The Politics of Creation: Feminine Writing as Subject Formation in Cixous, Huston, and Ernaux

Abstract

This article offers a comparative reading of three feminine creative journals: La venue à l’écriture by Hélène Cixous (1975), Journal de la création by Nancy Huston (1990), and L’Atelier noir by Annie Ernaux (2011). At the crossroads of manifesto, intimate diary, and reflective essay, these texts question the conditions of possibility for feminine writing within a tradition shaped by masculine logos. Drawing on the theory of écriture féminine (Cixous, Kristeva, Irigaray), the analysis is structured around three axes: the body, memory, and language. Cixous anchors writing in a transgressive bodily jouissance; Huston links creation, sexuality, and motherhood; Ernaux rejects metaphorization entirely in order to present a raw, social body. Memory, in Cixous’s work, is marked by exile and the unconscious; Huston enters into dialogue with her literary foremothers; Ernaux politicizes intimacy by documenting collective experiences of class and gender. Finally, language becomes a tool for emancipation: Cixous subverts it, Huston redirects it with irony, and Ernaux radically purifies it. Despite their differences, these writings converge toward a re-foundation of the feminine subject through the act of writing.

Keywords

• Fransız Dili
• Edebiyatı ve Kültürü

Files

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References

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Cite this publication

@article{kurtulus2025politics,
  author = {Kurtulu{\c{s}}, Esra Ba{\c{s}}ak},
  title = {{The Politics of Creation: Feminine Writing as Subject Formation in Cixous, Huston, and Ernaux}},
  journal = {Hacettepe University Journal of the Faculty of Letters},
  volume = {0},
  number = {Advanced Online},
  pages = {459--472},
  publisher = {Hacettepe {\"U}niversitesi},
  year = {2025},
  month = {6},
  issn = {1301-5737},
  url = {https://hacettepe.hbtech.com.tr/en/publication/the-politics-of-creation-feminine-writing-as-subject-formation-in-cixous-huston-and-ernaux},
  language = {en},
  keywords = {Frans{\i}z Dili, Edebiyat{\i} ve K{\"u}lt{\"u}r{\"u}},
  abstract = {This article offers a comparative reading of three feminine creative journals: La venue {\`{a}} l'{\'{e}}criture by H{\'{e}}l{\`{e}}ne Cixous (1975), Journal de la cr{\'{e}}ation by Nancy Huston (1990), and L'Atelier noir by Annie Ernaux (2011). At the crossroads of manifesto, intimate diary, and reflective essay, these texts question the conditions of possibility for feminine writing within a tradition shaped by masculine logos. Drawing on the theory of {\'{e}}criture f{\'{e}}minine (Cixous, Kristeva, Irigaray), the analysis is structured around three axes: the body, memory, and language. Cixous anchors writing in a transgressive bodily jouissance; Huston links creation, sexuality, and motherhood; Ernaux rejects metaphorization entirely in order to present a raw, social body. Memory, in Cixous's work, is marked by exile and the unconscious; Huston enters into dialogue with her literary foremothers; Ernaux politicizes intimacy by documenting collective experiences of class and gender. Finally, language becomes a tool for emancipation: Cixous subverts it, Huston redirects it with irony, and Ernaux radically purifies it. Despite their differences, these writings converge toward a re-foundation of the feminine subject through the act of writing.},
  affiliation = {ERZ{\.I}NCAN B{\.I}NAL{\.I} YILDIRIM {\"U}N{\.I}VERS{\.I}TES{\.I}}
}

TY  - JOUR
AU  - Kurtuluş, Esra Başak
TI  - The Politics of Creation: Feminine Writing as Subject Formation in Cixous, Huston, and Ernaux
T2  - Hacettepe University Journal of the Faculty of Letters
VL  - 0
IS  - Advanced Online
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/06/02/
SP  - 459
EP  - 472
PB  - Hacettepe Üniversitesi
SN  - 1301-5737
UR  - https://hacettepe.hbtech.com.tr/en/publication/the-politics-of-creation-feminine-writing-as-subject-formation-in-cixous-huston-and-ernaux
AB  - This article offers a comparative reading of three feminine creative journals: La venue à l’écriture by Hélène Cixous (1975), Journal de la création by Nancy Huston (1990), and L’Atelier noir by Annie Ernaux (2011). At the crossroads of manifesto, intimate diary, and reflective essay, these texts question the conditions of possibility for feminine writing within a tradition shaped by masculine logos. Drawing on the theory of écriture féminine (Cixous, Kristeva, Irigaray), the analysis is structured around three axes: the body, memory, and language. Cixous anchors writing in a transgressive bodily jouissance; Huston links creation, sexuality, and motherhood; Ernaux rejects metaphorization entirely in order to present a raw, social body. Memory, in Cixous’s work, is marked by exile and the unconscious; Huston enters into dialogue with her literary foremothers; Ernaux politicizes intimacy by documenting collective experiences of class and gender. Finally, language becomes a tool for emancipation: Cixous subverts it, Huston redirects it with irony, and Ernaux radically purifies it. Despite their differences, these writings converge toward a re-foundation of the feminine subject through the act of writing.
KW  - Fransız Dili
KW  - Edebiyatı ve Kültürü
LA  - en
AD  - ERZİNCAN BİNALİ YILDIRIM ÜNİVERSİTESİ
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