Date of Award

1994

Document Type

Thesis

Publisher

Edith Cowan University

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts Honours

Faculty

Faculty of Arts

First Supervisor

Dr David Elder

Abstract

The work by French author Benoite Groult (1920- ) is an expression of personal discontent. Biographer Fernando Goutier (1978, p. 98) points out that from 1968 to 1975 an increasingly acute awareness of the political and economic situation of Women compelled Groult to write Ainsi soit-elle (1975). Ainsi soit-elle is the point of departure for our study of feminist perspectives in Benoite Groult's writing. The purpose of this research project is to explore the possibilities, and the validity, of a feminist reading of a selection of essays and novels produced by Groult between 1975 and 1993. Included in this selection are: Ainsi soit-elle (1975), Les trois quarts du temps (1983), Les vaisseaux du cœur (1988), and "Un mepris absolu" - an introductory essay to Cette male assurance (1993). This thesis examines a number of feminin/feminist issues. We trace, for example, some important features of the Feminist Movement in France this century. We also explore the ways in which the Movement may have influenced our social structure our interpersonal relationships, and our literature. Subjectivity plays an important role in feminist discourse. Subjectivity is welcomed as a means by which to assert the female voice which has been repeatedly ignored. For our study we have chosen to apply Reader Oriented Criticism - a collective title for a number of theories that acknowledge, and even celebrate, the subjective character of both the author (text) and the reader.

Comments

Abstract in English, thesis in French

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