Jennifer Tamas
Campus Westend, IG-Farben-Gebäude, Raum IG 457 im Erdgeschoss
Veranstaltung des FF 5
Everybody heard about Beauty and the Beast. This fairy tale became part of the popular culture and inspired independent movie directors (from Jean Cocteau to Christophe Gans) as well as the entertainment industry (Disney). However, few people are aware that a “male gaze” prevailed in establishing the reception of Beauty and the Beast, which radically transformed the meaning of the story.
Written by Madame de Villeneuve in 1740 Beauty and the Beast examines figures of otherness in terms of race, sex, and social status. It also tackles the issue of sexual consent to unpack female desire, the constraint of marriage and the encounter of the other. Using Beauty and the Beast as a case study, I will investigate why a “patriarchal gaze” undervalued female agency in censoring and rewriting the works of women writers.
Jennifer Tamas is Associate Professor of French at Rutgers University (New Jersey, USA)
