During the fin-de-siècle, stories about hysterical women filled the air of Paris and the novels emerging during this era conveyed this hysteria and openly portrayed the symptoms of the women being treated at the Salpêtière. This book examines the emergence of hysterical discourse and its influence on women's writing, specifically focusing on the presentation of female sexuality in three different narratives. In , Julie Lokis-Adkins offers a unique perspective on female sexual desire, hysteria and the state of widowhood in the context of fin-de-siècle women’s writing. Existing research on women’s writing is largely confined to looking at the narratives as ‘female authored’ and this is certainly the case with Rachilde’s writings. This study aims to break away from the predominantly biographical lens through which critics often examine Rachilde’s work and instead concentrates on the marital status and sexuality of her female protagonists. This project focuses on the connection between widowhood, hysteria and female desire for the fin-de-siècle woman and explores what factors either hinder or facilitate Rachilde’s heroines’ ability to achieve sexual autonomy. The narratives that I examine in this book can be read as a direct response to psychotherapy, the Women’s Movement, as well as the psychoanalytical theories emerging at the fin-de-siècle with regards to female sexuality. As portrayed in the literature of the time, nineteenth-century society had discovered that women did indeed have sexual impulses, even women without husbands, and the Decadents were intent on exploring them in explicit detail. In this book ,the author argues that Rachilde uses widowhood as an interpretative riddle in her literature to convey certain socio-critical elements which she could not otherwise express. As a result, widowhood acts as a facilitator in the exploration of female desire. Part One looks at Monsieur Vénus and examines Rachilde’s attempts at reversing traditional gender roles by letting sexual perversion permeate anything considered ‘normal’. Part Two focuses on Rachilde’s La Marquise de Sade and traces how the hatred for one’s own sex can lead to an inevitable hatred towards the opposite sex, only bearable by murdering that other. Part Three explores issues surrounding female destiny and the widowed woman as portrayed in La Jongleuse. --- from the publisher About the Author: Julie Lokis-Adkins, PhD, is originally from Seattle but relocated to London to pursue her Master’s Degree and Doctorate in French and Psychoanalytical Studies. After finishing her postgraduate work at the University of London, Dr Lokis-Adkins completed her clinical degree in Psychodynamic Psychotherapy at the renowned Tavistock Centre where she specialised in working with individuals and couples. Dr Lokis-Adkins currently resides and practices in the United States. |