Female victims and oppressors in novels by Theodor Fontane and Francois Mauriac
By: Susan Wansink.
Series: Currents in comparative Romance languages and literatures ;; vol. 53
Publisher: P. Lang; Peter Lang International Academic Publishers; Lang AG International Academic Publishers, Peter
Published: 1998
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 139
Subjects: Fontane, Theodor, 1819-1898 -- Characters -- Women.; Mauriac, François, 1885-1970 -- Characters -- Women.; Women in literature.; Women -- Germany -- History -- 19th century.; Women -- France -- History -- 20th century.
Description: This book compares selected novels of Theodor Fontane (1819-1898) with those of Francois Mauriac (1885-1970), breaking new ground by revealing the strong thematic parallels and certain stylistic affinities in the authors' presentations of female characters and society. It focuses on the female characters in Effi Briest (1895) and Therese Desqueyroux (1927) as victims of a rigid, yet degenerating patriarchal society, and on the women in Frau Jenny Treibel (1892) and Genitrix (1924) as possessive dominators.

These presentations reveal the injustices and insufficiencies of a social system on the verge of decline, existent in both authors' fictive worlds.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [113]-136) and index.