Title
Becoming (A) Woman in La Princesse de Clèves
Description
Video recording of a lecture delivered by Patricia Locke, Annapolis tutor on October 2, 2020, as part of the Formal Lecture Series.
Ms. Locke describes her lecture: "Madame de Lafayette’s book, La Princesse de Clèves, is one of the earliest novels of psychological realism, while at the same time it offers us an idealized description of an historical milieu. Our protagonist must wend her way through the Valois court, find Mr. Right, and become (a) woman in order to deal with the twin challenges of love and death. I argue that Simone de Beauvoir’s famous sentence, 'one is not born, but becomes, woman,' is tested in this novel. Will young Mlle de Chartres learn how to be 'woman' through her education? Or will she be able to transcend her education through her experience of the passions of jealousy, fear, and grief to become 'a woman' of inimitable virtue?"
Ms. Locke describes her lecture: "Madame de Lafayette’s book, La Princesse de Clèves, is one of the earliest novels of psychological realism, while at the same time it offers us an idealized description of an historical milieu. Our protagonist must wend her way through the Valois court, find Mr. Right, and become (a) woman in order to deal with the twin challenges of love and death. I argue that Simone de Beauvoir’s famous sentence, 'one is not born, but becomes, woman,' is tested in this novel. Will young Mlle de Chartres learn how to be 'woman' through her education? Or will she be able to transcend her education through her experience of the passions of jealousy, fear, and grief to become 'a woman' of inimitable virtue?"
Creator
Publisher
Coverage
Annapolis, MD
Date
2020-10-02
Rights
A signed permission form has been received stating, "I hereby grant St. John's College permission to: Make an audiovisual recording of my lecture, and retain copies for circulation and archival preservation in the St. John's College Greenfield Library. Make an audiovisual recording of my lecture available online. Make a typescript copy of my lecture available for circulation and archival preservation in the St. John's College Greenfield Library."
Type
moving image
Format
mp4
Subject
Language
English
Identifier
LEC_Locke_Patricia_2020-10-02_ac
Original Format
live YouTube webcast
Duration
00:55:09