Réinventer la lecture de certaines figures féminines de La Divine Comédie à la lumière du genre

Details

Supervisors

Lasserre, Audrey ; Perocco, Daria

Faculty

Faculté de philosophie, arts et lettres

Degree label

Master [120] en langues et lettres françaises et romanes, orientation générale, à finalité approfondie

Abstract

enThe thesis offers a rereading of the female figures in Dante’s Divine Comedy through the tools of feminist literary criticism and gender studies. By combining theoretical reflection with textual analysis, it examines the modes of representation of the feminine between idealization and degradation. After establishing the foundations of the concept of gender and its uses in medieval literature, it explores the figure of Beatrice as the embodiment of a feminine ideal marked by both eminently feminine and distinctly masculine characteristics. Through Francesca, Pia, and Piccarda, the study then highlights forms of gender-based violence: uxoricide, silencing, erasure, coercion, and consent. Particular attention is paid to the tensions between the female voice and male discourse, as well as to the risks of anachronism in interpretation. This study thus aims to demonstrate how gender constitutes a heuristic tool for renewing the reading of medieval texts.