Anna Ledwina

Marguerite Duras’s The Sea Wall is considered a novel with a traditional narrative. However, the struc- ture of the book, which refers to the writer’s childhood, turns out to be more complex. Considering the description of the literary characters, their behaviour, the way they express themselves, especially the dialogue form (the use of specific stylistic devices, i.e. diverse variations of reported speech), as well as the places where the action takes place and the time-space relations distort the model of a re- alistic novel. An insightful analysis of The Sea Wall allows us to understand Duras’ predilection for ‘experimentation’ in terms of writing technique, which makes the novel - through a specific vision of reality – an extremely interesting melange of real and symbolic elements, highlighting the importance of the unconscious, i.e. instincts, obsessions, hidden desires, phantasms. These elements, modifying the novel structure, allow for a poetic reading of the prose text.

Inscribed in human condition, Loss is an integral part of Duras’s work. It is a leitmotif of the novel Le Ravissement de Lol V. Stein (The Ravishing of Lol Stein), in which the feeling of love is shown as ambivalent, connected − on the one hand − with ecstasy, admiration and exaltation, and on the other – with suffering, loneliness, pain and absence.

Considered from the Lacanist perspective, the text allows us to see the originality of Duras’s prose, which involves capturing the unspeakable, the thing that escapes rational analysis and conventional writing technique: the subconscious. The author refers to it both in the thematic and stylistic layers, thus emphasizing the fragmentary nature of the language that implicitly transmits the eroticism of a woman condemned to silence.

A woman’s identity, including her sexuality, reflects, as it were, her struggle for freedom within the domestic sphere, throughout history and culture, and charts her route to emancipation . In the context of cultural, moral, and ethical facts inspired by the theory of gender, the aim of the paper is to set forth a reflection on the question of the figure of the transgressive woman in French literature of the 19^th and 20^th centuries. This issue is viewed in relation to the sphere of the author’s personal life, as well as taking into account the historical and anthropological perspective related to the specificity and mentality of 19^th and 20^th century France; in particular, the  social and public roles assumed by women yet imposed on them by society. Literary works by Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, Simone de Beauvoir, Françoise Sagan, and Marguerite Duras depict the picture of the modern woman, freed from the tight corset of etiquette, aware of her self-esteem, transgressing sexual taboos, and debunking fixed social and literary stereotypes.

The research strategy adopted in this paper aims to utilize a considerably broad observational field, making it possible to present the above issues from a  comparative perspective. From such a perspective, the picture of a woman contesting the fixed standards of the obedient wife and mother appears as a multi-level issue showing the complexity of her nature and an abundance of factors conditioning the female ego, who ultimately evolves from an initial aversion to bourgeois morality to an outright revolt manifesting itself through non-standard or even scandalous behaviour.

Works of S. de Beauvoir as an expression of a search for identity

The works of Simone de Beauvoir – an intellectual writer, an icon of feminism, and a representative of existentialism – explore the issues of gender identity and femininity. This article reflects on the writings of the author, which reveal the otherness of a woman who asserts her right to be present in culture. Her works also stress independence and autonomy. Beauvoir’s largely autobiographical texts express a search for identity by a woman with strong social and political commitments, who fought against injustice, intolerance, and wars, defending the rights of women and the human dignity. Through her critique of the bourgeoisie Beauvoir manifested her need for freedom, identified with her occupation. Aware of the limitations attributed to her sex, Beauvoir draws the portrait of a courageous woman with unrestricted identity.
These works remain valid even outside the academic discourse owing to their constant emphasis on creation, independence, and individualism as well as revealing exposures. Self-creation provides an interesting perspective on today’s humanities and inspires women’s writing in the 21st century.

Simone de Beauvoir in her autobiography Mémoires d’une jeune fille rangée describes her own way of getting to know herself, her abilities and limitations and her search for identity. Considering the past, she ruminates over how certain episodes from her life influenced her later choices, especially the writer’s sensitivity and personality. The autobiographical perspective allows Beauvoir to present evolution of young Simone’s behaviour and worldview, her dreams, traumas and obsessions. In this way the author sketches convincing portrait of a maturing woman, distinguished by brilliant intelligence, opposing traditional values of bourgeois environment, its morality and all authorities, a woman who could experience a kind of “conversion” and also fulfil her ideal of emancipation, and at the same time her idée fixe, which was to become a writer.

Marcel Proust’s epic work In Search of Lost Time (Remembrance of Thing Past) shows an innovative way of practicing literature as the artist’s struggle with time. This series of works, earning the author a place in the literary pantheon, depicts the writer’s desire to rediscover intensity with which he used to experience sensory stimuli and his wish to return to the happy times of his childhood and youth. This explains the special role of emotional memory that characterises Proust’s monumental work. The complex perceptual and cognitive mechanism of the narrator becomes the keynote of the work, which is saturated with smells of the past, with a clear dominance of subjective perception and description of the remembered events.

The aim of this paper is to show, that Andrzej Seweryn, Polish artist, presents the French literature
as a guiding light, by treating it like an art and a tool to promote a liberal conception of the
world, as well as by undertaking a mission to educate a general public, to sensitize and to respect others.
The oeuvre of this outstanding actor is a perfect means of communication, a fundamental way to
recognize the human diversity, and it becomes a part of the contemporary multicultural space. The
ability to analyse and to reflect as well as being opening to the world render Seweryn a fascinating
artist, a brilliant ambassador for contemporary stage, who wishes to make his contribution to the construction of the culture Europe.