Hyper-Conformity as Counter-Narrative in Nelly Arcan’s À ciel ouvert

This article establishes how hyper-conformity to dominant sexual discourses constitutes a form of feminist counter-narrative in Nelly Arcan’s À ciel ouvert. It argues that hyper-conformity in this novel enables Arcan to articulate seemingly incompatible undertakings: fatalistically to accept contemporary women’s condition (depicted as male-orientated and oppressive), along with the hegemonic powers of sex and beauty industries, and to delegitimize these through playful narration and hyperbolic pastiche. This article contends that Arcan reflects social boundaries faced by women, and the difficulty of overstepping them.