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INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6" x 9" black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. ProQuest Information and Learning 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA 800-521-0600 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. SCREENING ZOLA S WOMEN DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Barbara L. Romanczuk. M.A. The Ohio State University 2002 Dissertation Committee: Approved b Professor Judith Mayne. Adviser Professor C. Dennis Minahen Adviser Professor Mihaela Marin French and Italian Graduate Program Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 3039517 Copyright 2002 by Romanczuk, Barbara Lynn All rights reserved. ____ _______ (f t UMI UMI Microform 3039517 Copyright 2002 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Copyright hy Barbara L\nn Romanczuk 2002 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. “Je ne sais pas d'etude plus attachante que I’etude de la femme dans les annales de rhumanite.” Emile Zola (Le Salut public de Lvon—July 7. 1865) Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT “Screening Zola’s Women” examines the sexual politics of the look in cinematic adaptations of nineteenth century novels and how the distribution of that look among male and female characters determines their agency. To demonstrate this. I focus on female representation and sexual difference as two integral components of the study of adaptations. From this base. I examine how cinema manipulates the female image to conform to its own sexual hierarchy and how the transposition of women into Film minimizes the agency of their novelistic counterparts. In this study, sexual difference and female representation provide the framework and methodology through which to compare novels and Films. This respects the autonomy of cinema to use novels as source material for original work in Film. As a result, each Film is regarded as an alternative “reading" of its literary source. Five novels of Emile Zola form the base of this study. They are: Nana (1880): La Bete Humaine (1890): Au Bonheur des Dames (1883); Therese Raauin (1867): and L’Assommoir (1877). The corresponding Film adaptations represent four distinct cinematic “genres” of French film and cover a period of thirty years. The films are respectively: Nana (1926) and La Bete Humaine (1938) by Jean Renoir: Au Bonheur des Dames (1943) by Andre Cayatte; Therese Raquin (1953) by Marcel Came; and Gervaise (1956) by Rene Clement. ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Zola, although consistently charged with the misogynistic representation of women, exposes and highlights communities of women in his novels. As a result. Zola's novels provide extensive documentation on women during the Second Empire in Paris. Zola privileges his protagonists with agency and narrativity, which permits them to express their desires and access the gaze. Gervaise. Nana. Severine. Denise, and Therese Raquin rebel against the established patriarchal order to affect a change in their lives and to escape their oppressive environments. Their voices are heard and their stories are told as they act on their desires. Zola looks through keyholes and records what he sees while cinema, on the other hand, looks through camera lenses and constructs its own mise-en- scene. As one of the last strongholds of patriarchal domination, cinema continues to dominate, manipulate, and matriculate the representation of women as commodified, sexual objects of the male gaze. This results in female icons who have lost their look, their voices, and their ability to affect change. Zola’s women escape the confines of their bookbindings only to be imprisoned by the finite edges of the film frame. iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. This dissertation is dedicated to my father. Joseph Marion Romanczuk. who taught me the value of hard work and perseverance and to my mother. Mary Eloise Wade Romanczuk. who taught me how to love. iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to thank my adviser. Judith Mayne. for her support and encouragement for the past twenty years. She has guided my work with interest, intellectual stimulation, and enthusiasm. As my mentor and my friend. I wish to express my appreciation for her insightful reflections and perseverance in the production of this dissertation. I also wish to thank Professor Dennis Minahen and Professor Mihaela Marin for their participation on my dissertation committee. I am grateful to Vicki Crombie for reading my work, offering suggestions, and researching vocabulary usage. In addition. I am grateful for her patience and encouragement and her "never give up" attitude. I thank my two sisters. Beverly Coomer and Sharon Morrow, for their support, encouragement, and confidence through difficult times. I would also like to acknowledge Dr. Philip Tieman and Bexley City Schools for release time to complete my studies. v Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. VITA August 8, 1953 .....................................Bom - Dayton. Ohio 1983 .......................................................M.A. French. The Ohio State University 1977- 1981 ..........................................French Teacher Ohio Valley Schools West Union. Ohio 1981 - 1983 ........................................... Graduate Teaching Associate The Ohio State University 1983 - present.......................................French Teacher Bexley City Schools Bexley. Ohio FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: French and Italian Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract................................................................................................................... ii Dedication............................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgments.................................................................................................. v V ita........................................................................................................................... vi Chapters: 1. Introduction..................................................................................................... 1 2. Nana—The Lost L ook................................................................................... 34 3. The “Eyecon" in the M irror........................................................................... 90 4. The Pleasure of Looking—The Gentlemen's Paradise.................................. 143 5. The "Eyes" Have It....................................................................................... 194 6. The Failed Entrepreneuse .............................................................................. 252 7. Conclusion....................................................................................................... 295 References.............................................................................................................. 310 vii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CHAPTER ! INTRODUCTION Novels and films tell stories about women, each in their own way. with their own signifying systems. Many films use literary sources as their points of departure and these films are called adaptations. As an adaptation, a film is problematic as a visual interpretation of the written