Comparative Questions

1. Trace the evolution of representations of Paris from Balzac through Houellebecq. What remains constant, and what changes?

2. Compare how writers from different centuries handle the theme of social mobility (Lafayette, Stendhal, Ernaux).

3. How do male and female writers differently represent romantic love across the centuries?

4. Trace the representation of the "other" (racial, religious, cultural) from medieval times to the present.

5. How has the relationship between writer and political power evolved from royal patronage to modern democracy?