Even though Marcel Prevost was considered neither an author of world magnitude nor even important within the framework of French literature, he interests us from an historical perspective. The discursive tone he uses in his novels conveys a negative vision of feminism that was common in the last century. Prevost expresses within the romantic structure of his novels the unyielding masculine attitude in the face of women's quest for self-assertion. In his novels one cannot escape the tone of domination and control, and the revival of patriarchal power. Always very aware of his popularity as a writer, Prevost sought to instill his doctrine in the most subtle way possible, and while posing as women's ally, he remained true to his ideal of a domineering male. / It is only in the light of contemporary thought that we perceive the idealistic structure he was building. We rediscover the likeness of our ancestors, our great grandmothers, real and idealized by a masculine mind. Over the course of Prevost's novels we observe his image of Woman changing from a chaperoned entity to a quasi autonomous being, while retaining, in his eyes, the same mentality. The stereotyped and fixed role given her since time immemorial have left her without the ability to release her shackles and escape her subservient position. / Prevost 's language reveals the resistance of a man who foresees the inevitable day when Man will have to hand over to Woman the control over her own destiny. Throughout his works, mostly forgotten today, he exalts the young virgin, the loving wife and the fulfilled mother. Women who deviate from these norms are relegated to the role of degenerate, hysterical or unsound beings. The interplay between the forces of good and evil serves as a model to incite the reader into making the right choice. Prevost's only goal is to redress women's behaviour and help maintain their traditional role. His work strikes a nostalgic note of the past, recalling "la Belle Epoque" when women were imprisoned as much by conventions as by their corsets, while still letting one guess at their charms. Prevost chooses to continue not to see or understand Woman, only to better reinvent her on the wings of his imagination.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.39479 |
| Date | January 1992 |
| Creators | Petcoff, Christine |
| Contributors | Chapdelaine, Annick (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | French |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Doctor of Philosophy (Département de langue et littérature françaises.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001325467, proquestno: NN87540, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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