Reconstructing Woman - From Fiction to Reality in the Nineteenth-Century French Novel

At the same time, these authors explore the ways in which not only bodies but also identity can be made. In close readings, Kelly shows how these narratives reveal that linguistic and coded social structures shape human identity. Furthermore, through the representation of the power of language to do that shaping, the authors envision that their own texts would perform that function. The symbol of the reconstruction of woman thus embodies the fantasy and desire that their novels could create or transform both reality and their readers in quite literal ways. Through literary analyses, we can deduce from the texts just why this artificial creation is a woman.

About the author

Dorothy Kelly is Professor of French at Boston University.

Summary

Explores a scenario common to the works of four French novelists: Balzac, Flaubert, Zola, and Valle's. This book reviews some of the contributing trends that attracted one or more of the authors: mesmerism, dissection, transformism and evolution, understandings of human reproduction, spontaneous generation, puericulture, the experimental method.

Product details

• Authors: Dorothy Kelly, Dorothy (Boston University) Kelly, Kelly Dorothy
• Publisher: University Presses
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 18.03.2008
• EAN: 9780271032665
• ISBN: 978-0-271-03266-5
• Dimensions: 152 mm x 229 mm x 12 mm
• Weight: 426 g
• Illustrations: Illustrationen, nicht spezifiziert
• Series: Penn State Romance Studies; Penn State Romance Studies
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Linguistics and literary studies > English linguistics / literary studies; French, LITERARY CRITICISM / European / French, LITERARY CRITICISM / Modern / 19th Century, Literary studies: c 1800 to c 1900, Literary studies: fiction, novelists & prose writers, Literary studies: fiction, novelists and prose writers, LITERARY CRITICISM / Novel as Form