The enterprise of the voices of the self is at an end. The word ‘enterprise’ reflects in my view the whole singularity of Guibert's work: an enterprise is a major project one carries out without knowing whether it will end one day or perhaps even prove impossible to finish, whence the entire theme of the work's incompletion. But an enterprise is also a constant tending to the construction of an edifice from compatible materials, a constant that emerges from the thematic I have been studying.

A comparison between La Mort propagande, published in 1977, and ‘La Pudeur ou l'Impudeur’, broadcast on 30 January 1992, clearly shows that the baring of the body, and the body as driving force in the narrative, is present in the whole of the work. The body is brought into play in some narratives (for example Les Chiens), in situations (for example Vous m'avez fait former des fantômes), and in relationships (for example Mauve le vierge or Mes parents). The ageing body forms part of the thematic of some books (for example Mon valet et moi), the sick body too (for example Cytomégalovirus), and the reborn body as well (for example Le Protocole compassionnel). Betrayal is another important element in this work: betraying confidences, betraying friendship, betraying urges, betraying fantasies, betraying secrets and betraying despicable acts—not only those of others but one's own. ‘(Nous deux—le magazine—est plus obscéne que Sade)’ (‘(Nous deux—the magazine—is more obscene than Sade)’).