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- Letters from a Peruvian Woman (French: Lettres d'une Péruvienne) is a 1747 epistolary novel by Françoise de Graffigny. It tells the story of Zilia, a young Incan princess, who is abducted from the Temple of the Sun by the Spanish during the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire. In a series of letters to her fiancé Aza, who is also the Sapa Inca, Zilia tells the story of her capture, her rescue by French sailors, her befriending of the captain Déterville and her introduction to French society. Summary of Letters 1 - 9:A Peruvian woman named Zilia wrote letters to her fiance about her turmoil, suffering, and love. In her letters, the woman spends most of the context sharing the strong love she has towards her fiance Aza, the King in the land of the Sun. Zilia shares in her letters about her capture story; that when she was making her way to the sacred temple she saw the Spaniard soldiers who were looked upon as Virachocas killing the native men and capturing the virgins. As Zilia attempted to escape she was captured by the soldiers. Zilia warns Aza to be careful of the people around him because the Spaniards have more followers than Aza and she fears that some of the men around Aza would try to kill him as a favor to the Spaniards. Zilia also complains about her situation in the foreign land and begs her fiance to come and save her with his might. Zilia also explains that her heart is filled with curiosity upon her arrival in the foreign land and she does not seem to make a friendly connection with the culture there. Like Montesquieu's Lettres persanes, Lettres d'une Péruvienne presents a satirical view of French life, particularly the conditions of French women, through the eyes of an outsider. Zilia talks about language, literature, philosophy, education, and child rearing, among other subjects. To a much greater degree than Montesquieu, Françoise de Graffigny engages readers in a suspenseful story, turning on whether Zilia will be reunited with Aza or whether she will consent to marry Déterville. Many readers and critics were unsatisfied by the conclusion, but when the author revised and expanded the novel for a new edition in 1752, she refused to change the ending. The inspiration for the novel came from seeing a performance of Alzire, Voltaire's play set during the Spanish conquest of Peru; immediately afterwards, in May 1743, she began to read the Inca Garcilaso de la Vega's History of the Incas, which supplied most of the historical background for the story. Although only a small fragment of a manuscript exists, the process of composition can be followed in the author's correspondence. The novel was an immediate success with readers; by the end of 1748 there were fourteen editions, including three of an English translation. Over the next hundred years, more than 140 editions appeared, including the revised and expanded 1752 edition, several different English translations, two in Italian, and others in German, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Swedish. Contemporary critics, including Pierre Clément, Élie Catherine Fréron, Joseph de La Porte, and Guillaume Thomas François Raynal, wrote long and mostly favorable reviews. Several articles in Diderot's Encyclopédie quote the novel. A number of sequels were written, often to "improve" on the author's dénouement; the most famous was Lettres d'Aza, by Ignace Hugary de Lamarche-Courmont, published in 1748 and frequently reprinted with the original novel. The popularity of Lettres d'une Péruvienne faded after 1830, but it enjoyed a strong revival of interest in the last third of the twentieth century, thanks in part to new scholarship and in part to the new interest in women writers generated by the feminist movement. (en)
- Les Lettres d’une Péruvienne de Françoise de Graffigny paraissent dans leur première version en 1747. Ce roman épistolaire et sentimental relate la vie de Zilia, jeune femme inca, séparée de son fiancé, Aza, lorsqu’elle est enlevée par des conquistadors espagnols avant d’être ramenée de force en Europe. Elle est rachetée par un officier français, Déterville, qui la prend sous son aile. Elle apprend, petit à petit, à se faire une certaine place au sein de la société française, sans pour autant manquer de critiquer celle-ci. Le roman se clôt par une conclusion pour le moins surprenante pour l’époque, alors que Zilia refuse le statut traditionnel de soumission de la femme à un homme. Cette fin vaudra à l’œuvre de Graffigny un nombre considérable de réactions austères et de commentaires sévères de la part de ses contemporains, mais également l’intérêt de la critique littéraire féministe à partir des années 1960. Le roman de Graffigny procède à une rude critique de la société française, permise par le décalage entre l’étrangère et sa société d’accueil. L’autrice s’attaque à la religion, à l’éducation, à la condition féminine et à la politique, pour ne nommer que quelques sujets. Martine Reid, critique littéraire française, ira même jusqu’à qualifier l’œuvre de Graffigny de « geste pré-féministe ». Les Lettres d’une Péruvienne aura connu une aventure éditoriale hors du commun. Si une première édition du roman, dans sa version inachevée, paraît anonymement en 1747, ce n’est qu’en 1752 que paraîtra chez Duchesne une version définitive, signée par Françoise de Graffigny, contenant trois lettres supplémentaires ainsi qu'une introduction historique. En cinquante ans, plus de quarante éditions verront le jour, et dès le XVIIIe siècle, des traductions en italien et en anglais paraîtront. Les Lettres d’une Péruvienne seront un si grand succès que les femmes de l’époque se feront peindre « à la péruvienne » et le roman donnera lieu à une mode vestimentaire, si bien que l’œuvre sera rétrospectivement considérée comme un des premiers best-sellers de la littérature française. (fr)
- Lettere d'una peruviana (Lettres d'une Péruvienne) è un romanzo epistolare di Françoise de Graffigny pubblicato nel 1747 a Parigi. (it)
- 《페루 여인의 편지》(프랑스어: Lettres d’une Péruvienne)는 프랑스 작가 프랑수아즈 드 그라피니의 소설로 1747년에 발표되었다. (ko)
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- Lettere d'una peruviana (Lettres d'une Péruvienne) è un romanzo epistolare di Françoise de Graffigny pubblicato nel 1747 a Parigi. (it)
- 《페루 여인의 편지》(프랑스어: Lettres d’une Péruvienne)는 프랑스 작가 프랑수아즈 드 그라피니의 소설로 1747년에 발표되었다. (ko)
- Letters from a Peruvian Woman (French: Lettres d'une Péruvienne) is a 1747 epistolary novel by Françoise de Graffigny. It tells the story of Zilia, a young Incan princess, who is abducted from the Temple of the Sun by the Spanish during the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire. In a series of letters to her fiancé Aza, who is also the Sapa Inca, Zilia tells the story of her capture, her rescue by French sailors, her befriending of the captain Déterville and her introduction to French society. (en)
- Les Lettres d’une Péruvienne de Françoise de Graffigny paraissent dans leur première version en 1747. Ce roman épistolaire et sentimental relate la vie de Zilia, jeune femme inca, séparée de son fiancé, Aza, lorsqu’elle est enlevée par des conquistadors espagnols avant d’être ramenée de force en Europe. Elle est rachetée par un officier français, Déterville, qui la prend sous son aile. Elle apprend, petit à petit, à se faire une certaine place au sein de la société française, sans pour autant manquer de critiquer celle-ci. Le roman se clôt par une conclusion pour le moins surprenante pour l’époque, alors que Zilia refuse le statut traditionnel de soumission de la femme à un homme. Cette fin vaudra à l’œuvre de Graffigny un nombre considérable de réactions austères et de commentaires sévère (fr)
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