephen King, go so far as to give a voice to bad readers, portraying them in their passionate relationship with texts, and inviting us to accompany them in their love or hatred of books.
