Madame de S茅vign茅
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'S茅vign茅's epistolary expressions of love for her daughter are perhaps the only subjective exploration of maternal love in French literature previous to our own century. [...] S茅vign茅's elaboration of her material identity begins when her daughter (Mme de Grignan) is grown. [...] Through writing to her daughter, a being for whom the mother is both the social and literary model, S茅vign茅 is able to absorb a creative ambition that is both emotionally riveting and morally questionable. Moreover, by writing to her daughter in the highly socially self-conscious way that she does - showing to friends portions of the correspondence as well as directly isolating herself from them in order to write - S茅vign茅 procures for herself an inviolable relationship to literary renown. [...] While as the experienced woman and writer, S茅vign茅 exercises more power in this relationship than in any other, she is also totally dependent on her daughter to receive and absorb the mother's loving and writing ambitions.' Katherine Jensen
