Women of Letters

3 units

We investigate the representation of women in eighteenth-century texts. Why did the novel and epistolary fiction became so closely associated with women as writers, heroines, and readers in the course of the century? Why were women considered exemplary and yet, at the same time, a threat? The eighteenth century saw the last of the salons led by women well-versed in philosophy, literature, art, and politics. It saw the reinforcement of the opposition between the public and the private sphere. Woman was the incarnation of the ideal of liberty and yet excluded from the Rights of man. Rousseau praised women's role as nurturers and peace-makers but cast into doubt their capacity for genius. Literary texts that feature women became a sparring ground for two of the century's major literary trends: SENSIBILITE and LIBERTINAGE, for a woman's sensitivity was thought to contain the seeds of virtue and licentiousness. We investigate philosophical discourses on the senses and emotions and political discourses on republican responsibility. We read these texts in conjunction with the literary works of men and women authors, including Prévost, Marivaux, Graffigny, Riccoboni, Diderot, Rousseau, Charrière, Laclose, Sade, and Staël. Prereq: Fr 325 and Fr 326 or one of these courses and the equivalent WU transfer literature course from Toulouse or Paris. One hour preceptorial required for undergraduates.