Violence and the Sacred

René Girard (1923-) was Andrew B. Hammond Professor Emeritus of French Language, Literature, and Civilization at Stanford University, USA, from 1981 to his retirement in 1995. A historian, literary critic and philosopher, he is the author of over 30 books including Things Hidden Since the Foundation of the World.

• Acknowledgements1.Sacrifice2.The Sacrificial Crisis3.Oedipus and the Surrogate Victim4.The Origins of Myth and Ritual5.Dionysus6.From Mimetic Desire to the Monstrous Double7.Freud and the Oedipus Complex8.Totem and Taboo and the Incest Prohibition9.Levi-Strauss, Structuralism and the Marriage Laws10.The Gods, the Dead, the Sacred and Sacrificial Substitution11.The Unity of All RitesConclusionBibliographyIndex