Stendhal's Mina de Vanghel and the Question of Feminism

This article focuses on Stendhal's Mina de Vanghel, examining the text in light of the question of feminism. Mina can, on the one hand, be seen as a strong female character embodying a reversal of traditional gender roles. On the other hand, her eventual demise has prompted critics to suggest she is one of many female protagonists whom Stendhal relegates to passivity or punishment. The article argues that, on the contrary, Stendhal is not condemning his heroine to immorality because she is a woman and can have no sanctioned freedom; he is demonstrating how society condemns those who have the courage of their convictions, be they male or female. Stendhal's work reflects a social reality that is patriarchal and misogynist, and his heroines suffer the consequences. Just as Octave, Julien, Lucien and Fabrice suffer the constraints of their social or moral difference, Mina and her counterparts suffer the consequences of their sexual difference. (LG)