“Girl” Camille Laurens

“Girl” is a poignant testimony of female complexity, as well as a penetrating analysis of language. The author emphasizes role of words in shaping our perception of the surrounding reality and perpetuating prejudices, where gender is often limited to predetermined social roles. The original title of Camille Laurens' book is "Fille" and the frequency of the word in different connotations already tells us a lot. The French dictionary provides at least four definitions, offering a multi-faceted view of this term. From "fille" (girl/daughter), through "vieille fille" (spinster), "fille mère" (unmarried mother) to "fille de joie" (woman of ill repute), "fille publique" (public girl), "fille des rues" (street girl). In the "Fille" we finally read:

In the French language, there is no separate word to describe a daughter. You cannot separate your gender from the bonds of kinship. You have and will always have only one word to describe yourself and your origins, your dependency and your identity. The girl is forever affiliated, the girl never leaves the family. This doctor Galiot, on the other hand, has a boy and a son. You are entitled to only one entry in the dictionary, he has two. This phenomenon repeats itself over time: when you grow up, you become a woman [la femme], and later, if your fate unfolds that way, someone's woman - because in French, there is also no separate term for a wife. The only word that designates you will never stop emphasizing your yoke, it will always tie you to someone – to your parents, to your husband, while a man exists in himself, so says the language

Through reflections on language, the author presents the world as seen through the eyes of a little girl and later an adult woman. Laurence Barraqué experiences incest in childhood, abortion in adolescence, miscarriage, and later difficult but beautiful motherhood in adulthood... The word "girl” that is already present in the opening sentence of the book fills every chapter and somehow reveals to the reader what topics the book addresses – it will be not only girlhood but also complex relationships between daughters and parents.

This autofictional novel is also a good reminder of the struggles that had to be fought so that women of the first decade of the 21st century would no longer have to apologize for being born girls. The first of them is symbolized by Joan of Arc – the story of the main character of “Fille” takes place in Rouen, the city where she was accused of heresy, later imprisoned during the trial, and finally burned at the stake in 1431, one of the most famous historical figures and saints of the Catholic Church. Her character carries important symbolism – the French national hero is the patron saint of the kindergarten Laurence attends, and the name of the street where her father works also bears her name. This does not prevent him, however, from considering women and girls, just like the majority of society, as inferior, even though they live in the shadow of one of them who has gained a nearly legendary status.

The author also describes the social changes that took place in France at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries – she addresses many issues related to the situation of women in the country, their rights, and most often their lack thereof, and the consequences that follow.

Your grandmother has been an only child her whole life, as has her mother, who remained a spinster and raised her daughter on her own. So they think girls are somehow alright. (...) For them, a little girl is the future of a woman. A little girl is their future, but also their reflection. This vision keeps grandmother and great-grandmother, who we call "bunia" at home, in good spirits. They have only been voting for a decade, no longer, and even then they sometimes lack the courage. But they have their hopes. They authorize you. You will be exceptional, my dear granddaughter. But still, don't stand out too much. Be kind. Be polite. You never know.

She [Laurence's mother] completed a housewife's school. Until recently, she was not allowed to work without her husband's permission. The law has just changed, she would really like to earn some money so she doesn't have to ask Matthieu for it every month, or rather beg..

[Laurence] goes to middle school. The institution has been coeducational only recently, during her mother's time it was a school for girls, as evidenced by the sign still hanging over the gate.

It has not even been two years since the Simone Veil law was passed, but here, in Rouen, we don't do things like that, here every doctor knows my name.

In just the past eighty years, a tremendous change has taken place in this field. The voices of "all the girls from the house" in which Laurence was raised, and at the same time representatives of four generations, diverged in different directions. The oldest among them, her grandmother called “granny” and her great-grandmother, for whom patriarchy was the rule of life, as well as her slightly younger mother, whose generation remembered the abortion underground, had the opportunity to experience these significant, albeit slow and uneven, changes. Most of them occurred in front of all the women in the Barraqué family during the second half of the 20th century. Camille Laurens skillfully weaves groundbreaking dates into the novel that influenced the lives of both older and younger heroines of the book. In 1944, women were granted the right to vote, in 1965 the right to take up employment, open a bank account and write checks without the approval of their husband and in 1975 the right to abortion, which underwent significant modifications in subsequent years. In 1980, rape was recognized as a crime, and in 2013 France joined other countries in Europe and the world allowing same-sex marriages. These dates are important because they mark significant milestones in the fight for women's rights in France. They show that progress has been made, but also that there is still much more to do.

"Do you know that in France, a woman is raped every six minutes?

– Oh, poor thing – comments the father".

This novel not only reminisces about the past; it is also a poignant reflection on the present. It reminds us that the struggles faced by the main character of “Girl” are not relics of history but challenges we still face today. Laurence's story leaves us with many questions.

How far have we really come since the 1960s in redefining the narrative of femininity, and how much more do we still need to do?

Are we defined and only defined in our lives by the gender roles assigned to us? Is it possible to overcome the expectations that society places on us?

By using these expressions in her book, the author shows how language has a significant impact on shaping our worldview and on the other hand, how language reflects the stereotypes, prejudices, and values of the society using it.

Let's take a look at a few French definitions::

fille - little girl/girl but also daughter. As the main character Laurens states, due to the lack of other terms, "one cannot separate your gender from the bonds of kinship". By choosing this word as the title of the book, the author suggests that not only femininity but also the relationships between daughters and parents will be an important topic in her considerations.

vieille fille - literally "old girl", meaning a spinster. If a girl, according to French tradition until the age of twenty-five, did not find a husband, she remained a spinster for the rest of her life and, therefore, linguistically never "progressed" to become a woman. (By the way, it's worth noting that the word “femme” also has two main meanings: "woman" and "wife".)

fille mère - literally "girl mother". This refers to an unmarried woman who has given birth to a child. It is worth noting that the book's protagonist uses this term to refer to her great-grandmother, which means that one never outgrows being a "girl mother".

fille de joie - literally "girl of joy". This term is a euphemistic way of referring to a prostitute. The existence of this and similar expressions (e.g., fille publique - "public girl", fille des rues - "street girl") is one of the reasons why the word “fille” can take on a negative, offensive connotation in certain contexts. To convey this, the polish translation includes the word "wench".

The life prospects of the protagonist's mother, grandmother, or great-grandmother were completely different, as were her own, and even more so, those with whom her daughter grew up. At the same time, one can easily imagine a woman born around 1930 who experiences and observes all these transformations with her own eyes.

Below are some breakthrough dates that had a cardinal significance for the protagonists of "Girl":

1944 – women gain the right to vote. It was only after the liberation of France that its female citizens were allowed to go to the polls – which they did for the first time on April 29, 1945, during local elections - as well as run for governmental positions. The first female minister was Germaine Poinso-Chapuis in November 1947. The next one would only be Simone Veil in 1974.

1965 – married women gain the right to take on employment, open a bank account and write checks without their husband's consent. From then on, they could also, at least in theory, independently manage their own property (that is, the assets they owned before marriage). Previous laws caused the husband to have almost total control over his wife. Without his permission, she could not, among other things, travel abroad, correspond or maintain relationships.

1980 – rape recognized as a crime. It was only at this point in history that rape was clearly defined in legal regulations and explicitly recognized as a crime. Importantly, although the term did not appear in the written text, the definition also included marital rape, the existence of which was often questioned.

2013– France becomes the ninth country in Europe and the fourteenth in the world to allow same-sex marriages. The lengthy campaign for this change took place under the slogan "Mariage pour tous," meaning "Marriage for all."

Of course, it is important to note that the mere introduction of a specific law does not necessarily indicate an actual improvement in women's situation. Mistakes and shortcomings even occurred at the highest level of power – for example, in 1991, despite published five years earlier guidelines recommending the feminization of job titles held by women and the functions they perform, Édith Cresson became the country's first female “prime minister”. However, the changes in the law undoubtedly represented an important step towards gender equality.

Sources::

https://www.vie-publique.fr/eclairage/19590-chronologie-des-droits-des-femmes

https://www.alloprof.qc.ca/fr/eleves/bv/histoire/luttes-et-revendications-des-femmes-au-20e-siecle-h1093

https://www.gouvernement.fr/action/le-mariage-pour-tous