The Pull of Paris

Abstract

Chapter 2 concentrates on the complex role Paris has played for worldwide women writers. This spot has long occupied a privileged position in the literary world and is an undeniably important place for the authors in my study, many of whom have studied, built careers, published their works, and taken up permanent residence here. The metropolis serves as an inspiration for a number of the texts they compose, and it figures in their written works in interesting ways that often reveal the authors’ conflicted relationship with it. In the end, a majority of these writers convey a connection to the French capital, indicating a sense of belonging—or a desire to belong—within the city. They have become aware that they will forever be perceived as foreigners in Paris, and have occasionally suffered from a precarious status tied to financial challenges. They nonetheless celebrate the possibilities that accompany their position at the margins of this central literary location that they have come to embrace as a promising space. It is deeply significant that, in a number of instances, they do not express the same sentiment with respect to France as a whole. It is equally meaningful that, instead of proclaiming patriotic sentiments, these writers often articulate a more profound identification with the European continent than with the nation they inhabit.