User:Portia1780/colette

Claudine at School, or Claudine à l'école, (1900) is Colette's first published novel, originally attributed to her first husband, the writer Willy. The novel recounts the final year of secondary school of 15-year-old Claudine, her brazen confrontations with her headmistress, Mlle Sergent, and her fellow students. The work is assumed to be highly auto-biographical, and includes lovely descriptions of the Burgundian countryside, where Colette grew up.

Plot introduction
~Plot introduction~

Plot summary
~Plot outline description~

Characters in Claudine at School

 * Claudine - The 15-year old protagonist. Claudine is an only child who lives alone with her father.  Extremely bright, Claudine revels in nature and feels underchallenged at school.
 * Mlle Sergent, the new headmistress.
 * Mlle Aimée Lanthenay, a new instructor - Young and attractive, Mlle Aimée soon attracts the attention of Claudine. She begins as Claudine's English tutor; but after the two begin a homosexual affair, she is forbidden to see Claudine and instead takes up with Mlle Sergent.
 * Luce, the younger sister of Mlle Aimée, who emulates Claudine.
 * La grande Anais, a friend of Claudine.
 * Marie Belhomme, a friend of Claudine.
 * Antonin Rabastiens - the music teacher who woos Claudine. He also teaches courses for the male students.
 * Claire - the foster sister (sœur de lait) of Claudine.

Major themes
Claudine at School is an example of homoerotic fiction in the tradition of Gertrude Stein's Fernhurst (1904), Ivy Compton-Burnett's More Women than Men (1934), Christa Winsloe's The Child Manuela (1933), or Dorothy Bussy's Olivia.

Literary significance and reception
Upon its publication in 1900, Colette's novel was heralded by Charles Marras for its "maturity of language and style" It was immediately successful, yet it brought Colette scandal as well.

Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
Claudine at School has had several French film adaptations.
 * Claudine à l'école (1917)
 * Claudine à l'école (1937)
 * Claudine à l'école (1978 - made for TV)