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Féline Fatale: The New Woman as Cat-Woman in Rachilde’s L’Animale

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The Artist as Animal in Nineteenth-Century French Literature

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Animals and Literature ((PSAAL))

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Abstract

In her analysis of L’Animale (1893) by Rachilde (1860–1953), Nettleton examines the modern cat-woman myth, where women and cats in fiction were often relegated to marginal spaces like rooftops and gutters, with no clear place in urban society. Nettleton discusses the newfound abundance of women in the arts, from painters to Chat Noir cabaret performers. Drawing parallels between feminist theory and animal theory (Haraway, Adams, Donovan), Nettleton analyzes Rachilde’s own self-identification with animals, and cats in particular, as integral to her creative process. A morphing creature that escapes social identity, Rachilde’s figure of the cat-woman transcends the boundaries between man and woman, human and animal, as well as technical and organic. The féline fatale is a part of an urban aesthetic that still clings to its pastoral past. Much like the architectural and proto-cinematic arts of the fin de siècle, L’Animale infuses theriomorphic and technical imagery within the industrial cityscape of fin de siècle France.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pomona College, Claremont, CA, USA

    Claire Nettleton

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  1. Claire Nettleton
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Nettleton, C. (2019). Féline Fatale: The New Woman as Cat-Woman in Rachilde’s L’Animale. In: The Artist as Animal in Nineteenth-Century French Literature. Palgrave Studies in Animals and Literature. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-19345-4_6

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