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Text in French; abstract in French and English / Observatrice des réalités quotidiennes camerounaises, Calixthe Beyala a publié, en 1987, un roman intitulé C’est le soleil qui m’a brûlée. Dans ce roman, elle montre au lecteur comment la femme, victime de la tradition, utilise, avec l’apport de la modernité, son corps comme moyen pour reconquérir son moi profond, et retrouver sa liberté. En 1994, elle a écrit et publié Assѐze, l’Africaine. Et en 2003, elle a publié Femme nue, femme noire. Après une lecture minutieuse de ces trois livres, le lecteur peut facilement découvrir que Calixthe Beyala place la femme au centre de sa préoccupation littéraire. Et elle examine, dans sa fiction, deux thѐmes: la tradition et la modernité. Qu’entend-elle par tradition et modernité? Comment examine-t-elle ces deux thѐmes dans les ouvrages de notre corpus? Quelles solutions propose-t-elle à la femme, d’une part, pour se libérer du joug de la tradition et de la domination masculine, et d’autre part, pour (re)conquérir son corps, son moi profond et pour son émancipation? / Observer of the daily Cameroonian realities, Calixthe Beyala published, in 1987, a novel entitled C’est le soleil qui m’a brûlée. In this novel, she shows the reader how a woman, victim of tradition, uses her body as means to reconquer herself and to find her freedom. In 1994, she wrote and published Assèze, l’Africane. And in 2003, she published Femme nue, femme noire. After a careful reading of the three novels, the reader can easily discover that Calixthe Beyala places woman in the center of her literary preoccupation. And she examines, in her fiction, two themes, tradition and modernity. What does she mean by tradition and modernity? How does she examine these two themes in the novels of our study? What solutions does she propose to the woman, firstly, to liberate herself from the yoke of tradition and male’s domination, and secondly, to reconquer her body, herself and her emancipation? / Classics and World Languages / M.A. (French)

This study analyzes the experience of alienation from family and culture as portrayed in the personal narratives of francophone women. The authors appearing in this study are Assia Djebar and Marie Cardinal, from Algeria, Mariama Bâ and Ken Bugul, from Senegal, Marguerite Duras and Kim Lefèvre, from Vietnam, Calixthe Beyala, from Cameroon, Gabrielle Roy, from Canada, and Maryse Condé, from Guadeloupe. Alienation is deconstructed into the domains of blood, money, land, religion, education and history. The authors’ experiences of alienation in each domain are classified according to severity and cultural normativity. The study seeks to determine the manner in which alienation manifests in each domain, and to identify factors which aid or hinder recovery. Alienation in the domain of blood occurs as a result of warfare, illness, racism, ancestral trauma, and the rites of passage of menarche, loss of virginity, and menopause. Money-related alienation is linked to endemic classism, often caused by colonial influence. The authors experienced varying degrees of economic vulnerability to men, depending upon cultural and familial norms. Colonialism, warfare and environmental depending upon cultural and familial norms. Colonialism, warfare and environmental degradation all contribute to alienation in the domain of land. Women were found to be more susceptible to alienation in the domain of religion due to patriarchal religious constructs. In the domain of education, it was found that some alienation is inevitable for all students. Despite its inherent drawbacks, education provides tools for empowerment which are crucial for overcoming alienation. Alienation in the domain of history was found to hinder recovery due to infiltration of past trauma into the present, while empowerment in this domain fosters optimism and future-oriented thinking. Each domain offers opportunities for empowerment, and it is necessary to work within the domains to create a safe haven for recovery. Eight of the nine authors experienced at least a partial recovery from alienation. This was accomplished via cathartic release of negative emotions. Catharsis is achieved by shedding tears, talking, or writing about the negative experiences. The personal narrative was found to be especially helpful in promoting healing both for the author and the reading audience. / Classics and World Languages / D. Litt. et Phil. (French)