ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at one particular female author, Marguerite Eymery, who wrote under the androgynous pseudonym Rachilde. Rachilde has been the subject of much scholarly research, specifically in terms of psychoanalytical analysis of her texts. The difficulty of deciding where to position Rachilde in relation to fin-de-siecle literary genres is perhaps one reason why she has been re-established as a literary figure worth examining. The chapter aims to counter the primarily biographical interest a first wave of feminist critics had in Rachilde's work by analysing the connections between widowhood and female desire through exploring what factors lead Rachilde's female protagonists to either realise or to deny their own sexual freedom. On the one hand, the widow was viewed with compassion and empathy; on the other hand, she was often the object of society's mockery and apprehension. The protagonists examined an intriguing portrayal of the destructive potential of a woman living outside traditional patriarchal structures.
