Baroness Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knight ...

Suzanne Lilar (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

''Suzanne Verbist''; 21 May 1901 – 11 December 1992Académie Royale de Langues et de Littératures Belges
/ref>) was a

Flemish Flemish may refer to: * Flemish, adjective for Flanders, Belgium * Flemish region, one of the three regions of Belgium *Flemish Community, one of the three constitutionally defined language communities of Belgium * Flemish dialects, a Dutch dialec ...

Belgian

essayist An essay ( ) is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a Letter (message), letter, a term paper, paper, an article (publishing), article, a pamphlet, and a s ...

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

, and

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

writing in French. She was the wife of the Belgian Minister of Justice Albert Lilar and mother of the writer Françoise Mallet-Joris and the art historian Marie Fredericq-Lilar. She was a member of the Royal Academy of French Language and Literature from 1952 to 1992.

Life

Lilar's mother was a

middle school Middle school, also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school, is an educational stage between primary school and secondary school. Afghanistan In Afghanistan, middle school includes g ...

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

, her father a

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

station master The station master (or stationmaster) is the person in charge of a Train station, railway station, particularly in the United Kingdom and many other countries outside North America. In the United Kingdom, where the term originated, it is now lar ...

. After having lived her youth in Ghent, and following a brief first marriage, she moved to

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

, where she became the first woman lawyer, and where in 1929 she married the lawyer Albert Lilar who would later become a

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

and

Minister of State Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior minister ...

(Liberal Party). She was the mother of the

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

Françoise Mallet-Joris (born 1930) and the 18th-century

art historian Art history is the study of artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Traditionally, the ...

Marie Fredericq-Lilar (born 1934). After the death of her husband in 1976, she left Antwerp and relocated to

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

in 1977.

Education

In 1919 Lilar attended the State University of Ghent, where she studied

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and was the first woman to receive a

law degree A law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Some law degrees are professional degrees that are prerequisites or serve as preparation for legal careers. These generally include the Bachelor of Civil Law, Bachelor of Laws, an ...

in 1925. During her studies she attended a seminar on Hadewych. Her interest in the 13th century

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

and mystic would play an important role in her later

essays An essay ( ) is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a Letter (message), letter, a term paper, paper, an article (publishing), article, a pamphlet, and a s ...

, plays and novels. Lilar's historico-cultural insight, her analysis of

consciousness Consciousness, at its simplest, is awareness of a state or object, either internal to oneself or in one's external environment. However, its nature has led to millennia of analyses, explanations, and debate among philosophers, scientists, an ...

and

emotion Emotions are physical and mental states brought on by neurophysiology, neurophysiological changes, variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavior, behavioral responses, and a degree of pleasure or suffering, displeasure. There is ...

, her search for

beauty Beauty is commonly described as a feature of objects that makes them pleasure, pleasurable to perceive. Such objects include landscapes, sunsets, humans and works of art. Beauty, art and taste are the main subjects of aesthetics, one of the fie ...

and

love Love is a feeling of strong attraction and emotional attachment (psychology), attachment to a person, animal, or thing. It is expressed in many forms, encompassing a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most su ...

are at the same time current and timeless.

Literary career

Applying a strong intellect to her work through precise language, she was a thoroughly modern writer and

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

who nonetheless remained highly versed in many areas of traditional

western thought Western philosophy refers to the philosophical thought, traditions and works of the Western world. Historically, the term refers to the philosophical thinking of Western culture, beginning with the ancient Greek philosophy of the pre-Socratics. ...

(

Encyclopædia Britannica The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...

). In 1956 Lilar succeeds Gustave Van Zype as member of the Royal Academy of French Language and Literature. Her oeuvre has been translated in numerous languages.

Early work

Lilar began her literary career as a

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

, reporting on

Republican Spain The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of democratic government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931 after the deposition of King Alfonso XIII. It was dissol ...

for the newspaper ''L'Indépendance belge'' in 1931. She later became a

with ''Le Burlador'' (1946), an original reinterpretation of the

myth Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

Don Juan Don Juan (), also known as Don Giovanni ( Italian), is a legendary fictional Spanish libertine who devotes his life to seducing women. The original version of the story of Don Juan appears in the 1630 play (''The Trickster of Seville and t ...

from the

female An organism's sex is female ( symbol: ♀) if it produces the ovum (egg cell), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete (sperm cell) during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gametes than a male. Females and ...

perspective that revealed a profound capacity for

psychological Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

analysis. She wrote two more plays, ''Tous les chemins mènent au ciel'' (1947), a

theological Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of an ...

drama set in a 14th-century

convent A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

, and ''Le Roi lépreux'' (1951), a neo-Pirandellian play about the

Crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding t ...

Critical essays

Her earliest

are on the subject of the

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

. ''Soixante ans de théâtre belge'' (1952), originally published in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in 1950 as ''The Belgian Theater since 1890'', emphasizes the importance of a

tradition. She followed this with ''Journal de l'analogiste'' (1954), in which the origin of the experience of beauty and poetry was guided by a path of

analogies Analogy is a comparison or correspondence between two things (or two groups of things) because of a third element that they are considered to share. In logic, it is an inference or an argument from one particular to another particular, as oppose ...

. A short essay ''Théâtre et mythomanie'' was published in 1958. Transcendence and

metamorphosis Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops including birth transformation or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and different ...

are central to her seminal work ''Le Couple'' (1963), translated in 1965 by Jonathan Griffin as ''Aspects of Love in Western Society.'' In writings on

Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens ( ; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat. He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradition. Rubens' highly charged compositions reference erudite aspects of clas ...

, the Androgyne or

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...

Ancient Greece Ancient Greece () was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity (), that comprised a loose collection of culturally and linguistically r ...

, Lilar meditates on the role of the woman in conjugal

throughout the ages. Translated into Dutch in 1976, it includes an

afterword An afterword is a literary device that is often found at the end of a piece of literature. It generally covers the story of how the book came into being, or of how the idea for the book was developed. An afterword may be written by someone oth ...

by Marnix Gijsen. In the same vein she later wrote critical essays on

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was a French philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary criticism, literary critic, considered a leading figure in 20th ...

(''À propos de Sartre et de l'amour'', 1967) and

Simone de Beauvoir Simone Lucie Ernestine Marie Bertrand de Beauvoir (, ; ; 9 January 1908 – 14 April 1986) was a French existentialist philosopher, writer, social theorist, and feminist activist. Though she did not consider herself a philosopher, nor was she ...

(''Le Malentendu du Deuxième Sexe'', 1969).

Autobiographical works, novels

Lilar wrote two

autobiographical An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

books, ''Une Enfance gantoise'' (1976) and ''À la recherche d'une enfance'' (1979), and two novels, both of which date from 1960, ''Le Divertissement portugais'' and ''La Confession anonyme'', a

neoplatonic Neoplatonism is a version of Platonic philosophy that emerged in the 3rd century AD against the background of Hellenistic philosophy and religion. The term does not encapsulate a set of ideas as much as a series of thinkers. Among the common id ...

idealization of love filtered through personal experience. The Belgian director André Delvaux recreated this novel on film as '' Benvenuta'' in 1983, transposed as an intense examination of a tortured but exalted relationship between a young Belgian woman and her Italian lover. ''Les Moments merveilleux'' and ''Journal en partie double, I & II'' were published as part of ''Cahiers Suzanne Lilar'' (1986).

Select bibliography

* ''Le Burlador'' (1945),

, Éditions des Artistes. Portrait of Author by artist Albert Crommelynck. * ''Tous les chemins mènent au ciel'' (1947), Brussels, Éditions des Artistes; Reedited 1989, Brussels, Les Éperonniers. * ''Le Roi lépreux'' (1951), Brussels, Les Éditions Lumière. * ''The Belgian Theatre since 1890'' (1950),

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, Belgian Government Information Center, 67 pp. * ''Soixante ans de théâtre belge'' (1952). * ''Journal de l'analogiste'' (1954),

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, Éditions Julliard; Reedited 1979, Paris, Grasset. Foreword by

Julien Gracq Julien Gracq (; born Louis Poirier; 27 July 1910 – 22 December 2007) was a French writer. He wrote novels, critiques, a play, and poetry. His literary works were noted for their dreamlike abstraction, elegant style and refined vocabulary. He ...

, Introduction by Jean Tordeur. * ''Le Jeu'' (1957), Editions Synthèses, nr. 128: 218–239, Woluwe-St.Lambert, Bruxelles. * ''Théâtre et mythomanie'' (1958),

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

. * ''La confession anonyme'' (1960), Paris, Éditions Julliard; Reedited 1980, Brussels, Éditions Jacques Antoine, with foreword by the author; 1983, Paris, Gallimard, . The Belgian

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

André Delvaux adapted this novel in his film Benvenuta in 1983. * ''Le Divertissement portugais'' (1960), Paris, Éditions Julliard; Reedited 1990, Brussels, Labor, Espace Nord, . * ''Le Couple'' in ''La Nef'', n.s. no. 5, La Française Aujourd'hui, ''La femme et l'Amour'', pp. 33–45. * ''Le Couple'' (1963), Paris, Grasset; Reedited 1970, Bernard Grasset Coll. Diamant, 1972, Livre de Poche; 1982, Brussels, Les Éperonniers, ; Translated as ''Aspects of Love in Western Society'' in 1965, by and with a foreword by Jonathan Griffin, New York,

McGraw-Hill McGraw Hill is an American education science company that provides educational content, software, and services for students and educators across various levels—from K-12 to higher education and professional settings. They produce textbooks, ...

, LC 65-19851. * ''A propos de Sartre et de l'amour'' (1967), Paris, Éditions Bernard Grasset; Reedited 1984, Gallimard, . * ''Le Malentendu du Deuxième Sexe'' (1969), with collaboration of Prof. Gilbert-Dreyfus. Paris,

University Presses of France A university () is an institution An institution is a humanly devised structure of rules and norms that shape and constrain social behavior. All definitions of institutions generally entail that there is a level of persistence and continuit ...

(''Presses Universitaires de France''). * ''Une enfance gantoise'' (1976). Paris, Grassset, ; Reedited 1986, Bibliothèque Marabout. * ''A la recherche d'une enfance'' (1979). Foreword by Jean Tordeur. Brussels, Éditions Jacques Antoine, with original photos by the author's father. * ''Faire un film avec André Delvaux'' (1982), pp. 209–214. In '' André Delvaux ou les visages de l'imaginaire'', Ed. A. Nysenhole, Revue de l'Université de Bruxelles. * ''Journal en partie double'' (1986) in ''Cahiers Suzanne Lilar'', Paris, Gallimard, . * ''Les Moments merveilleux'' (1986) in ''Cahiers Suzanne Lilar'', Paris, Gallimard, .

Literary awards

* ''Le Burlador'', 1946. Prix Picard; 1947. Prix Vaxelaire; * ''Journal de l'Analogiste''. 1954. Prix Sainte-Beuve; * ''Le Couple''. 1963. Prix Ève Delacroix; * 1972. Prix quinquennal de la critique de de l'essai, l'

Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

; * 1973. Prix Belgo-Canadien for her oeuvre; * 1977. ''Une enfance gantoise''. Prix Saint-Simon; * 1980. Prix Europalia for her oeuvre; * 1982. A Colloquium on the oeuvre of Suzanne Lilar was organized by Henri Ronse, Director of the "Nouveau Théåtre" in Brussels. Participants included Elisabeth Badinter, Annie Cohen-Solal, Françoise Mallet-Joris, Hector Bianciotti, Jean Tordeur, André Delvaux, and Jacques de Decker, and their essays were published in 1986 in the "Cahiers Suzanne Lilar".

Select critical works

* ''Autour de Suzanne Lilar''. Texts of Georges Sion, Françoise Mallet-Joris,

, R.P. Carré, Roland Mortier, Armand Lanoux, Jacques de Decker, Jean Tordeur, Suzanne Lilar. ''Bulletin de l'Académie Royale de Langue et de Littérature françaises''. Brussels, 1978, t. LVI, nr. 2, pp. 165–204. * ''Alphabet des Lettres belges de langue française''. Brussels, Association pour la promotion des Lettres belges de langue française, 1982. * René Micha, 1982. ''<> d'André Delvaux: Une adaptation exemplaire de la <> de Suzanne Lilar'', pp. 215–219. In '' André Delvaux ou les visages de l'imaginaire'', Ed. A. Nysenhole, Revue de l'Université de Bruxelles. * ''Cahiers Suzanne Lilar''. Paris, Gallimard, 1986 (with a bibliography by Martine Gilmont). * Marc Quaghebeur, 1990, ''Lettres belges: entre absence et magie''. Brussels, Labor, Archives du Futur. * Paul Renard, 1991. ''Suzanne Lilar: Bio-Bibliographie'', vol. 17, pp. 1–6 in Nord – Revue de Critique et de Création Littéraires du Nord/ Pas-de-Calais. Suzanne Lilar- Françoise Mallet-Joris, . * Béatrice Gaben-Shults, 1991. ''Le Théåtre de Suzanne Lilar: tentation et refus de mysticisme'', vol. 17, pp. 7–13, in Nord – Revue de Critique et de Création Littéraires du Nord/ Pas-de-Calais. Suzanne Lilar – Françoise Mallet-Joris, . *

Colette Nys-Mazure Colette Nys-Mazure (born 14 May 1939) is a Belgian poet, essayist, playwright, and novelist writing in French. She was born in Wavre. She received a master's degree in modern literature from the Catholic University of Leuven. From 1961 to 1999, ...

, 1991. ''La part du feu '', vol. 17, pp. 15–22, in Nord – Revue de Critique et de Création Littéraires du Nord/ Pas-de-Calais. Suzanne Lilar – Françoise Mallet-Joris, . * Colette Nys-Mazure, 1991. ''Dossiers Suzanne Lilar'', dans Dossiers Littérature Française de Belgique (Service du Livre Luxembourgeois) fasc. 3(32): 1–27. * Michèle Hecquet, 1991. ''L'Éducation paternelle: Une enfance gantoise'', vol. 17, pp. 23–28, in Nord – Revue de Critique et de Création Littéraires du Nord/ Pas-de-Calais. Suzanne Lilar – Françoise Mallet-Joris, . *Katharina M. Wilson, 1991, Suzanne Lilar ''in:'' ''An Encyclopedia of Continental Women Writers'', Volume two: L-Z, p. 730 (entry by Donald Friedman), Taylor & Francis, , * Colette Nys-Mazure, 1992, ''Suzanne Lilar''. Editions Labor, Brussels, 150 pp., . * Frans Amelinckx, 1995, ''L'apport de John Donne à l'œuvre de S. Lilar'', pp. 259–270 in ''La Belgique telle qu'elle s'écrit''. * Françoise Mallet-Joris, Portrait of author; Colette Nys-Masure, foreword of ''Suzanne Lilar – Théåtre'', 1999, Collection Poésie Théåtre Roman, Académie Royale de Langue de de Littérature Françaises, * Suzanne Fredericq, 2001, Elegance: A Brief, Perfectly Balanced Instant of Complete Possession of Forms", pp. 14–19 In ''Elegance, Beauty and Truth", Ed. Lewis Pyenson, New Series Vol. 2, Center for Louisiana Studies, Univ. of Louisiana at Lafayette, * Susan Bainbrigge, 2004, Writing about the In-Between in Suzanne Lilar's Une Enfance gantoise, ''Forum for Modern Language Studies'' 40(3):301–313. * Hélène Rouch, 2001–2002, Trois conceptions du sexe:

entre Adrienne Sahuqué et Suzanne Lilar, ''Simone de Beauvoir Studies'', n° 18, pp. 49–60.

Interview

* ''Une enfance gantoise – Une interview de Madame Suzanne Lilar'' In ''Le Rail'', 1977(2): 23–27

References

External links

Académie Royale de Langues et de Littératures BelgesWriting about the In-Between in Suzanne Lilar's Une Enfance gantoise by Susan BainbriggeSuzanne Lilar in Encyclopædia BritannicaSuzanne Lilar in An Encyclopedia of Continental Women Writers, Ed. by Katharina M. Wilson; entry by Donald Friedman, p. 730Suzanne Lilar in Francophone Literatures:An Introductory Survey
by Belinda Jack
Splitting the Difference: Dualisms in Persiles by Diana de Armas Wilson
* ttp://www.lalibre.be/article.phtml?id=5&subid=105&art_id=83334 Article on André Delvaux in La Libre Belgiquebr>Virginia Woolf and AndrogynyL'espace privilégié de l'entre-deux dans l'oeuvre autobiographique de Suzanne Lilar, by Natalya Lenina, Les Cahiers du GRELCEF, 2010 (1): 141–1577Marguerite Yourcenar et Suzanne Lilar : plus qu'une rencontre, une complicité by Michèle GoslarDiscussion of Lilar's criticism of Simone de Beauvoir The Second Sex:New Interdisciplinary Essays by Ruth Evans, EditorMaria Teodora Comsa, Le burlador de Suzanne Lilar: mythe et tragédie féminine, 2008, MS Thesis, San Jose State Univ., 112 pp.Feminist Interpretations of Simone de Beauvoir by Margaret A. SimonsRaphaël Sorin on Don JuanBenvenuta in André Delvaux by Henri Agel, Joseph Marty Interviews with Suzanne Lilar:, and other video clips"Le Malentendu du 2ème sexe" by Suzanne Lilar: 1969 ORTF interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lilar, Suzanne 1901 births 1992 deaths 20th-century Belgian novelists 20th-century Belgian philosophers 20th-century Belgian women writers 20th-century Belgian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century essayists Belgian barons Belgian autobiographers Belgian essayists Belgian literary critics Belgian women literary critics Belgian women essayists Belgian women journalists Belgian women novelists Belgian women philosophers Belgian writers in French Critical theorists Feminist writers Flemish women writers Flemish writers Ghent University alumni Writers from Antwerp Writers from Ghent Philosophers of art Philosophers of history Philosophers of literature Philosophers of sexuality Belgian women dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Belgian journalists