Le féminin problématique dans la série « La vie épicée de Charlotte Lavigne »

This thesis examines the representation of femininity in La vie épicée de Charlotte Lavigne by Nathalie Roy (2016), a seminal series of Quebec chick lit novels. Drawing on feminist and sociological theories from Judith Butler (1990), Lori Saint-Martin (1999), Évelyne Ledoux-Beaugrand (2010) and Nathalie Heinich (1996), this study explores how relationships between women shape a feminine identity marked by an ambivalence between autonomy and conformity. Analysis of the series reveals a constant competition among female characters, which at first glance appears to stem from sexual or professional rivalry, with potential solidarity between women fading as soon as a man is present. However, this “war” between women also reflects a need to perform gender and to meet, as fully as possible, the social expectations associated with femininity. Through the heroine’s journey, the series exposes the exhaustion of an identity model based on social success and its validation through the male gaze. While reproducing certain gendered clichés, La vie épicée de Charlotte Lavigne also highlights their artificiality through irony, a device typical of chick lit. Nathalie Roy’s work serves a cathartic function, allowing readers to laugh at themselves by comparing themselves to a heroine worse than themselves, while also raising awareness of the absurdity of gender stereotypes. Keywords : chick lit, Quebec chick lit, female relationships, gender performativity, male gaze, female competition, gender stereotypes.