Annie Ernaux’s L'Événement (Happening) as a Digital Text
Location
Daseke Room (Hoover)
Start Date
29-4-2026 11:30 AM
End Date
29-4-2026 12:30 PM
Item Type
Paper Session
Description
My research aims to better understand the variable impact of Annie Ernaux’s prose in L'Événement (The Happening, in English) for her francophone and angolophone readership. Specifically, I am interested in whether the American public’s relationship with L'Événement has changed in the years post-Roe. Ernaux received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2022, the same year in which The U.S. Supreme Court decided to overturn Roe v. Wade. I am also curious whether the structure of her prose, described as having “courage and clinical acuity” by the Nobel Foundation, has the same impact in English as in its native French.
The project is to propose a digital edition of L'Événement, in which I supplement Ernaux's original work with interactive tools; potentially including timelines or archival images. By analyzing public reactions to L'Événement, I will demonstrate to readers how Ernaux’s works are understood both in context (in France) and out of context (in the United States). L'Événement is a memoir set in Northern France in the 1960s, before women had the right to an abortion via Le Loi Veil (the Veil Law). Ernaux does not attempt to ease readers into the setting – rather, she jumps straight into her recollections of her personal encounter with abortion. Her choice to forego expository scenes in favor of describing the details of her daily life is distinctive, and one of my objectives is to help readers understand how that affects their understanding or appreciation for her work and its themes. Another element I will highlight for readers is Ernaux’s syntax and style. Her memoirs are written in direct and easily comprehensible prose, with an accessible vernacular in both French and the translated English versions. Thus, my goal is to establish the potential impacts of Ernaux’s particular style on francophone and anglophone readers alike.
In order to gauge the differing reactions from anglophone and francophone audiences (specifically in the United States vs. France proper), I will be referring to book reviews and articles from those respective countries. The book reviews will come largely from reputable news sources like The New York Times and Le Monde, among others. I will also be conducting a literature review of existing articles published by francophone and anglophone authors and researchers. The articles to be included in my thesis will discuss main themes of L'Événement, through which I will be able to understand the converging and diverging perspectives of these diverse authors (as influenced by the language of the text and their cultural context for the work’s reception). My research will also include anecdotal pieces of information from a small sampling of bilingual readers in my seminar course, though these comments will not factor into the bulk of my conclusions.
Annie Ernaux’s L'Événement (Happening) as a Digital Text
Daseke Room (Hoover)
My research aims to better understand the variable impact of Annie Ernaux’s prose in L'Événement (The Happening, in English) for her francophone and angolophone readership. Specifically, I am interested in whether the American public’s relationship with L'Événement has changed in the years post-Roe. Ernaux received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2022, the same year in which The U.S. Supreme Court decided to overturn Roe v. Wade. I am also curious whether the structure of her prose, described as having “courage and clinical acuity” by the Nobel Foundation, has the same impact in English as in its native French.
The project is to propose a digital edition of L'Événement, in which I supplement Ernaux's original work with interactive tools; potentially including timelines or archival images. By analyzing public reactions to L'Événement, I will demonstrate to readers how Ernaux’s works are understood both in context (in France) and out of context (in the United States). L'Événement is a memoir set in Northern France in the 1960s, before women had the right to an abortion via Le Loi Veil (the Veil Law). Ernaux does not attempt to ease readers into the setting – rather, she jumps straight into her recollections of her personal encounter with abortion. Her choice to forego expository scenes in favor of describing the details of her daily life is distinctive, and one of my objectives is to help readers understand how that affects their understanding or appreciation for her work and its themes. Another element I will highlight for readers is Ernaux’s syntax and style. Her memoirs are written in direct and easily comprehensible prose, with an accessible vernacular in both French and the translated English versions. Thus, my goal is to establish the potential impacts of Ernaux’s particular style on francophone and anglophone readers alike.
In order to gauge the differing reactions from anglophone and francophone audiences (specifically in the United States vs. France proper), I will be referring to book reviews and articles from those respective countries. The book reviews will come largely from reputable news sources like The New York Times and Le Monde, among others. I will also be conducting a literature review of existing articles published by francophone and anglophone authors and researchers. The articles to be included in my thesis will discuss main themes of L'Événement, through which I will be able to understand the converging and diverging perspectives of these diverse authors (as influenced by the language of the text and their cultural context for the work’s reception). My research will also include anecdotal pieces of information from a small sampling of bilingual readers in my seminar course, though these comments will not factor into the bulk of my conclusions.