THE VOICE OF THE PATRIARCH IN THE HEPTAMÉRON I: 10

Abstract

In recent criticism devoted to L'Heptameron, the tenth nouvelle has been read as the drama of a female protagonist who confronts a basic interdiction imposed upon her by a patriarchal power structure. From this perspective, since the plot structures of this kind of narrative discourse are founded upon the satisfaction of male desire, they simply do not provide a forum in which the "voice" of female desire may be heard. Because the tenth nouvelle gives a coherent form to this problem, and represents a non-verbal and corporeal female language of desire in the character of Floride, it has been seen as an authentic piece of feminine writing. While it agrees with these basic premises, this article argues that restrictions of the right and of the ability to formulate desire in language affect all of the characters in the text who are not in positions of legitimacy and power, regardless of their gender. Thus the voice of the patriarch enforces a rule of sexuality as a rule of discourse in this imaginary society, compelling the male and female protagonists to "speak" the language of desire in the non-verbal medium of facial expressions.