Letters of a Peruvian Woman, By Françoise de Graffigny
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.This epistolary novel was a bestseller in the 18th century and retains a startling significance for our own time. De Graffigny used the device of an Inca captive, rescued and transported to Paris, for a Swiftian analysis of her own society. Her heroine Zilia is scathing about young French women:
"Her pastimes are usually childish, always pointless... People fill her mind with nothing but malicious or empty trivialities." These acid comments are embedded in the sugary coating of a love story, yet even this sentimental convention is suborned in a startling finale, when Zilia dumps her dilatory Peruvian lover with an existential cri de coeur: "Saying I am, I live, I exist is alone enough to bring happiness.".
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments