Here, once more, you have a choice of texts (The Maids by Genet) and (The Straight Mind by Wittig) and a choice of questions. Please choose one of the following:
1) What do Genet’s maids want? Do they fulfill their desires by the end of the play? How do you know? Support your argument with evidence.
2) What would Monique Wittig say about the condition of women in The Maids? What would she say about the maids’ condition, as well as Madame’s? Something to consider: the play puts on stage only female characters. Does the absence of a male character free them from the oppression women suffer in heterosexual society, according to Wittig? (How, for Wittig, does one escape this oppression?)
3) Lesbian. How does Monique Wittig’s definition of “lesbian” differ from other definitions or representations we’ve encountered in our course? Be specific.
4) Language. Wittig insists that “harmful” discourses materially oppress individuals. (See page 25 and following, in the essay “The Straight Mind”: “I would like to insist on the material oppression of individuals by discourses …”) Think of examples of discourses we’ve encountered so far this semester, whether harmful or helpful. How do they affect the individuals represented? (*Choose this prompt only if it doesn’t overlap with writing you did for the Midterm paper.)