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Otherness and vulnerability in Nella Larsen’s novels Lamia Mokrane Touati To cite this version: Lamia Mokrane Touati. Otherness and vulnerability in Nella Larsen’s novels. Linguistics. Université Côte d’Azur, 2018. English. NNT : 2018AZUR2015. tel-01955243 HAL Id: tel-01955243 https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01955243 Submitted on 14 Dec 2018 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. THÈSE DE DOCTORAT L’ALTERITE ET LA VULNERABILITE DANS LES ROMANS DE NELLA LARSEN Lamia MOKRANE TOUATI Centre transdisciplinaire d’épistémologie de la littérature et des arts vivants Présentée en vue de l’obtention Devant le jury, composé de : du grade de docteur en Langues, Stéphanie Durrans, PR, Université littératures et civilisations Bordeaux-Montaigne anglophones Corinne Duboin, PR, Université de la d’Université Côte d’Azur Réunion Dirigée par : Marie-Noëlle Zeender Redouane Abouddahab, PR, Co-encadrée par : Beatrix Pernelle Université du Mans Soutenue le : 18 Septembre 2018 L’ALTERITE ET LA VULNERABILITE DANS LES ROMANS DE NELLA LARSEN Jury : Rapporteurs : Stéphanie Durrans, PR, Université de Bordeaux-Montaigne Corinne Duboin, PR, Université de la Réunion Examinateurs : Redouane Abouddahab, PR, Université du Mans Directeurs de Thèse : Marie-Noëlle Zeender, Professeur, Université Côte d'Azur Beatrix Pernelle, Maître de Conférences, Université Côte d'Azur RESUME Notre thèse intitulée L'altérité et la vulnérabilité dans les romans de Nella Larsen est consacrée aux concepts d'altérité, de vulnérabilité et d'appartenance dans Quicksand et Passing. Ce travail s'articule autour de la question de l'identité des femmes noires et métisses. Puisque nous nous sommes proposé de considérer la place de Nella Larsen en tant que femme et auteur dans le contexte de l’émancipation des femmes Afro-Américaines en partant de sa place dans la Harlem Renaissance, une partie de notre étude examinera les tenants et les aboutissants de ce mouvement identitaire et culturel. Nous tenterons de cerner la spécificité de la voix de Larsen dans ce mouvement ainsi que son apport à la fois au niveau de l’imaginaire littéraire et des stratégies narratives que l’auteure utilise dans ces œuvres pour définir ce qui les caractérise. Nous nous sommes par ailleurs proposé de dégager ce qui fait la voix distinctive des réalisations de Nella Larsen en examinant son traitement du concept de passing, à la fois « passer » et « passer pour ». Cela a permis de situer les romans de Nella Larsen dans leur contexte et de montrer l'altérité et la marginalisation que les Afro-Américains ont traversées pendant la Renaissance de Harlem. En effet, Larsen démontre que même si les années 1920 étaient censées être une ère d'émancipation pour les personnes de couleur, elles souffraient encore de nombreuses discriminations. Analyser les concepts de race, de passing et de vulnérabilité dans les fictions de Nella Larsen a permis de prouver que même si l'altérité des protagonistes est confrontée à de nombreuses difficultés qui semblent l’éradiquer ;elle ne disparaît jamais et reste présente dans chaque personnage. Aussi, La soumission des romans à une approche pluridisciplinaire a permis d'examiner les causes et les conséquences de l'altérité dans les œuvres de fiction et d'analyser le concept sous toutes ses formes, qu'il soit racial ou sexuel. Cette thèse a également montré que les romans de Larsen vont à l'encontre du système totalitaire qui a de très mauvais effets sur « l’autre ». En effet, au lieu d'éliminer l'altérité, ce système l'accentue encore plus et « l’autre » se sent plus rejeté et marginalisé que jamais. Mots clés : société américaine, altérité, appartenance, genre, vulnérabilité, race, Renaissance de Harlem. ABSTRACT Otherness and Vulnerability in Nella Larsen’s Novels is devoted to the study of the concepts of alterity, vulnerability and belonging in Quicksand and Passing. Revolving around the questions of identity for black and mixed-race women, the study starts with a historical perspective of "otherness" in Nella Larsen’s novels while considering the marginalization that African-Americans went through during the Harlem Renaissance. Indeed, Larsen demonstrates that even if the 1920s were supposed to be an era of emancipation for colored people, they still suffered from many discriminations. Analyzing the concepts of race, passing, and vulnerability in Nella Larsen’s fictions leads us to prove that even if the protagonists’ otherness is confronted to many hardships that seem to eradicate it, it never fades away and remains present in each character. Submitting the novels to a multi-disciplinary approach has enabled us to examine the causes and consequences of otherness in the works of fiction and to analyze the concept under several forms. This thesis eventually shows that Larsen’s novels go counter the principle of totalitarianism as a system, be it social, political or linguistic in which "otherness" stands as the only possible way to establish one's identity. Key words: American society, otherness, belonging, gender, vulnerability, race, Harlem Renaissance. Table of Contents Acknowledgements… ....................................................................................10 Introduction… ................................................................................................12 Part I: The Harlem Renaissance: From Hybridity to Passing ........................ 21 Chapter I: The Harlem Renaissance: An enclave for African-Americans…..22 A. Birth and Development of the Harlem Renaissance .......................... 22 1. The Image of African-Americans in Literature ................................. 31 B. Women of the Harlem Renaissance ................................................... 37 1. Rebuilding the Image of African-American Women… ......................38 2. Nella Larsen Versus Jessie Redmon Fauset… .................................... 42 C. Quicksand and Passing Reviews… ................................................... 45 Chapter II: Passing as Performativity ............................................................ 62 A. Subverting Race: Passing and its Threat to the White and Black Communities… .................................................................................... 62 1. Is Race Biological or Cultural? ........................................................... 62 2. Mulattos: Between Hybridity and Monstrosity .................................... 69 3. Abjection .............................................................................................. 72 B. Passing: The Evolution of A Literary Tradition… ............................... 74 1. The Transformation of Passing Novels Throughout Time… ............... 74 2. Fatum .................................................................................................... 81 C. Types of Passing and Performativity in Nella Larsen’s Novels… ....... 85 1. Racial and Sexual Passing .................................................................... 85 2. Geographical and Literary Passing ...................................................... 91 Part II: Vulnerability in Nella Larsen’s Novels… ........................................... 97 Chapter I: Racial Difference as a Form of Vulnerability.................................. 99 A. Double Consciousness in Nella Larsen’s Novels… ............................ 99 1. “Two Warring Ideals in One Dark Body” ......................................... 101 Black Contradiction: Between Pride and Disgust of Color ............... 107 2. Whiteness: Between Love and Hatred for African-Americans… ..... 113 Medusa ............................................................................................... 114 Racial Fetishism… ............................................................................... 118 3. Racial Difference as a ‘Problem… ........................................................121 4. Stereotypes’ Internalization and Self-Hatred… .................................... 126 Chapter II: Gendered Vulnerability ................................................................ 130 A. Sexuality: Between Repression and Expression… ............................... 130 1. Gendered Roles and Sexuality in Nella Larsen’s Novels… .................. 130 Colors as a Means of Defense against Social Pressure ....................... 132 Combining Racial and Sexual Differences… ...................................... 135 Sexuality: Helga Crane’s Ambivalence ............................................... 139 B. Marital Sexuality in Nella Larsen’s Novels… ..................................... 149 1. From Desire to Repugnance .................................................................... 149 2. Platonic Relationships and Absence of Desire in Passing ................. 155 3. Irene and Clare: Between yearning and loathing ............................... 160 C. Motherhood Versus Motherlessness in Nella Larsen’s Novels… ......... 165 1. African-American Mothers… .................................................................165 The Effects of Motherlessness
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