French Women Writers - What is it all about?

Now that we have reached the end of the semester, I hope that you have made some connections in your mind between the various authoresses that you have read. As you work to prepare for the Final Exam, discuss the following questions here on the blog as well as with your classmates. These questions serve merely as a springboard to the Final Exam Question.

"In this course, we have studied, in part, the ways in which French Women Writers comment on the relationship between gender and society. We have discussed the notions of gender and identity and the ways in which our authoresses works represent the effects of the individual's gender and identity on her functioning within her own society."

Therefore:

What is feminine writing?
How is gender formed?
What is the importance of gender in the formation of an identity?
What is the relationship between gender and society?
What are the challenges of the characters depicted in the works from this course?
What interconnections exist between the works that we have read and discussed?
What do the characters learn in the course of their adventures?
Do we find similar character types throughout the works that we have read?
How do the characters in these works portray the struggle of women throughout the ages?

Histoire de la femme cannibale - Maryse Condé

Pour certains, Histoire de la femme cannibale, le roman de Maryse Condé qui est sorti en 2003, est une histoire compliquée. Qu'est-ce que vous pensez de ce roman? Utilisez ce blog pour parler de vos idées et de vos impressions sur votre lecture de ce roman. Discutez des problèmes et des difficultés que vous avez vis-à-vis de ce roman.

Claire de Duras / Marguerite Duras

Vous terminez Ourika de Claire de Duras et vous commencez à lire L’Amant de Marguerite Duras. Est-ce qu'il existe des similarités entre les deux œuvres ? En quoi consistent les différences principales ? Quelle est l’importance du développement de son amour-propre (self-esteem) dans les deux romans? Discutez-en.

Blog / Reflective Journal Evaluations

As we are now approaching midterm, I would like you each to take a moment to post your assessments of both the blog and the Reflective Journals. How do you feel about each of them? What do they add to the French Women Writers course? What could be done to better them?

The State of "Woman"

So far, we have read the words/works of Marie de France, Christine de Pisan, Louise Labe, Marguerite de Navarre, Madame de Sevigne, and Madame de Lafayette. In your opinion, what is the state of "woman" in Medieval and Renaissance/Post-Renaissance France? Are there any burning issues that you think need to be or will be resolved in Enlightenment France?

"Sensible ou raisonnée"

We have already discussed the idea of Sense and Sensibility with Marguerite de Navarre and Mme de Sévigné. Let us now apply this same idea to Mme de Lafayette? Is Mme de Lafayette “sensible” or is she “raisonnée”?

"Raisonnable" or "Sensible"

After reading the first set of letters by Madame de Sévigné, please discuss the following:

In your opinion, which of our two most recent authoresses (Marguerite de Navarre and Madame de Sévigné) is more "Raisonnable" and which is more "Sensible"?

Reflections on Marguerite de Navarre's Tales of the Heptameron

In the last paragraph of her article “L’Infidélité féminine dans l’Heptaméron”, Madeleine Lazard states that “l’affrontement des sexes tourne habituellement au désavantage de la femme”. Throughout her essay, she provides several accounts of infidelity on the part of the woman, while at the same time stating that indiscretions on the part of the man are met without consequence. It is her thesis that the Heptaméron is full of improprieties of women which causes the events in the story to turn towards the betterment of the man, leaving the woman coming up short in the end. Based on your reading, what do you think of Lazard's statement?

Louise Labé

As I have already mentioned, Louise Labé is reknowned for the sensuous nature of her poetry. In your opinion, what makes her poetry so sensuous?

Importance of Awareness of Authorship

On the Discussion Questions that I distributed today, I ask you to think about the following question: "Is Christine de Pisan aware of the importance of her authorship? How?"

In your opinion, what is the importance of an author recognizing his/her contribution and/or responsibility to writing in general?

Love and Marriage...Go together like a horse and carriage?

After reading the .pdf texts by Christine de Pisan that I sent today, post here your comments on the following:

In the writing of Christine de Pisan, do love and marriage go together like a horse and carriage? What are the sweetnesses of marriage of which she writes?

Christine de Pisan - A Feminist Writer?

Some scholars have called Christine de Pisan one of the first feminist writers?

What, in your opinion, defines a feminist writer?

What is love?

As we discussed in class today, in her "Lais," Marie de France talks a lot about love. What does she say about love? What is her message?

What do you think love is?

What is a fable?

Next class, we will be talking about fables (in particular, those of Marie de France). In your own words, what is a fable? ...

La Querelle des femmes

Please consult the following web site on the Querelle des femmes. We will discuss it on Wednesday.

www.womenpriests.org/traditio/list_qu.asp


What did you think of our discussion today on "Writing Woman"? Is this triple entendre reasonable?

Marie de France - Feminine/Feminist Writer?

This weekend, you will be reading Michelle Freeman's article on Marie de France (Marie de France's Poetics of Silence) . Before coming to class next Monday, please do the following :

1. Summarize Michelle Freeman's thesis in one sentence.
2. Write one question about Marie de France that has surfaced after you have read the article.
3. Visit the wiki on Marie de France at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_de_France to obtain some biographical information on Marie de France.

Female, Feminine, Feminist

As I mentioned in class today, I would like you all to think a little bit about the connotations and denotations of the words "Female," "Feminine," and "Feminist." These are important terms in a diachronic approach to the study of French Women Writers.

Very soon, we will begin to discuss Marie de France, and we will think and talk about how these terms operate in conjunction with her writings.

Doc Gray

French Women Writers - Fall 2007

Dear FREN321 Students:

I am so excited that you have chosen to enroll in this course this semester. I know that this will be a great learning experience for everyone (including me!).

Welcome to the course!