While his impact in Anglo-American academic circles has been huge, Žižek remains largely unread, even unknown, in France. The aim of this article is, in consequence, threefold: to examine the reasons for this apparent indifference, to submit Žižek’s provocative style to critical appraisal, and to assess the relevance of his thought to the study of literature. Through reference to an impressive array of cultural material, Žižek refashions concepts of fantasy and ideology central to an understanding of the text’s complex relations with its cultural moment.