Maternité, entre droit d'être mère et droit de ne pas l'être : un parcours à travers l'étude de certains romans contemporains français, italiens et de langue anglaise

Details

Supervisors

Mostaccio, Silvia

Faculty

Faculté de philosophie, arts et lettres

Degree label

Master [60] en langues et lettres modernes, orientation générale

Abstract

enThe present research addresses the concept of motherhood and its relationship with female identity over the past 50 years, from the 1970s onwards, from two perspectives: on the one hand the right to be a mother and on the other the right not to be a mother. Although at first sight the two themes (to be or not to be a mother) appear to be contradictory and opposite from one another, by the end of my research the outcome is far less clear-cut than originally expected. Indeed, since the context of the 1970s women's movements, fighting to legalise abortion and contraception (right not to be a mother), to today’s booming IVF techniques (right to be a mother), women are still striving for equality and for the right of free will while negotiating their female identity within a patriarchal society. The present research is based on the analyses of seven novels, each being the reflection and witness of the society in which they have been written.