Parenthood and Gender Roles as Seen in Diderot’s Correspondance

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Abstract

Denis Diderot&s;s Correspondance is a varied and stylistically complex collection of letters which are much more than a mere testimony of his personal and professional life. Many different epistolary personae are evident in Diderot&s;s Correspondance. One of the facets of his personality which is privileged here but not always in evidence in Diderot studies is that of the loving father. This chapter considers fatherhood and gender roles in terms of Diderot&s;s Correspondance , and reveals how this relates to or differs from his more ostensibly philosophical writing. Diderot&s;s negative attitude towards early motherhood is consistent throughout his works, although it must be noted here that he appears to have conveniently forgotten his earlier plans to marry his daughter to Vialet. Whilst Diderot was a man capable of close emotional and intellectual friendships with women, his conception of the sex as a whole was based upon biological determinism and the generally held assumptions of his day.

Salvato in:
Autori: Ursula Yvonne Roberts
Pubblicato in: Gender and Politics in the Age if Letter-Writing, 1750–2000, pp. 29-42
Data di pubblicazione:15/05/2017
Editore:Routledge
Tipo di documento:Capitolo di libro
Lingua:inglese
DOI: 10.4324/9781315317946-3
Accesso aperto: Nessuna copia ad accesso aperto nota: per le risorse in abbonamento usare Verifica disponibilità.
Soggetti:
French Literature and Criticism (Social Sciences > Arts and Humanities > Literature and Literary Theory)
Rousseau and Enlightenment Thought (Social Sciences > Arts and Humanities > Philosophy)
Gender and Feminist Studies (Social Sciences > Social Sciences > Gender Studies)
Denis Diderot, Correspondance, fatherhood, gender roles, early motherhood, biological determinism, epistolary style
Identificativi: OpenAlex W2905381159

Dati dell'indice centrale: OpenAlex (licenza CC0).

Riassunto:Denis Diderot&s;s Correspondance is a varied and stylistically complex collection of letters which are much more than a mere testimony of his personal and professional life. Many different epistolary personae are evident in Diderot&s;s Correspondance. One of the facets of his personality which is privileged here but not always in evidence in Diderot studies is that of the loving father. This chapter considers fatherhood and gender roles in terms of Diderot&s;s Correspondance , and reveals how this relates to or differs from his more ostensibly philosophical writing. Diderot&s;s negative attitude towards early motherhood is consistent throughout his works, although it must be noted here that he appears to have conveniently forgotten his earlier plans to marry his daughter to Vialet. Whilst Diderot was a man capable of close emotional and intellectual friendships with women, his conception of the sex as a whole was based upon biological determinism and the generally held assumptions of his day.
DOI:10.4324/9781315317946-3