Writing in the Feminine:Identity, Language, and Intercultural Dialogue in Chahdortt Djavann's Comment peut-on être français? (2006)

By focusing on Iranian diasporic literature, this article aims to investigate the role of the exiled immigrant female character caught between cultures, struggling to reconcile a distressing past with an uncertain present, and recognise the weight of traditions and historical event in the shaping of their personal identity. The developed framework proposes a combination of theoretical approaches to migration in literary studies and discourse on gender, and will be related to the French context in order to analyse Chahdortt Djavann's novel. Within this framework, this analysis will firstly explore how the protagonist questions her identity through her precarious encounter with the French language. Secondly, the issue of identity will be developed further by focusing on the way in which the writing process confronts the protagonist with her past. Thirdly, her engagement in a critical intercultural dialogue through her position of outsider will be examined