"A la recherche de la purete": Colette on Women Writers

Authors

  • Tama Lea Engelking

Keywords:

French literature, Poetry, Lesbian authors, Women authors

Abstract

"Purete" is a key, if ambiguous, concept in Colette's work that provides insights into her ambivalent attitude toward the writing profession in general, and the role of the woman writer in particular. Colette links purity and poetry in her characterization of Sido as a pure poet, and in her assessment of two other poets: Helene Picard, whose work exemplifies pure poetry, and Renee Vivien, the impure poet whose portrait is included in Le Pur et I'impw (1932). This study shows how Colette manipulates the concepts of pure and impure in order to highlight her difference from other women writers as she forges a new and positive identity for herself as a prose writer.

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Published

2001-10-01

Issue

Section

Original Research