Beatrice vue d'en bas de Michèle Mailhot, une étude narratologique féministe : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy at Massey University

Abstract

This study, written in French, is a feminist narratological analysis of Béatrice vue d'en bas by Michéle Mailhot published in Quebec in 1988. It aims to examine, in a textual and structural manner, the narrative characteristics of the novel in order to reveal its feminist significance. The first two chapters, entirely based on Genette's theory which provides a structural and textual approach, study the novel in terms of time, voice and focalisation at the levels of story, text and narration. Chapter three focusses on the question of characterisation, showing from the close analysis of textual indices how the main characters are constructed in the narration. Chapter four demonstrates how the feminine is inscribed in the novel by recapitulating those narrative specificities, outlined in the previous chapters which are characteristic of feminist writing as it has been defined by literary theorists such as France Théoret. The concept of intertextuality is also briefly examined from the same feminist perspective. The conclusion situates Béatrice vue d'en bas as a work of the feminist literary type known as "the writing of the feminine".