Quête identitaire et exil amoureux chez Jacqueline Harpman
Quest for identity and exile in love in Jacqueline Harpman's work

Summary/Abstract: We're interested in the characters forged by Belgian writer Jacqueline Harpman in her novel Ostend Beach (La Plage d'Ostende). Her narrative actors are complex characters who struggle against all odds to define themselves as individuals. The quest for identity lies at the heart of Harpman's work, establishing an indestructible hinge between the two notions of Identity and Otherness. In particular, we take an X-ray of the identity journey of the main female character. Émilienne, thirsty for Léopold's love but still pubescent at the age of eleven, becomes the sculptor of her own personality. The completion of her chiseling and the conquest of her lover make her happy, but also exile her because of the social constraints of the time. As a result, as a Cornelian heroine, Émilienne finds herself torn between love and social duty.

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