Travel and the Sentimental Novel
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Sentimental Manipulations: Duty and Desire in the Novels of Sophie Cottin by Brenna K. Heitzman Department of Romance Studies Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Philip Stewart, Supervisor ___________________________ Michèle Longino ___________________________ Toril Moi ___________________________ Laurent Dubois Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Romance Studies in the Graduate School of Duke University 2013 i v ABSTRACT Sentimental Manipulations: Duty and Desire in the Novels of Sophie Cottin by Brenna K. Heitzman Department of Romance Studies Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Philip Stewart, Supervisor ___________________________ Michèle Longino ___________________________ Toril Moi ___________________________ Laurent Dubois An abstract of a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Romance Studies in the Graduate School of Duke University 2013 Copyright by Brenna K. Heitzman 2013 Abstract “Sentimental Manipulations: Duty and Desire in the Novels of Sophie Cottin” examines four novels by Sophie Cottin, from 1798 until 1806. A forgotten but once- popular novelist, Cottin used the theme of motherhood to develop the relationship between women and desire and duty. These novels use the sentimental novel in different ways that challenge the limits of genre and confront social perceptions of motherhood. The generic transitions reveal subversive representations of women’s sexuality and choice. The author’s rewriting of motherhood and genre thus plays a crucial role in understanding the complex and developing notion of the sentimental novel in a period of transition after the Revolution. The eighteenth century gave rise to more structured gender divisions in society that provided little space for women’s freedom outside of the patriarchal dictates of the family and motherhood. Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s 1761 publication of Julie; ou la Nouvelle Héloïse and his 1762 publication of Emile; ou de l’éducation are thought to have defined social roles for women in relation to their reproductive abilities. The novel, as a site of social production, was understood to have influential moral implications and was used to confront and maintain socially accepted behavior. Mother-child depictions in literature, therefore, reveal socially acceptable behavior for women. iv My first chapter examines the development of motherhood as a form of social duty imposed on women. I explore the Rousseauian themes in Cottin’s first sentimental epistolary novel, Claire d’Albe, published in 1978. The representation of adultery reveals the complex relationship between women’s duty, virtue, and sexuality. In my second chapter, I analyze how Cottin manipulates the epistolary sentimental genre in Amélie Mansfield, published in 1802. Cottin creates narrative spaces that privilege women’s expression and redefine women’s choice through a violent and controversial depiction of the protagonist’s suicide. I explore the social implications of the removal of the suicide scene from all publications of the novel after 1805. My third chapter examines the incorporation of elements of the travel narrative into the sentimental genre in Malvina, published in 1800, and Elisabeth; ou les exilés de Sibérie, published in 1805. Through the description of travel, I explore Cottin’s representations of duty and women’s education at two distinct moments in her publishing career. v Dedication To the three people who influenced me the most in my French studies: my mother, father, and grandmother. vi Contents Abstract ......................................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................................... ix Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 1 A Popular, but Forgotten Author ......................................................................................... 2 Cottin’s Life and Works ......................................................................................................... 6 Cottin’s Literary Influences ................................................................................................. 13 Contemporary Criticism ...................................................................................................... 19 The Sentimental Novel and Duty ....................................................................................... 26 1. Duty and Desire in Sophie Cottin’s Claire d’Albe ................................................................ 39 1.1 Women Writer’s after Rousseau ................................................................................... 52 1. 2 Motherhood in the Novel ............................................................................................. 64 1.3 Motherhood versus Individuality in Claire d’Albe ..................................................... 81 1.4 Adultery in Julie and Claire d’Albe ................................................................................ 92 1.5 The Death of the Mother .............................................................................................. 112 2. Epistolarity and Women’s Choice in Amélie Mansfield .................................................... 123 2.1 Filial Piety ...................................................................................................................... 131 2.2 Epistolarity .................................................................................................................... 140 2.3 Women’s Voice and Memoire ..................................................................................... 154 2.4 Re-writing Suicide ........................................................................................................ 170 3. Alternative Mothering and the Body: Travel and the Sentimental Novel .................... 183 vii 3.1 A Change from the Epistolary .................................................................................... 193 3.2 The Ideological and Historical Imperative of the Travel Narrative ...................... 199 3.3 Description in the Sentimental Genre ........................................................................ 209 3.4 Women’s Bodies Exposed ........................................................................................... 224 3.5 Travel in Malvina .......................................................................................................... 231 3.6 Peregrination in Elisabeth ............................................................................................. 244 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 257 Bibliography .............................................................................................................................. 274 Biography ................................................................................................................................... 292 viii Acknowledgements I would like to express my special thanks and gratitude to all who made this project possible. I thank my advisor, Philip Stewart, who offered assistance, support and guidance, and who readily shared his encyclopedic knowledge with me about the eighteenth century. I would like to express my gratitude to my committee members. Thanks to Michèle Longino for her attentive reading and for being a supportive and inspirational interlocutor. To Toril Moi who provided invaluable support and commentary during the writing process, I am incredibly greatful. Thanks to Laurent Dubois for his enthusiasm and thoughtfulness. Without their guidance and persistent help this dissertation would not have been possible. My thanks and appreciation goes to my friends and colleagues who have helped in various ways in the production of this project. My collegues at Duke University, Kathleen Antonioli, Jacquie Pound, Anne O’Neil-Henry, Nichole Dooley, Joyce Wu, and Dana Chirila, all read sections of this dissertation and provided an intellectual and stimulating space to discuss my work. I especially thank Lesley Curtis for being an incredibly thoughtful and attentive reader and offering helpful suggestions. I would like to thank Christine Blackstone, James Howe, Nikie Sarris, and Molly Jarman, who all read parts and suggested improvements. My love and appreciation go out to Mark ix Whitman for his advice, patience, support, and understanding. Their kind co-operation and encouragement helped me in completion of this project. It remains only to offer my many thanks to my family. I thank Karen and Jim for their support and and interest in my work. I would like to express my gratitude to my grandmother who inspired me to learn French. Thanks to my brother for being a wonderful listener. Thanks to my father who did not live to see this project completed, but whose inspiration made it possible. Finally, I thank my mother for her constant understanding, love, and support and for her enthusiasm and devotion throughout the duration of my studies. x Introduction The novels of Sophie Cottin are fascinating