Gender, Sexuality, and Politics in Paul Nizans La Conspiration

In common with much 1930s political fiction, the work of Paul Nizan tends to associate masculinity with politics, excluding femininity and the female subject from commitment. Exceptionally, through the character of Catherine, Nizan raises the possibility of a productive coincidence between female sexuality and politics via the motif of incest. While Catherine initially rejects the political possibilities of incest, she does achieve a political prise de conscience at the end of the text.