Gender Roles and Power

The narrative examines the constraints placed on women, such as Camille's struggle between her intellectual prowess and her desire for love, and Sabine's navigation of marriage as a young wife, revealing the limited agency and societal expectations of women.

The chapter explores the constraints on women through Félicité des Touches, who adopts a male pseudonym to gain literary freedom, and the societal expectations placed on both men and women in love and marriage.