"Mais en si peu de temps que peut faire une femme?": female subversion in the plays of Racine and Corneille

The belief in fundamental distinctions based on sex/gender has been a longstanding basis for inequality through history and literature. Though many notable instances have appeared over time, the seventeenth century stands out as a pivotal yet paradoxical period for the discourse surrounding women in France: on the one hand, the literary salons enabled a rise in female influence on the cultural and literary scene, and the kingdom of France was ruled by a woman, Anne d’Autriche, during the regency. On the other hand, however, events such as the Fronde – an aristocratic revolt against king Louis XIII, in-part led by women – brought forth a more prevalent, negative perception of female agency. Through King Louis XIV’s influence, theater became one of the most popular literary and social mediums among the aristocracy, as well as a means to control the morals and behaviors of the court. My research focuses on Jean Racine’s and Pierre Corneille’s works, and more specifically their heroines, who seemingly morph into disruptive forces and pose a threat to male-dominated orders, while also redefining the binary boundaries of gender.

This study highlights the fragility of gendered power and pre-established gender roles, as well as the subversive nature of female subjectivity and I have chosen to analyze these plays under the lens of gender theorists such as Judith Butler and Judith Halberstam, as well as French psychoanalytic feminists Luce Irigaray, Julia Kristeva, Hélène Cixous and critical theorist Kaja Silverman, so as to shed a new light on the place of women in French history and literature and emphasize the ongoing relevance of these canonical works.