Seminar in 17th-Century French Literature: Behind Closed Doors

The international impact of the Pélicot case invites us to rethink the archetypes of the monstrous husband and the sleeping beauty. Seventeenth-century French society offers crucial insights into these representations. At a time when forced marriages, rapts de séduction, & questions of sexual consent were scrutinized through novels, fairy tales & plays, traditional masculinity underwent a paradigm shift. Women's growing influence and the rise of galanterie reshaped cultural norms. From courtship to harrowing wedding nights, this seminar explores how seduction and predatory gazing shaped patterns that continue to haunt modern sexual dynamics.