Person

My name is Maria Ranefalk, PhD-student at the French literature department. In my thesis, I study the female characters in the novels written by Patrick Modiano. The women in his novels have got a more prominent position the last fifteen years and in my analysis, I examine them in a "theory of mind"-perspective. Cognitive narratology is a current and interesting field of study, which offers new approaches for reading. Who are the personalities behind the text? I investigate Modiano's list of female characters by looking into their "fictional minds" and their behaviours and actions in different situations together with other character's opinions about the women. Intention, inference and focalization are important notions in my study.