Lovers and Tyrants (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: Francine du Plessix
- First Published: 1976
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Bildungsroman
- Time of Work: 1935 to the early 1970’s
- Setting: Paris, St. Tropez, and Brittany, France; New York City; rural Massachusetts; the American Southwest; and Las Vegas, Nevada
- Genres: Long fiction, Psychological fiction, Bildungsroman
- Subjects: Maturation or coming of age, New York, North America or North Americans, Northeast, U.S., United States or Americans, Mothers, Parents and children, France or French people, Love or romance, Twentieth century, New York City, World War II, Alienation, Paris, Oppression, Fathers, Death or dying, Southwest, Acrobatics or acrobats
- Locales: New York, NY, Paris, France, Massachusetts, Southwest (U.S.), Las Vegas, NV, Brittany, France, St. Tropez, France
Characters Discussed
Stephanie, the protagonist and first- person narrator. She is ignored initially by her “flapper” mother, a beautiful Russian émigré who turns her over to a Russian émigré governess. Later, her father, an impoverished aristocrat, is killed in World War II. Stephanie is thus rendered insecure about love. She behaves as a “good girl” to win the love of her mother and her husband, but she finds that all of her various “lovers” are also “tyrants” who limit her freedom and potential. Her life and the novel are about her struggle to reconcile...
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