Royale Inspiration

For celebrated French writer Pierrette Fleutiaux, the woman is a perpetual muse, balancing multiple roles and constant criticism with eacute;lan. 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.

8220;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,8221; 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, 8220;This book makes women think of things they have never been taught.8221;