Xinwei Zhang

Xinwei Zhang

25 October, 2024

Annie Ernaux, Pierre Bourdieu, Class interest, Social space, Division.

Pierre Bourdieu's theory of social space and segregation reveals the reproduction of social class differences and inequality, but there is still a research gap in how to reflect these social dynamics through individual narratives, especially in terms of cultural capital and aesthetic taste as social differentiation markers. This article explores how Annie Ernaux's personal narrative reflects and expands Pierre Bourdieu's theory by analyzing her works “The Location”, “A Woman”, and “The Long Years”. Ernaux vividly demonstrates the role of cultural capital in social differentiation and reveals the close relationship between individual aesthetic taste and social status. Meanwhile, her works reflect the dual role of education in providing opportunities and maintaining unequal structures in social mobility. By combining Ernaux's literary works with Pierre Bourdieu's theory, a new perspective is provided for understanding contemporary French social structure and cultural differences.

© 2024, the Authors. Published by ISCCAC

This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC license