Rameau’s Niece (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: Cathleen Schine
- First Published: 1993
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Bildungsroman
- Time of Work: The early 1990’s
- Setting: Manhattan, New York
- Genres: Long fiction, Bildungsroman, Satire
- Subjects: New York, North America or North Americans, Northeast, U.S., Self-discovery, United States or Americans, Intellectuals, Philosophy or philosophers, Homosexuality or homosexuals, Love or romance, Sex or sexuality, New York City, Marriage, Jealousy, envy, or resentment, Feminism, Lesbianism or lesbians, Adultery, Colleges or universities, Enlightenment, 1990’s, Comedy, Learning or scholarship, Research
- Locales: Manhattan, NY
Characters Discussed
Margaret Nathan, the novel’s protagonist. A twenty-eight-year-old Ph.D. in eighteenth century intellectual history, Margaret is known internationally for her best-selling biography, The Anatomy of Madame de Montigny. Despite a postdoctoral sinecure and numerous pirzes testifying to her success, Margaret is self-effacing and self-critical. She measures herself against the yardstick of her witty and effervescent husband, Edward, and focuses on her own deficient memory and social awkwardness. Once Margaret begins research for a new book, however, she...
[The entire page is 712 words long]
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