Representative Female Characters In Modiano's Novels From The Perspective Of Feminism

French writer Patrick Modiano(1945-)is regarded as the most distinctive and talented writer in contemporary France.The Nobel Prize in Literature 2014 was awarded to Patrick Modiano "for the art of memory with which he has evoked the most ungraspable human destinies and uncovered the life-world of the occupation".Most of the domestic studies on Modiano's novels focus on the art of narrative and the theme of"seeking".The study of female characters in Modiano's novels has been neglected for a long time.Although Modiano is a man,he pays a lot attention to the female characters in the novel and cares about the fate of women.He agrees the Existentialism of Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir,and created some existentialism female characters who are independent,full of initiative,resisting the"second sex",and actively pursuing a new life.The study of female characters in Modiano's novels has not only literary value,but also cultural and social value.The thesis selects two novels.L'Horizon and Dans le cafe de la jeunesse perdue,which have the most representative female characters of Modiano,and works such as Une Jeunesse and La Place de l'etoile.The close reading criticism method and Beauvoir's"second sex" theory,"social gender"theory,Judith butler's"gender performance theory"and other feminist theories are used to analyze the female characters in Modiano's novels.Modiano's view of women has also been explored.The paper is mainly divided into five parts.The introduction briefly introduces the life and creation of Modiano,sorts out the translation and study situation of Modiano's works at home and abroad,and clarifies the study methods and significance of the thesis.The first chapter analyzes the tragedy of women being shaped into the"second sex" by combining the experiences of Rebecca in La Place de l'etoile and Audi in Une Jeunesse.and explores the reasons why women are shaped into the"second sex"from two aspects:Beauvoir's"women are absolute other'and Foucault's theory of micro-power operation.The second chapter analyzes the female characters represented by Lucy in Dans le cafe de la jeunesse perdue and Marsaret in L'Horizon in Modiano's novels.After the awakening of female subject consciousness,these brave female characters bravely resisted"second sex".Through active action,they have achieved a transition from"free existence"to"self-existence",which has transformed women from "other" to "subject".At the same time,the paper also points out the realistic dilemma faced by women in the process of resisting"second sex"and pursuing"freedom"in combination with Beauvoir's"freedom in the situation".The third chapter introduces the important theories to support the"second sex",including Foucault's"Man is Invention"and Judith Butler's"gender performance theory".The female characters of"androgynous temperament"in Modiano's novels represented by Lucy,Margaret,Audi,and Rebecca have also been analyzed.Modiano's portrayal of these female characters breaks the shackles of"gender stereotypes"and expresses the gender concepts of openness.inclusiveness,freedom and equality.The conclusion summarizes the thesis,clarifies Modiano's views on women,and the literary,cultural and social values of representative female characters in his novels.