Title: Female victims and oppressors in novels by Theodor Fontane and Francois Mauriac
First published: 1998
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.
Subjects: Women, Characters, History, Women in literature, Fontane, theodor, 1819-1898, Mauriac, francois, 1885-1970, Women, germany, Women, france, Women, history, modern period, 1600-
Places: Germany, France
People: François Mauriac (1885-1970), Theodor Fontane (1819-1898)
Time periods: 20th century, 19th century
LC classification: PT1863.Z7 W35 1998