Writing and describing water. Dreamy contemplations in the novel “Madame Orpha” by Marie Gevers

Abstract

One of the most common symbols used in literature, water, which is both a source of life and a rich symbol of meaning, is a theme that has transformed into a real instrument of aesthetic research over the last centuries. In this article, we show how the Francophone woman writer, Marie Gevers, uses the symbol of water in Madame Orpha. We also identify some of the functions that this element has in her autobiographical text and we analyze the way in which the reveries on water are reconstituted in order to give a coherent and a meaningful writing.