When it comes to studying affects, literature offers a perspective that can be strengthened by the contribution of psychoanalysis, even when this contribution remains modest. This is true with jealousy, which is central to La Princesse de Clèves (The Princess of Cleves) and A la recherche du temps perdu (Remembrance of things Past). However, readings based on the individual reactions of each different characters can give way to socio-cultural approaches – such as in Diderot’s work with Mme de la Pommeraie’s revenge driven by jealousy. The convergence of the two methods, psychological or phychaonalytic on the one hand, historical or sociocultural on the other, opens up the possibility of a psycho-political analysis of fictional texts.