The Invisible Flesh: Mimesis in Jean Genet's The Maids

Abstract: Luce Irigaray's mimesis theory is here pushed further by expanding her concept of phallocentric culture, which leads us to consider various figures of authority represented in Jean Genet's play The Maids (1947). In The Maids , characters step into the skin of their victimizers to display their invisible occluded emotions on one hand, and on the other, the hegemonic discourse of their oppressors, or what I call "phallocentric cultures." The two main characters, Claire and Solange, show why their constructed images impersonating their Madame fail to fulfill their dreams of stepping out of their own milieu. I analyze their subjectivity in connection with Genet's desire to undermine the ruling social system.