Subject and Space in Catherine Millet's La Vie sexuelle de Catherine M.

Author: Morello, Nathalie

Source: The Modern Language Review, Volume 103, Number 3, 1 July 2008 , pp. 715-727(13)

Publisher: Modern Humanities Research Association

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Abstract:

This article departs from the prevailing focus in critical interpretations of La Vie sexuelle de Catherine M. on the textual display of female sexuality, and seeks to explore instead the neglected subject of space in Millet's text. The analysis of the elaborate play with spatial concepts, images, metaphors, and language is linked with a rereading of the construction of subjectivity and the self, leading to the conclusion that while La Vie sexuelle might seem to celebrate a postmodern shifting, fractured subject, it ultimately reveals a stronger pull towards characteristics associated with the Cartesian/Enlightenment model.

Keywords: La Vie sexuelle de Catherine M; space; Millet

Document Type: Research article

Affiliations: 1: Swansea University

Publication date: 2008-07-01

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