Desire and Repression in French Literature
S07
Isabel Roche
In this course, we will study texts from the 17th to the 20th centuries, focusing on the concepts of desire and repression as a window into both authorial intention and social context and codes. Among the angles to be explored: the function and functioning of textual (narrative) desire, the rhetoric of sexual desire and subjugation, the inscription of the body as object of desire, levels of aggression and passivity, and gender and language in relation to desire. Our reading list will include La Princesse de Clèves, Paul et Virginie, Madame Bovary, L’Amant, and Une si longue lettre.

Students are responsible for approximately 100 pages of reading per week, as well as for weekly writing assignments and oral presentations, which help them to further refine their linguistic, analytical, and expository skills in French. Students will also undertake a research project on a topic related to the course. Conducted in French. Advanced level.