Le théâtre au service de la cause féminine. Retour à ma femme de Maria Deraismes

Abstract

Maria Deraismes uses her playwrighting skills to demonstrate the absurdity of the law and the prejudices that limit women. She demonstrates in her plays the rigidness and, at the same time, the absurdity of the patriarchal wall against which the needs, ambitions and dreams of women crash. In the play Retour à ma femme, Deraismes presents various forms of sexist oppression, reveals their inner workings, and encourages in-depth reflection on the patriarchal order that produces them. Undoubtedly, her primary concern is the inferior position of women, but it is evident that she also aims to improve society for both sexes. Deraismes creates female characters that viewers and readers can identify with and from whom they can draw the strength to change the world, as well as evolve themselves.