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Dans cette dissertation, je me propose d'analyser quatre oeuvres pour en tirer les themes communs et divergents. La methode utilisee est celle de la comparaison par dyades. Je vais montrer que ces femmes refusent d'accepter le code social qui les assujettit et qu'elles luttent pour garder leur identite. Nous avons trouve qu'il y a beaucoup de semes qui sont communs aux quatre oeuvres. Par exemple, cage, feu, amour, mariage, mort, religion et liberte (voir tableau en appendice). Parmi les quatre heroines, la princesse de Cleves et Therese ont trouve leur liberte en dehors du mariage. Madame de Cleves reste veuve apres la mort de son mari malgre sa passion pour le Duc de Nemours. Therese, apres un attentat semi-conscient sur son mari, se retrouvera seule a Paris. Cependant, Silvia a trouve sa liberte dans le mariage parce que son futur mari, Dorante, va l'aimer en depit de l'habit de soubrette qu'elle porte. En ce qui concerne Lotus, elle a trouve sa liberte apres la mort de son fiance, Georges, et a consacre le reste de sa vie a instruire des enfants pauvres. Georges, comme Dorante, aime Lotus et l'a aide a s'aimer elle-meme et gagner confiance en sa propre personne. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts. / Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2004. / Date of Defense: March 31, 2003. / Le Jeu de l'Amour et du Hasard, La Princesse de Cleves, Therese Desqueyroux, Fille d'Haiti / Includes bibliographical references. / Antoine Spacagna, Professor Directing Thesis; Joseph Allaire, Committee Member; Erasmo Gerato, Committee Member.

This thesis is a comprehensive study of Monique Wittig's fiction, in which I explore the links between womanhood, sisterhood and writing. Particular attention is paid to L'Opoponax (1964), in which I argue that Wittig suggests a way out of the impasse of Freudian theories of femininity. This is achieved at all levels: stylistic, formal and thematic. I begin by defining my psychoanalytic and literary contexts (Freud, Klein and Irigaray for the former, contemporary French, English and American women's writing for the latter), in order to introduce the major debates connected with the concept of the female body and its representation in Western culture. I then show how the Freudian drama of sexual difference - namely, castration anxiety as it affects the little girl - is both powerfully evoked and systematically sidestepped in L'Opoponax, with its focus on relationships between women. Using Klein and Irigaray, I describe the problems arising within the mother/daughter dyad. I suggest that L'Opoponax hints at a healed relationship but also leaves much unsorted; this is seen to pull against the radical innovations of later texts, particularly Le Corps lesbien, accounting for some of the violence to be found there. The question of the mother versus the woman is thus not fully closed, but creates a space within which the amantes, female lovers, can begin to live and move. I end by replacing this question within its wider context as it is a crucial one for the future development of feminist writing.

This thesis is a study of the links between female emancipation and the theatre in seventeenth century France. Since both were considered problematical by some religious moralists, the discussion is situated in the context of religious criticism. The approach is broadly chronological and focuses in particular on the work of women playwrights. The religious background is summarized in the Introduction. Part One surveys the cultural climate, discussing links between salon society and the theatre including women's involvement as patrons; their presence in the auditorium and on stage; and the concept of 'bienséance', examined here in the context of the 'querelle du Cid'. Part Two considers the function of the stage as a place where women could literally try out different roles. It examines ways in which women were portrayed in a selection of plays from the 1630s to the 1670s (including works by Mairet, Rotrou, Corneille and Molière), discussing the images of 'la femme forte' and 'la precieuse', and the contribution made by playwrights to the contemporary debate on female emancipation. Part Three is devoted to the work of six women playwrights who had their work published or performed in France between 1650 and 1691 (Madame de Saint-Balmon, Marthe Cosnard, Françoise Pascal, Marie-Catherine Desjardins, Madame Deshoulieres and Catherine Bernard) and one whose only play was performed in England (Anne de La Roche-Guilhen). The discussion focuses not only on the plays themselves and their inspiration, but on what is known of each author's background and literary career, her contacts in literary society and the reception of her work. The involvement of women in the theatre proved of mutual benefit, contributing to its popularity and providing opportunities for their greater freedom and intellectual development.