ABSTRACT
Michel Foucault used the nineteenth-century case of Pierre Riviere to highlight his idea that reality and truth are sold as such by the powerful but countless other realities and truths are possible. Foucault's intellectual influence in the social sciences has endured, and much of his philosophical authority is built on his critiques of madness. Taking the 'facts' as first presented by Foucault, the scene of the crime was, as described by neighbours and the officials who were summoned, horrific but clear-cut. Beginning on 10 July and ending on 21 July, Riviere had written his long and lucid memoir whilst in gaol awaiting trial. Riviere's various statements about his motives contribute to the debate about his psychological disposition. At different points, he indicates madness, badness and normality. Jean-Etienne Dominique Esquirol was intent on investigating insanity meticulously, and his work was to have a considerable impact on how madness became understood and dealt with in the nineteenth century throughout Europe.
