Genre and Literature in the Seventeenth Century: The “Princesse de Clèves” and its Political Stakes

Pierre Zoberman

Abstract


This article explores the political implications, both at the time and for present-day readers, of the way La Princesse de Clèves calls into question gender norms/roles. Analyzing plots and characters in Lafayette’s text and readers/critics’ reactions in various contexts, it foregrounds the unsettling potential of a text that paradoxically moved from the position of hapax-cum- media-sensation to that of a paradigm of the early-modern novel. By focusing on its continued efficacy in disturbing heteronormative stereotypes, it sheds light on the way literature from before the modern era can contribute to identifying and analyzing queerness and gender dissidence in past historical contexts.


Keywords


Gender, heteronormativity, Lafayette, queer theory, women writers

References


DeJean, J. (1984, October 5). Lafayette’s Ellipses: The Privileges of Anonymity. PMLA, 99, 884–902.

De Man, P. (1983/2013). Blindness and Insight: Essays in the Rhetoric of Contemporary Criticism. London: Routledge.

Edelman, L. (2004). No Future. Queer Theory and the Death Drive. Durham and London: Duke University Press.

Freidel, N. (2018, July 3, 79e année). Madame de Lafayette et Ménage: naissance d’une muse moderne. XVIIe SIÈCLE, 280, 487-498.

Genette, G. (1969). Vraisemblance et motivation. In G. Genette (Ed.), Figures II (pp. 71-99). Paris: Seuil.

Genlis, F. de (1802/2007). La Femme auteur - Critical edition by M. Reid. Paris: Gallimard.

Goldsmith E., & Goodman, D. (1995). Going Public. Women and Publishing in Early Modern France. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.

Lafayette, M.-M. Pioche de la Vergne, comtesse de (1678/1966). La Princesse de Clèves. Paris: Flammarion.

Lançon, Ph. (2009). Nicolas Sarkozy et la princesse de Clèves: une Love Story contemporaine. Critique, 750 (11), 931-944.

Laugaa, M. (1971). Lectures de Madame de Lafayette. Paris: Armand Colin.

Lukács, G. (1967/1999). Balzac et le réalisme français. Paris: La Découverte et Syros.

Miller, N. K. (1981, January 1). Emphasis Added: Plots and Plausibitilities in Women’s Fiction. PMLA, 96, 36–48.

Molière (1971). Œuvres complètes - Critical edition by G. Couton. Paris: Gallimard, t. II.

Pascal, Bl. (2010). Pensées, opuscules et lettres - Critical edition by Ph. Sellier. Paris: Classiques Garnier.

Tallemant des Réaux, Fr. (1961). Historiettes - Critical edition by A. Adam, Paris: Gallimard, t. II.

Valincour, J.-B. H. du Trousset de (1679/2001). Lettres à Madame la marquise *** sur le sujet de La princesse de Clèves - Critical edition by Chr. Montalbetti. Paris: Flammarion.

Villedieu, M.-C. Desjardins, dite Madame de. (1675/1995). Les Désordres de l’amour - Critical edition by M. Cuénin. Genève: Droz.

Zoberman, P. (2007). A Modest Proposal for Queering the Past : A Queer Princess with a Space of her Own. In J. Day (Ed.), Queer Sexualities in French and Francophone Literature and Film (French Literature Series XXXIV) (pp. 35-49). Amsterdam et New York: Rodopi.

Zoberman, P. (2008). Queer (au) XVIIe siècle ? Stratégies discursives et culture sexuelle dans la France de Louis XIV. In P. Zoberman (Ed.), Queer : Écritures de la différence ? Vol. 2, Artistes et Représentations (pp. 19-36). Paris: L’Harmattan.




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17951/lsmll.2019.43.1.5-14
Date of publication: 2019-04-30 09:43:22
Date of submission: 2018-10-30 18:29:55


Statistics


Total abstract view - 707
Downloads (from 2020-06-17) - PDF (Français (France)) - 598

Indicators



Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2019 Pierre Zoberman

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.