For celebrated French writer Pierrette Fleutiaux, the woman is a perpetual muse, balancing multiple roles and constant criticism with élan. Yet, as the 67-year-old confided during a recent visit to Delhi, her last book The Season of My Satisfaction, a burning essay about feminism and politics, almost did not get written. Fleutiaux was here for a conference on Women, Politics and Literature organised by the Alliance Francaise.“I had decided that I would never again to write about women and politics. But then Segolene Royale emerged as a potential head of state during the French presidential campaign of 2007 and I knew I had to pick up the pen again. The campaign was highly symbolic for French women,” said Fleutiaux.Fleutiaux, the winner of the prestigious Prix Femina Prize in 1990, adds that the campaign strengthened her view that women were still discriminated against, even in a society that appears very egalitarian. As Indian feminist writer and historian Urvashi Butalia said at the end of the event, “This book makes women think of things they have never been taught.”
