Mystifier pour convaincre de la vérité: Octave Mirbeau dans l’Affaire Dreyfus

This article analyses the effectiveness and limits of Mirbeau’s literary strategies during his engagement in the Dreyfus Affair. Differently from Dreyfusard intellectuals involved in the affair who strongly relied on the publication and examination of original documents, Mirbeau believes that mystification can be a useful literary weapon to persuade the public opinion. Thus, Mirbeau’s strategies combine satire and the production of various apocryphal texts: imaginary interviews, fake letters, preposterous statements from well-known personalities. Mirbeau’s chronicles act then as an efficient critical mirror reflecting his opponents’ unfair methods, exposing their systematic use of fake information, their unethical motivations and cruel behaviours.