- ホーム
- > 洋書
- > 英文書
- > Literary Criticism
Full Description
An exploration of representations of female criminality in contemporary French crime fiction, this book offers a literary, sociological and feminist analysis of the stereotypes surrounding women and crime. Surveying how these stereotypes are both invoked and disrupted, it covers Pierre Lemaitre's Alex, Fred Vargas's Quand Sort la Recluse (This Poison Will Remain), Leïla Slimani's Chanson Douce (Lullaby) and Hannelore Cayre's La Daronne (The Godmothe) in their English translations. Addressing the gap of scholarly interest in legal and cultural representations of female violence in crime fiction, Ciara Gorman evaluates the subversive ways in which archetypes of female criminality — ranging from the femme fatale to the witch, and from the mère fatale to the bitch — are deployed not as reductive shorthands about femininity, but as motors of innovation and resistance. The form and plot of each text is examined for its potential as a polar féministe (feminist thriller), a crime novel which weaves the concerns of feminism — be that the prevalence of sexual and sexist violence in society, or the legacy of misogynist representation of women in the crime genre as a whole. Criminal Women considers the female criminal character as a figure of opportunity, the point at which readers and writers alike may reassess their assumptions about female criminality, and about the feminist potential of crime fiction itself.
Contents
Introduction: Myths and Mirrors: Narrating Female Criminality in Contemporary French Crime Fiction
Chapter One: Fatal Attraction: The Serial Killer and the Femme Fatale in Pierre Lemaitre's Alex
Chapter Two: 'Une femme martyre et meurtrière': Confronting the Witch in Fred Vargas's Quand sort la recluse
Chapter Three: Inimical Intimacy: At Home with the Mère fatale in Leïla Slimani's Chanson douce
Chapter Four: On ne naît pas garce: The Gangster and The Bitch in Hannelore Cayre's La Daronne
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index
