French Essays Nineteenth Century French Fiction

french Essays Nineteenth blow cut FictionThe Representations of Women in Nineteenth Century French FictionDiscuss the representations of women in La curee (by Zola),Germinie Lacerteux (by Edmond et Jules de Goncourt), La brothel keeper aux Camelias (n.bthe play, non the novel by Dumas fils) and Le irascibility de capital of France (by Baudelaire).This research investigates in depth therepresentations of women in much(prenominal) French fiction as La Cure by Emile Zola,Germinie Lacerteux by Edmond and Jules de Goncourt, La Dame aux Camlias by AlexanderDumas the jr. and Le Spleen de Paris by Charles Baudelaire. The received run a riskings provoke that in these literary works the writers maintain the ideas ofrealism and pragmatism in regard to egg-producing(prenominal) eccentrics, get rid ofing the ro valettic portrait of fe manlikes and stressing on their exemption and informality. Somefindings of the dissertation argon consistent with the earlier studies of Frenchlite rature in the nineteenth century, while other impressions provide newinterpretations of a female issue.1 Statement of the caperThe representations of women in Frenchliterature of the nineteenth century reflect the writers attempts to providetheir own ken on females in the era of Libertin epoch, praising theirprinciples of liberty, that implicitly criticising their knowledgeableity and weakness.Contrary to Romantic writers, such authors as Emile Zola, Charles Baudelaire, AlexanderDumas the jr. and the Goncourt brothers adhere to the ideas of realism andnaturalism in their portrayals of women, proving that exactly the observation of differentsides of a individuals essence can provide understanding of the reasons behindfemale debasement and failure. In this regard, these writers represent theirfemale grammatical cases through societal, cultural and familial contexts.2 IntroductionIn France the nineteenthcentury was characterised by various mixer heightens that gave rise to theprinciples of libertinage and equality, but also negatively influenced the mostsubordinate group French females. The delectation became the track featureof French style of life. In view of these changes French fiction of thenineteenth century was divided into quad literary inspirements naturalism,symbolism, romanticism and realism. Although the currents differed from to all(prenominal) oneother, they stressed on the importance of a soul and the rejection of purereason and sociable standards. Following these movements, French writers started todiscuss a female issue through their female characters, debunking such negativesociable phenomena as female subjugation, divorce, prostitution, psychologicaldisorders of women and depopulation. In particular, they he atomic number 18d that, despitefemales attempts to achieve equality with males, society continued to impose certain tender norms and stereotypes on women, depriving them of the possibility tofollow their own paths. A cleaning ladyhood who worked as a prostitute or a handmaid wasusually regarded as a subject, a person of secondary importance in paternalFrench world, but it was this female who was often pictured innineteenth-century fiction.The aim of thisdissertation is to discuss the representations of females in La Cure by EmileZola, Germinie Lacerteux by Edmond and Jules de Goncourt, La Dame aux Camliasby Alexander Dumas the younger and Le Spleen de Paris by Charles Baudelaire.The paper is divided into several chapters. Chapter 1 provides a statement ofthe problem that reveals the core of the analysis. Chapter 2 reflects a genera rooterview of the issue, observe the fond and historical contexts of theperiod when the discussed works are written. Chapter 3 evaluates close to criticalanalyses of nineteenth-century French fiction. Chapter 4 demonstrates thetheoretical research methods that are utilised in the research. Chapter 5investigates in depth the representations of women in each n ovel, focusing onboth principal and secondary female characters. Chapter 6 summarises thereceived results, and Chapter 7 points at the limitations of the dissertation andproposes some suggestions for that research of Zola, Edmond and Jules deGoncourt, Dumas the younger, and Baudelaire.3 Review of the literatureNineteenth-century French literatureattracts attentions of various critics who provide sympathetica contradictoryviewpoints on literary works of French writers. This can be explained by thefact that in the period of the French Revolution and Libertinage, Frenchliterature began to move away from the traditional portrayals of characters to themore realistic representations. As Desmarais puts it, all the writers of the19th century are more or slight romantic but none of them could bedescribed as traditional. Introducing innovative elements intotheir literary works, these French writers made attempts to either uncoverdifferent sides of truthfulness or to contrast the nineteen th century with the past.For instance, analysing the literary legacy of Edmond and Jules de Goncourt, ElisabethBadinter cites words of Juliette Adam who claims that the Goncourts so cognizedand frequented eighteenth-century women that they scorn the women of thenineteenth, consigning them to wickedness, debauchery or imbecility.Charles Baudelairescollection of prose texts La Spleen de Paris was published hardly after his deathand the critics paid no attention to this literary masterpiece only at thebeginning of the twentieth century Baudelaires work was acknowledged as one ofthe best prose fiction. In particular, Robert Kopp draws a parallel surrounded by LaSpleen de Paris and Baudelaires poe translate, pointing at the fact that these prosetexts reflect the themes raised in the majority of Baudelaires poems.Emile Zolas novel La Cure was exposed to censure since its publication, butut the end of the twentieth century it was praised by modern critics as asplendid literary work of naturalism. Contrary to Zola and Baudelaire, the playLa Dame aux Camlias by Dumas the younger was accepted by French audience ofthe nineteenth century with delight, and its principal character white daisy becamethe prototype of m whatsoever female characters in films, plays and musicals. One ofthe most famous opera produced on Dumas play was Verdis La Traviata.4 Research methodologyThe research in this dissertation isconducted, utilising a social constructionist approach and a feminist approach.Applying to these methods, the paper analyses the representations of women fromdifferent perspectives and interpretations. The social constructionist approachuncovers the impact of society on the formation of women and its attitudetowards those females who reject the existing stereotypes. Thus, this method iscrucial for investigating the portrayal of women in French fiction. Another arrogate method is the feminist approach that is aimed at observing genderissues in literature, criticising pa triarchal society that specifically createsthe differences between men and women and imposes specific roles on women. Asfemales hurt been usually conformed to certain stereotypes in literature, thefeminist approach makes an attempt to annihilate these stereotypicalrepresentations. In this regard, both approaches analyse the portrayal of femalesin nineteenth-century French fiction through social contexts.5 Discussion5.1. Naturalism of La Cure by EmileZolaEmile Zola expires tothose writers who in their literary work present the characters that areclosely connected with their environment. In the novel La Cure Zola reflectsfemale characters through social contexts, demonstrating the impact of theenvironment on them. Thus, the writer is more interested in the temperaments ofhis women rather than in other aspects of their personalities. Zola considersthat female temperaments can explain their emotions and actions, their traffic with other good deal and their attitudes to the world, in which theylive. In La Cure female characters are with child(p)ly influenced by the events of theSecond Empire and the changes that Baron Haussmann introduced in Paris. As a resultof these changes, Zolas women are in search of pleasure and money. After thedeath of Aristide Rougons wife, the character is left with dickens children anddecides to sweep up a wealthy female Rene Beraud de Chatel, transforming his nameinto Aristide Saccard.Their man and wifeprovides Aristide with financial security, but this marriage of conveniencesproves to be unfortunate for the principal female character that is finallyleft without means of subsistence and a family. Rene looses her childrenduring pregnancy and puzzles engaged in various sexual intercourses. At firstshe initiates the transaction with Saccards son, until he marries otherwealthy but very ill woman Louise who dies soon after the marriage. Thus, Zolacreates two male characters a father and a son who link women withdisabilities fo r money, because they do not deplete another(prenominal) way to enrichthemselves. But Zola doesnt consider that these men are responsible for femalesfailure. Rene is portrayed as a woman who constantly suffers from neuroticattacks and devotes her life to balls, talks and sexual pleasures. Rene come forths to be a product of French patriarchal society that puts a woman into asubordinate position, destroying her self and making her suffer from ownweakness.According to thefeminist approach, such subjugation results in negative consequences for awoman, because she starts to substitute one extreme for another. Inother words, a woman turns from excessive subordination to uncontrollablefreedom. Before her marriage to Aristide, Rene gets pregnant and is abandonedby one of her yellowish browns, and Aristide appears to be a rescue for womans write up. This female character is portrayed as a simple sensualist who findsreal pleasure in social life and sexual traffic. When she meets Aristides son Maxime, a young stripling who greatly resembles her, she becomes his bangr. Althoughthe writer implicitly criticises Rene, he constantly points at the fact thatit is French society that shapes this female who finally destroys not onlyherself, but also people around her. Rene is against Maximes marriage toLouise, considering her to be a weak and ugly girl. She is not able to realisethe power of money for such people as Maxime and Aristide she is employ to spendmuch money and she regards it only as means that help her exist in Frenchsociety. Rene is emotionally pertain into the affairs with Maxime and sheutilises this young person for her own pleasures. This female is amazed bythese forbidden relations and doesnt want to regard about the consequences ofher action.In the characterof Rene, the writer embodies the essence of Parisian life similar to Paris,Rene is obsessed with highlife and pleasures, but behind this gorgeousappearance there are degradation and suffering. This f emale character reflectsreality of the nineteenth century when people run to certain extremes and werefurther destroyed by these extremes. Renes wrong ideals are a result of her lack of book education and social permissiveness that deprive a youngwoman of creating a normal family with loving husband and children. By the endof the narration Rene is completely destroyed by her obsession with pleasurebut Zola observes her weakness and foolery through the social pressure thatshe is not able to withstand. As Zola puts it, she had slid down a slipperyslope, yet she had not remained passive the whole way down. Desire had awakenedin her too late to combat it, after the fall had become ineluctable.The same regardsthe secondary female character of the novel Angle, the first wife ofAristide. She is also portrayed as a weak, passive and unhealthy female who isnot able to endure life in Paris. Contrary to Rene, Angle is not involvedeither in social life of Paris or in sexual relations because of her povertyand deplorable health, but her submissiveness is also formed by society, in which shelives. As Zola claims, To be poor in Paris is to be poor twice over. Angleaccepted misery with the passivity of the anemic woman she was. She spent herdays either in the kitchen or lying on the floor playing with her daughter.Angle is really devoted to her husband and children and refuses to be isolatedfrom young Clotilde when Aristide decides to move to Paris. However, Paris, thecity of changes in nineteenth century France, requires changes in individualsas well. Those people who fail to adjust to these changes are destroyed, thatis just the case with Angle.Aristides firstwife appears too kind and weak, the features that do not allow her to survivein the cruel and degrading Parisian world however, such characters as MmeSidonie, a sister of Aristide, is aware of the role of money in Paris. Zolaportrays this secondary character as a person who eliminates her emotions andinstead applie s to pure reason. When Sidonie visits a dying Angle, shecompletely ignores any morality or decency in her talk with Aristide She wasa good woman, his sister continued, speaking as though Angle were alreadydead. You can find women who are wealthier. Zola criticises suchfemale scorn, implicitly demonstrating that Paris destroys the souls of womenand makes them act, like machines, without any emotions and feelings. Thisrealistic portrayal reflects the negative impact of certain social norms onindividuals. Sidonie is used to interfere into the lives of other people anddecide their fates. Therefore, in his representations of women Emile Zolastresses on the fact that power and wealth depress females in France, butsimultaneously he contrasts these mean women with such good females as Angleand Cleste. As the writer describes, Clestes devotion pleased Rene all themore because she knew her to be honest and thrifty, a woman without a lover anduntouched by vice.5.2. Misogyny in Germinie Lacert euxSimilar to Zola, Edmondand Jules de Goncourt in their literary work Germinie Lacerteux create thefemale characters that reflect the ideals of muliebrity existed in Frenchsociety in the nineteenth century. Although their women reveal certain liberty,they are too preoccupied with their own sexuality. with their femalecharacters the Goncourt brothers reflect their misogynistic vision of femaleswho are not able to suppress their sexual desires and who become the slaves oftheir natural instincts. passim the narration Edmond and Jules de Goncourtexpress their longing for eighteenth-century females with their refinedappearances, exquisite manners and flirtation they long for the period of unafraid aesthetic values and courteous morality. Thus, their female charactersare usually portrayed as depraved females who end tragically because of theirweakness, poor education and lack of intelligence.GerminieLacerteux, the principal female character, is a woman who is sexually abused inearly years and who is not able to marry when she comes to Paris. However, hermotherly instincts are too powerful and she starts to look after a niece andanother child Jupillon. But when Jupillon is transformed into a man, Germinieexperiences a sudden passion towards him, and it is this passion that destroysher reputation and turns into poverty, because the love had been for theJupillon young person only the blessedness of a certain curiosity of the evil,seeking in the knowledge and in the possession of a woman the in effect(p) and thepleasure of scorning it. When Jupillon abandons Germinie, shestarts drinking and is involved in numerous sexual intercourses that bring herto death, similar to Dumas Marguerite and Zolas Rene. In this regard, Edmondand Jules de Goncourt uncover female passion that can gradually destroy a womanand depreciate her, criticising Germinies uncontrollable sexual desires andinstead maintaining the ideas of female virginity. As Jupillon tells Germinieduring one of their talks, you appear yourself well still, you are not myheart, you are not my life, you are only my pleasure.Contrary toother French writers of the nineteenth century that mainly portray females fromthe quality society, the principal female characters of Edmond and Jules deGoncourt fit to the middle-class. Such shift from aristocratic females topoor females reflects great realism of the narration, eliminating romanticismthat is usually utilised in French novels. The Goncourts naturalism explainsthe reasons of female sexuality and their further failure. According to the writers,it is really difficult for such a woman as Germinie to suppress her naturalinstincts and adhere to social morality that rejects any powerful emotions.Such females make attempts to change their conditions of living, but finallythey appear in the similar conditions as at the initial stage of life. TheGoncourts present this viewpoint not only on the example of Germinie, but alsoon the example of a secondary character look out over de Varandeuil, an old kindspinster who hires Germinie as a servant to her and who becomes mounty attachedto a young girl. As Edmond and Jules de Goncourt put it, This old womanisolated and forgotten by death, only at the end of her life, trailing heraffections of tomb in tomb, had found her last friend in her servant.However, suchclose relations between a master and a servant are not unusual fornineteenth-century French literature that usually reflects female servants asdevoted and hardworking people who gradually occupy the principal place in thenarration. Despite their different social positions, Germinie and Miss deVarandeuil finish their lives in loneliness, with the only difference thatGerminie doesnt suppress her sexual desires, while Miss de Varandeuil isolatesherself from the rest of the world, as well as from her powerful emotions.According to the social constructionist approach, a woman is created bysociety, in which she lives thus, her sexual beh aviour is also formed by theenvironment. In this regard, the differences in sexual desires ofGerminie and Miss de Varandeuil can be explained by their different backgroundsand upbringing. Miss de Varandeuil is the representative of a brokenaristocratic family that loses its fortune during the French Revolution, whileGerminie comes from a middle-class society that adheres to easier manners.5.3. Realism of La Dame aux CamliasThe play of Dumas theyounger La Dame aux Camlias portrays a pleasing prostitute Marguerite Gautierwho breaks the relations with her lover, Armand Duval, to improve hisreputation and soon dies of her incurable illness. In this female character thewriter embodies his lover Marie Duplessis who died at the age of twenty-three. Dumaspresents Marguerite as a romantic woman, despite the fact that her real lifewas not so romanticised. At the end of the play Marguerite claims that she haslived for love and she doesnt hesitate to die for love. By applying to suchtragic end , Dumas uncovers the social system of his metres, when a woman fromthe middle-class couldnt be engaged in the relations with a male of the upper-class,or otherwise she could destroy his life and reputation.On the exampleof this character Dumas the younger reflects womans degradation, but Margueritesdeath as a result of illness evokes sympathy towards her. Marguerite saves notonly Armand, but also his sister who at last receives an opportunity to occupyan appropriate position in upper-class society. In this regard, a life of onefemale is sacrificed for the sake of another woman, although Marguerite ispresented as an unusual female with many virtues. She is not only beautiful,but is also intelligent and grand. In the play Dumas the younger portraysMarguerite as a person with a slender figure, white face and dark copper. She hasamazingly bright eyes, full lips and unusually white teeth. She possesses agood taste in her dresses, in music, in art and behaves in a noble way. But,above all, this courtesan has a big heart, expressing sympathy andunderstanding towards other people. As Dumas describes her, There was a kindof candour in this woman. You could see she was still in the virginity of vice.No wonder that Armand falls in love with Marguerite from the first grasshowever, this popular French prostitute has never loved before she meetsArmand. As Armand tells the truth about his feelings towards her, Margueritelaughs at him, but he gradually persuades her in his love, and she returns hisaffection. When Armand speaks with his father, he says, Perhaps I am in thewrong, but I can only be happy as long as I am the lover of this woman.However, whenMarguerite finds out that she is ill, she realises that her past has deprivedher of future. Although noble people in nineteenth-century France were usuallyengaged in sexual relations with prostitutes, and these relations were regardedas natural, the situation was different in regard to love. The relations basedon love were fully prohibited by upper-class society, and an aristocratcouldnt love or marry a prostitute, because such action would destroy him.Marguerite has no choice, but to destroy the relations with her lover in themost complex period of her life. Dumas the younger reveals that Frencharistocratic society creates certain social norms those persons who try tooppose to them, are excluded from society. Thus, Marguerite appears to be avictim of these social norms, as she is engaged in illicit sexual relationswith men. As these relations are concealed, they are ignored by society, butwhen they are exposed, they destroy the reputation of a person who belongs tothe upper-class. Marguerite realises that her bad reputation threatens not onlyArmand, but his family as well, and she decides to break her relations with theonly person she really loves.Such actiondemonstrates that Marguerite is better than females of the upper-class, becauseshe understands her responsibility. Marguerite creates her own e xistence, but,as the writer puts it, Do not let us despise the woman who is neither mother,sister, maid, nor wife. Although this female character has neverbelieved in love and has utilised males for her own benefits, the relationswith Armand change her. Marguerite doesnt want to destroy Armands life, as shehas destroyed her own. As she tells him, your family would cast you off if youwere to live with a woman like me. Let us be friends, good friends, but nomore. Despite the fact that Marguerite takes this seriousdecision because of her sincere love to Armand, Dumas the youngersimultaneously shows that she adheres to the demands of French society.Marguerite is used to act independently, but in this particular case shedecides to reveal her subjection to society. In this regard, the writer provesthat the principles of Libertinage that were established in France in theeighteenth century were attributed only to males, while females were punishedfor any display of independence.In the case ofMarguerite, this female is first punished for her illegal sexual intercoursesand further for her love to Armand, the representative of the upper-class. Throughouther life Marguerite has collided with many obstacles and has successfullyovercome them. But she fails to defend her love against social prejudices.Contrasting Marguerite with females of the upper-class, Dumas the younguncovers the degradation of French society that rejects emotions and insteadadheres to the failed morality. When Marguerite abandons Armand without anyexplanation, he constantly humiliates her during their meetings. As Margueritefeels that her illness progresses, she comes to Armand one more time and she cantsuppress her desires. But Marguerite understands that she has to leave Armandwho is unaware of true reasons behind her escape. As a result, Armand destroysMarguerite during the ball by publicly giving money to her. After suchhumiliation Marguerite looses her friends and clients and dies in poverty andlo neliness. In prologue Marguerites lover receives her letter and realises thetrue virtues of this beautiful and intelligent female. As Dumas claims, Margueritewas a pretty woman but though the life of such women makes sensation enough,their death makes very little.In real lifeMarie Duplessie greatly influenced Dumas the younger, but it is he whoabandoned her, realising that he didnt have enough money to support this richcourtesan. However, as Dumas became more involved into the life of Frenchsociety, he began to observe the social attitude towards courtesans and decidedto reflect this attitude in his play La Dame aux Camlias. Through the characterof Marguerite the writer reveals his own opinion of a female. He portrays abeautiful and intelligent woman, providing her with many virtues and love, butsimultaneously depriving her of the possibility to marry a person she lovesbecause of her bad reputation. When after their prolonged parting Armand asksMarguerite, whether she is happy, she answers Have I the face of a happywoman, Armand? Do not mock my sorrow, you, who know better than any one whatits cause and its depth are. Thus, Dumas the younger implicitlydemonstrates that ideal love relations can be established only between a virginand a man with sexual experience.At the same timeDumas regards close relations between opposite sexes as a battle. AlthoughMarguerite has a kind heart and sincerely falls in love with Armand, she is nota virgin and is not able to fully belong to one man, with all her heart, bodyand soul. On the one hand, Dumas the younger reveals that a prostitute may be abetter woman than a virgin, but, on the other hand, he rises againstprostitution that transforms women into the subjects and deprives them of thepossibility to become good mothers and wives. According to the socialconstructionist approach, it was natural for a man of the nineteenth century toestablish sexual relations with different women, but women had to adhere tostrict social norm s. In the play Dumas shows that the marriage with aprostitute is equated with a crime, but Marguerite redeems her reputation. Butsuch prostitutes, with a heart, were infrequent in Dumas time, although someof his secondary female characters are also beautiful and intelligent. Forinstance, he introduces M de N. into his narration, a prostitute and anacquaintance of Marguerite. As the writer characterises her, the man who wasthe lover of such a woman might well be as proud as M. de N., and she wasbeautiful enough to inspire a passion. When Armand utilises herto avenge Marguerite, she reveals an unusual intelligence when she claims,you love Marguerite, and you want to have revenge upon her by becoming mylover. You dont deceive a woman like me, my dear friend.5.4. Ambiguity of Le Spleen deParis by BaudelaireSimilar to Emile Zola,Baudelaire reveals his female characters through social environment this isespecially obvious in his collection of prose texts Le Spleen de Paris, wherehe shows an impact of Paris on women. When Baudelaire arrived to Paris, he hadto live in various parts of the city, observing the life of women in theseplaces. In the text The Despair of the Old Woman, the writer reflects hissympathy to an aged female who experiences great despair, as she sees a childand wants to smile at him, but the child is afraid of this old woman who doesnthave hair and teeth. This lonely woman is horrified by such attitude and shecries Ah For us, unhappy female old women, the age passed to like, even withthe innocent ones, and we make horror with the little children that we want tolike.Baudelaireregards such women as victims of life who play loneliness and misery. Applyingto such horror portrayals, the poet implicitly criticises those women who areobsessed with their material well-being, ignoring the reality and the beauty ofthe world around them. In Le Spleen de Paris Baudelaire draws a parallelbetween one woman and another, as well as between a man and a woman. In thetext The Wild Woman and the Small Mistress the poet presents a parley betweentwo females, uncovering their views on life. Though both persons belong to onesex, they are different, as the wild woman describes a mistress, you whichrest only on fabrics as soft as your skin, which eat only cooked meat, and forwhich a skilful servant takes care to cut out the pieces. Suchportrayal reveals the poets double vision, his attempts to evaluate varioussides of peoples consciousness.But Baudelaireis especially sympathetic to widows and old females who are forgotten andneglected by society. In his text Widows the poet provides a detailed portrayalof widows in the parks, claiming that it is easy to recognize them,because each widow reflects loneliness, pain and isolation. Baudelaireintensifies their misery by contrasting these lonely and poor widows withwealthy and idle people who locomote in the park It is always somethinginteresting that this reflection of the joy of the rich person at the retina ofpoor. These reflections show the skill of Baudelaire forobservations and his understanding of a female essence. In his text BeautifulDorothe the poet describes a beautiful Dorothe strong and proud like thesun who walks along the street, bare-footed, and smiles. Perhaps,Baudelaire ponders, she goes to a young officer to talk with him, thats whyshe is so delighted. Such is the regard that the girl creates for the rest ofthe world, but no one knows that she gathers each piaster to redeem her littlesister. In another prose poem Which is the true one Baudelaire reveals thestory of a beautiful and unusual girl Bndicta who is portrayed by the poet asideal. But as he claims, this miraculous girl was too beautiful to live a longtime and she dies very young. Baudelaire realises that femalebeauty and youth are temporary, and many good women die at an early age.In the textPortraits of Mistresses the poet describes four males who talk about theirmistresses, implicitly uncovering their inability to accept femaleindependence. According to the feminist approach, female characters are usuallyportrayed from two different perspectives either as chaste wives, if theyadhere to the standards of patriarchal society, or as mistresses, if theyreject social rules and stereotypes. However, in La Spleen deParis Baudelaire reveals that such attitude is also aggravated by class andeconomic differences.6 ConclusionsThe dissertation has analysed therepresentations of women in La Cure by Zola, Germinie Lacerteux by Edmond and Julesde Goncourt, La Dame aux Camlias by Dumas and Le Spleen de Paris byBaudelaire. In these works the portrayal of females reflects complex socialstereotypes and norms existed in French society. In the play La Dame aux CamliasDumas the younger reveals that French aristocracy was engaged in sexualrelations with courtesans, but, as these relations became a threat to theirreputation, they destroyed any intercourse with their lovers. On the example ofthe principa l female character the prostitute Marguerite Gautier the writerdemonstrates that a woman of a low social position with a reputation of aprostitute has no chances for better future, even if she possesses many virtuesand beauty. Although Marguerite sincerely falls in love with Armand Duval, sherealises that their relations destroy not only Armand, but his family as well.Suffering from an incurable illness, Marguerite nevertheless decides to abandonher lover for his sake. Thus, Dumas the younger proves that independent andintelligent females collide with many restrictions and stereotypes inpatriarchal world. The libertine ideas that were proclaimed throughout Francein the eighteenth century were mainly retained by males, while womencontinued to occupy inferior position to men. Such female oppression wasaggravated by social biases of the upper-class towards people of themiddle-class, the biases that were mainly based on economical differencesbetween two classes.In GerminieLacerteux E dmond and Jules de Goncourt provide a misogynistic vision onfemales, trying to prove that women are too preoccupied with sexuality andsocial position. Similar to Dumas Marguerite, the Goncourts principal femalecharacter also belongs to the middle-class society and who is destroyed by herpassion to a young male. Following the principles of naturalism, the Goncourtsobserve a female from biologic and social perspectives. Emile Zola goesfurther in his novel La Cure the writer reveals that social environmentshapes