My Sin, my soul : an analysis of the myth of woman as seductress and its consequences for women, men and their flourishing with reference to Vladimir Nabokov’s ‘Lolita’ and Marguerite Duras’s ‘The lover’

Abstract

This dissertation looks at Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita and Marguerite Duras’s The Lover in order to show how these texts support the myth of the woman as seductress. The two novels deal with controversial relationships between older men and younger girls that result in a negative portrayal of the female protagonists. The introduction highlights some of the feminist theories consulted when analysing the two texts. By looking at some of the works by Marina Warner, Simone de Beauvoir, Luce Irigaray and Hélène Cixous, a feminist perspective is developed through which the novels are analysed and the myth of the woman as inferior is introduced. The first chapter looks at the Jungian archetypes of the anima and animus, the mother, and the child to show how these are projected from the unconscious to the conscious world and how their manifestations can contribute to the creation of certain myths. The second chapter deals with the differences in body and language that come between men and women and hinder their understanding of each other. This lack of understanding will be seen as a fundamental obstacle to both male and female flourishing, as well as a major contributor to the creation of myth. The third chapter deals with the consequences of myth and the effects of the female protagonists on the male protagonists are considered in order to show how, in depriving the female, the male deprives himself also. Finally, the conclusion seeks to highlight the fact that the myths surrounding the female figure, especially those that portray her as a seductive and dangerous creature can be incredibly destructive, thus shedding light on the importance of a better understanding between the sexes. Only through increased knowledge of the female can the myths be deconstructed allowing space for new myths to be formed – ones that do not see the woman as threatening, but as a fundamental other that, once allowed to flourish, can help the man flourish himself.