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The authors introduce the thematic issue which presents articles focusing on physiognomy during the 19th century and discuss topics including Swiss poet and physiognomist Johann Kaspar Lavater, phrenology, and social and racial discrimination.

This article discusses the relationship between allegory and the creation and projection of images which create close ties with societal structures and represent society as a whole in a general sense. The way in which this process was handled by Parisian Physiologists is specifically examined. It looks at the attention given to symbolic attributes, the importance of capital letters, the use of images to develop textual manifestations of allegory, and the mixture of extreme self-confident knowledge with vanity.

The article examines small monographs from Paris, France, written from 1840 to 1845 and known under the name "Physiologie," including books such as "Physiologie des chemins de fer," by Édouard Siebecker, "Physiologie de l'omnibus," by Édouard Gourdon, and "Physiologie du gamin de Paris," by Ernest Bourget. Particular focus is given to the common themes of technological innovations and industrial modernity during that time period in Paris, France.

The article presents a reflection on the literary form of personal diary and particularly on the article "Délibération" that French author Roland Barthes wrote in issue 82 of the periodical "Tel Quel," published in 1977, which was an attempt for him to try this form of narrative. This article aims to study the specific aspects of the style of Barthes in this personal narrative in order to emphasize their importance in the reading of other of his books. The literary motives of certain writings by Barthes are examined.