Using French to construct British female identity: Defoe's Roxana, Bronte's Villette, and Fowles' The French lieutenant's woman

This thesis uses a narratological approach to explore how female identity in British literature is constructed through the use of French. It primarily explores how John Fowles uses French in the postmodern novel The French Lieutenant�s Woman to dramatize Sarah Woodruff�s existential journey toward authenticity. In refraining from defining who Sarah is, Fowles gives her the freedom to continue to pursue her true self, both now and in the future, offering her continued authenticity in her female identity. In order to appreciate Fowles� accomplishment with identity, this thesis first studies the use of French in Daniel Defoe�s eighteenth-century novel The Unfortunate Mistress (�Roxana�) and in Charlotte Bronte?�s Victorian novel Villette. In Defoe�s work, France provides the opportunity for Roxana to change her identity and become a mistress seeking wealthier and wealthier men, which leads to her moral demise. Roxana becomes trapped, though, by her definition as a fallen woman and becomes a warning to other women, as well as to Britain in its relations with France and construction of national identity. In Villette, Lucy attains a new, successful identity in French-speaking Belgium as she learns to balance Reason and Feeling, dramatized by her respective use of English and French language. Although Lucy achieves an authentic identity, her potential is limited by her final definition as a widow and school director.