La voix des femmes dans le théâtre français de contestation sociale au tournant du XXe siècle

Abstract

Until recently not many people recognize the feminist theater movement existing in the end of the 19th century. For almost a century it was condemned to oblivion for above all political reasons. Most scholars were focused on anarchist male authors while in this the article works of the two feminine authors are analyzed, these include: Vera Starkoff and Nelly Roussel. Starkoff, the Russian Jew, was inspired by Tolstoy, Zola and Ibsen, and wrote the didactic dramas in which she discussed gender inequality between men and women at that time. She in her works seems to be more moderate then Roussel who is more uncompromising in her works. Roussel ridicules canonic values represented by the Roman-Catholic Church enslaving not only women but each individual’s thinking.