Between Genders

"Between Genders: Narrating Difference in Early French Modernism studies representations of gender in five early and mid-nineteenth-century French texts. The narratives examined are diverse in both literary form and theme: two novels, Honore de Balzac's La Fille aux yeux d'or, Theophile Gautier's Mademoiselle de Maupin; Charles Baudelaire's novella, La Fanfarlo; Claire de Duras's pseudo-confession narrative, Ourika; and an autobiography of an intersexual, currently known by the title Herculine Barbin.

They share a preoccupation with experiences of gender and the vicissitudes of gender identities. Between Genders explores a pervasive yet frequently veiled crisis of authority throughout the century, regarding who or what institution might determine "correct" gender relations, and what these values might imply in aesthetic, ethical, and frequently political issues."--Jacket.