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WOMAN AND SOCIETY: FEMINIST IDEAS IN THE NOVEL OF MADAME DE STAЁL «DELPHINE»

https://doi.org/10.24833/2410-2423-2019-2-18-69-76

Abstract

This article examines the expression of feminist ideas in the narrative of the novel “Delphine” by the French writer of the early 19th century Germaine de Stael. Self-reflection of the woman-author is expressed in the character of the heroine, who is artistically represented in the framework of gender discourse, inextricably linked with the historical and social context of the era. The article analyzes the representation of the feminist ideas in the form of an artistic text, which has influenced further development of gender issues in French literature. The analysis is based on modern theories of gynocritics, “double voice”, in particular, which allows one to interpret the text of the selected novel from the point of view of feminist concepts. Having selected the epistolary genre, which presupposes the presence of an “omniscient reader” (lecteur omniscient), having chosen a feminist theme and also entitled the novel in the name of the main heroine, de Stael had created new forms for a literary embodiment of gender themes that would later originate the concept “women’s writing” and would be developed by feminist theorists.

The main aspect of the analysis lies in the gender identity of the heroine of Madame de Stael’s novel “Delphine”, whose romantic exclusiveness is depicted by the writer through intellectual and moral independence. This image is interesting in that it portrays the feminist sentiments of a later time.

About the Author

S. A. Bakaeva
Moscow State Institute of International Relations (University)
Russian Federation

Sophia A. Bakaeva - PhD, Professor of the French Language Department, MGIMO-University.

76, Prospect Vernadskogo, Moscow, 119454


References

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Review

For citations:


Bakaeva S.A. WOMAN AND SOCIETY: FEMINIST IDEAS IN THE NOVEL OF MADAME DE STAЁL «DELPHINE». Linguistics & Polyglot Studies. 2019;18(2):69-76. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.24833/2410-2423-2019-2-18-69-76

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ISSN 2410-2423 (Print)
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