Possible Worlds, Possible Selves in the Works of Michel Houellebecq.

There exists a sharp divide amongst literary scholars about whether or not Michel Houellebecq's works reflect aspects of the living author's opinions and biography. In a new analysis of Houellebecq's creative practice, this article seeks to avoid the pitfalls to which either side of the debate is prone by considering his works as expressions of 'the possible' and, in particular, as explorations of the 'possibilities' within his own life. Houellebecq has himself explained the creative process through which his protagonists come into being in terms of the counterfactual and the possible—'j'ai pris un évènement réel de ma vie et je me suis demandé qu'est-ce qui se serait passé dans ma vie si j'avais pris la décision opposée'—having previously affirmed that they represent 'Ce qu'on pourrait être et qu'on n'est pas'. This article therefore proposes that his fictional universe can be read as an exploration of Possible Worlds, that is to say, non-actualized worlds that may have eventuated if circumstances in reality had taken a different turn. By extension, his protagonists, including his self-portrayals (in his novels, films and other mediatic projects) are frequently potentialities of the author, his story worlds depicting what he 'might have become'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]