«Vertu» et «sensibilité» dans les romans de femmes

In 18th-century novels written by women writers, often caracterized as 'senti¬ mental3 novels, the question of virtue linked to the discourse on 'sensibility3 is omnipresent. I would like to demonstrate in this article how women writers of ' sensible 3 novels position themselves with regard to 18th-century moral discourse. The body of work which initiated my study has one common denominator : Love and its relationship to virtue. The questions which transpire from this body of work are the following : 1) What does virtue represent for women writers of the 1 8th-century ? 2) Is virtuous love possible ? and finally 3) Is virtue compatible with happiness ? In conclusion, I attempt to focus on how the inscription of the discourse on 'sensibility3 is the trajectory for the construction of a pattern for women's lives.von Kulessa Rotraud. «Vertu» et «sensibilité» dans les romans de femmes. In: Dix-huitième Siècle, n°36, 2004. Femmes des Lumières. pp. 211-222