Raptusformeln

Abductions were very popular in 18th-century literature. This study analyses bourgeois tragedies, abolition dramas and singspiels to show that abductions make it possible to deal with key themes of the 18th century. They set the scene for the relationship between the sexes and thus contribute to the discussion of the questions raised by an idea of love that was transitioning in line with emotional modernity. Abductions show dislocated and thus often socially dislocated figures and thus illustrate the experience that results from the transition from inclusion to exclusion individuality. And finally, the topos of abduction makes it possible to stage interculturality.