Mitchell Greenberg is Goldwin Smith Professor of Romance Studies at Cornell University. He is the author of several books on seventeenth-century French literature and culture. Greenberg uses contemporary critical theories, particularly Freudian and post-Freudian approaches, in the interpretation of early modern texts.

• Preface; Introduction; 1. L'Astrée and androgyny; 2. The grateful dead: Corneille's tragedy and the subject of history; 3. Passion play: Jeanne des Anges, devils, hysteria and the incorporation of the classical subject; 4. Rodogune: sons and lovers; 5. Molière's Tartuffe and the scandal of insight; 6. Racine's children; 7. 'Visions are seldom all they seem': La Princesse de Clèves and the end of Classical illusions; Notes; Index.

"...both by the depth and brilliance of his perceptions and the clarity and elegance of his formulations, Mitchell Greenberg has made, with this work, a major contribution to seventeenth-century French studies." Ralph Albanese, Jr., L'Esprit Créateur