New Books Network Kathryn Robson, "Beyond the Happy Ending: Imagining Happiness in Contemporary French Women's Writing and Film" (Liverpool UP, 2025)
Oct 22, 2025
Kathryn Robson, a Reader in French at Newcastle University, delves into the complexities of happiness in contemporary French women's writing and film. She explores how happiness is a gendered concept reflected through narratives, consumer culture, and social media's role in performance. The discussion touches on intimacy and familial expectations, queering happiness, and the negotiation of joy in migration and aging. Robson's analysis reveals diverse perspectives on happiness, challenging conventional definitions and advocating for inclusivity in understanding this elusive emotion.
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Happiness As A Complex Cultural Narrative
- Kathryn Robson argues happiness is a pervasive, gendered cultural theme that merits serious study even when it appears unlikely.
- She tracks competing societal narratives of happiness instead of imposing a single definition to capture complexity.
Define Happiness By Its Narratives Not A Single State
- Robson rejects a single definition and treats happiness as overlapping, sometimes contradictory socio-cultural narratives.
- She follows fault lines in those narratives rather than reducing happiness to one measurable state.
Theories Expose Happiness As A Trap
- Robson mobilizes Sarah Ahmed and Lauren Berlant to show how promises of happiness can trap people in damaging life choices.
- Ahmed focuses on sticky promises; Berlant diagnoses crisis ordinariness and cruel optimism.
