Claire, Duchess of Duras (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

de Kersaint; 1777–1828) was a French writer best known for her 1823 novel called '' Ourika'', which examines issues of racial and sexual equality, and which inspired the 1969

John Fowles John Robert Fowles (; 31 March 1926 – 5 November 2005) was an English novelist of international renown, critically positioned between modernism and postmodernism. His work was influenced by Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus, among others. Aft ...

novel ''

The French Lieutenant's Woman ''The French Lieutenant's Woman'' is a 1969 postmodern historical fiction novel by John Fowles. The plot explores the fraught relationship of gentleman and amateur naturalist Charles Smithson and Sarah Woodruff, the former governess and indep ...

''.

Biography

Claire de Duras left her native France for London during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

in 1789, and returned to France in 1808 as the Duchess of Duras. She maintained a famous literary

salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (P ...

in post-Revolutionary

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

and was the close friend of Chateaubriand, who she had met while in exile in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, and who helped her to publish her books. ''Ourika'' was published anonymously in 1823, one of five novels Claire de Duras had written during the previous year; only two of them were published during her lifetime. The three novellas that she did publish were only done so in order to prevent any possible

plagiarism Plagiarism is the fraudulent representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 '' Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close imitation of the language and thought ...

. Claire de Duras treated complex and controversial subjects, primarily dealing with oppressed/marginalized characters. She explored many fundamental principles of the

, and touched upon the intellectual debates of the

Age of Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment or the Enlightenment; german: Aufklärung, "Enlightenment"; it, L'Illuminismo, "Enlightenment"; pl, Oświecenie, "Enlightenment"; pt, Iluminismo, "Enlightenment"; es, La Ilustración, "Enlightenment" was an intel ...

, particularly the equality of all men—and women. In holding with these subjects,

tragedy Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy ...

is a common theme. For a long time she was seen as the writer of small and unimportant sentimental novels, but recent criticism has revealed her works to be treasure troves of postmodern identity theory.

Works

Published during her life

*''

Olivier Olivier is the French form of the given name Oliver. It may refer to: * Olivier (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Olivier (surname), a list of people * Château Olivier, a Bordeaux winery *Olivier, Louisiana, a rural popul ...

'' (1822) *'' Ourika'' (1823) *'' Edouard'' (1825)

Published posthumously

*Pensées de

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Vers ...

, extraites de ses ouvrages et de ses lettres manuscrites. ''Thoughts of Louis XIV: extracts of his writings''. (1827)

Unfinished works

*Le Moine du Saint-Bernard. ''The Monk of Saint-Bernard''. *Les Mémoires de Sophie. ''Sophie's Memoirs''.

References

* Kadish, Doris Y.; Massardier-Kenney, Françoise et al., ''Translating slavery: gender and race in French women's writing'', 1783-1823, Kent, Kent State University Press, 1994. * Kadish, Doris Y., ''Ourika’s Three Versions: A Comparison'', ''Translating Slavery: Gender and Race in French Women’s Writing'', 1783-1823, Éd.

Françoise Massardier-Kenney Françoise Massardier-Kenney is a translator and translation scholar. She is the Director of the Institute for Applied Linguistics and Professor of Modern and Classical Language Studies at Kent State University. Her scholarly work includes serving ...

, Préf.

Albrecht Neubert Albrecht ("noble", "bright") is a given name or surname of German origin and may refer to: First name *Albrecht Agthe, (1790–1873), German music teacher *Albrecht Altdorfer, (c. 1480–1538) German Renaissance painter *Albrecht Becker, (1906� ...

, Gregory M. Shreve, Kent, Kent State UP, 1994, xiv, p. 217-28.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Duras, Claire de 1777 births 1828 deaths Writers from Brest, France French women novelists French salon-holders