Infertility and the Novels of Sophie CottinAs a result of many factors, among them the writings of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, late eighteenth-century France had become a fiercely pronatalistic culture; women were valorized essentially through their fertility, that is, through maternal production. Having openly espoused Rousseau's ideas on the proper social roles for women, Cottin understood well that there was little use for barren women like herself in post-revolutionary French culture. Caught between the ideological positions she had embraced and the reality of her sterility, she cast about for alternatives. In the early years of her widowhood, she took up writing in a serious way, admitting that she found writing therapeutic. |
Contents
| 17 | |
Infertility and Plenitude in Claire dAlbe | 50 |
Back in Step with JeanJacques Malvina | 71 |
The Anger of Amelie Mansfield | 82 |
Mathilde and the Miracle of Bagneres | 102 |
Filial Devotion in Elisabeth | 135 |
Conclusion | 153 |
Notes | 158 |
| 163 | |
| 166 | |
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Common terms and phrases
Agnès Amélie Mansfield Amélie's amour autre Azaïs Bagnères Bagnères-de-Bigorre believe bien bonheur c'est Champlan Charlotte Corday child Christian ciel Claire d'Albe Claire's coeur cousin d'être d'une daughter death Devaines devoirs Dieu Edmond Elisabeth elle enfants epistolary novel Ernest être fait father faut feel femme France Frédéric friendship give happiness heart heroine homme husband infertility innocence j'ai jamais Jean-Honoré Fragonard Julie Julie's l'amour le devoir letter live Lusignan Madame Madame de Genlis Malek Adhel Malvina Maradan marriage marry Mathilde Mathilde's menstruation mère Michaud monde mother n'est never Paris passion pensée peut plaisir Pyrenees qu'à qu'elle qu'il qu'on qu'une rien Rousseau Sainte-Beuve Saladin seul Smoloff Sophie Cottin story suffering tells tendre tion Tobolsk tomb Tonneins tout trouve Verdier vertu veux virtue voilà voir vows wife Woldemar woman women writing
Popular passages
Page 13 - Thus, towards the end of the eighteenth century a change came about which, if I were rewriting history, I should describe more fully and think of greater importance than the Crusades or the Wars of the Roses. The middle-class woman began to write.
Page 18 - Thus the whole education of women ought to be relative to men. To | please them, to be useful to them, to make themselves loved and honored by them, to educate them when young, to care for them when grown, to counsel them, to console them, and to make life agreeable and sweet to them— these are the duties of women at all times, and what should be taught them from their infancy.
Page 18 - Ainsi toute l'éducation des femmes doit être relative aux hommes. Leur plaire, leur être utiles, se faire aimer et honorer d'eux, les élever jeunes, les soigner grands, les conseiller, les consoler, leur rendre la vie agréable et douce ; voilà les devoirs des femmes dans tous les temps , et ce qu'on doit leur apprendre dès leur enfance.