Histoires de ventre: TheMenopausal Body in Marie Darrieussecq's Truismes

Marie Darrieussecq's Truismes (1996) reinvented the metamorphosis narrative prompting rich interpretations during the past two decades; however, no critic has yet explored the significance of menopause (a uniquely human transition) to understanding this transformation. In fact, the narrator-protagonist's body experiences menopausal symptoms from hot flashes and weight fluctuation to alterations of hair and skin. Only when she visualizes her womb and experiences menopause does she metamorphose into une vieille truie. This article surveys the historical and social perceptions of menopause in France that Darrieussecq exposes in her fiction. It then explores how this work writes and confronts this "passage out of womanhood," overturning historically established preconceptions of female aging. Rather than representing the menopausal body as a barren space devoid of interest, Truismes finds fertile ground on which to allow women to discover inner worth and creativity worthy of sharing and even publishing.