Écriture Féminine: A Reading of Toni Morrison's Beloved

Abstract

Écriture Féminine, A Reading of Toni Morrison’s Beloved. The title of this bachelor thesis already indicates its focus. It is a topic that combines two disciplines: literary studies and feminist theory. More specifically, this thesis combines the American novel Beloved by Toni Morrison and the French feminist literary theory écriture féminine. Beloved can be tied to a broad variety of ongoing issues and debates. For the purpose of this thesis the novel will be subjected to a close reading that concentrates on those aspects that are relevant in connection to écriture féminine. The close reading will include an analysis of several passages of the novel’s text. The passages will be selected based on their literary, linguistic and historical features. Short excerpts from the novel will be interpreted in the light of French feminist écriture féminine and will hold appropriate terminology to further indicate the connection between the theory and the novel. The conclusions will be linked to themes established in the chapter about écriture féminine. These themes include: language, the body, love and sexuality, and the maternal.