Abstract

ABSTRACT In “L’Eau et la folie”, Michel Foucault points towards a possible relation between water and madness in the “Western imaginary landscapes” – a relation that already made herself present in Histoire de la folie. Through the analysis of some of the key points of that work, such as the emergence of the Ship of Fools between the 15th and 16th centuries, and the therapeutic-punitive uses of the water in the 17th and 19th centuries, we intend to examine the triad water-morals-madness.