This book is a clear and accessible introduction to the writings ofHelene Cixous, novelist, dramatist and critic, whose work has had amajor impact on feminist theory and practice.Susan Sellers, a major scholar on Cixous, provides a lucidaccount of Cixous's theoretical position, and in particular herdistinctive theory of an 'écriture féminine'. Shediscusses the development of Cixous's literary oeuvre in thecontext of this theory, and analyses a selection of the works indetail to illustrate the different stages in Cixous's writingcareer.Focusing on the key novels and plays, Sellers explores a rangeof issues and themes central to her work; the correlation betweenthe death of Cixous's own father and her 'coming-into-being' as awriter; the psychological process of separation and individuationand the creation of a female authorial self; the discovery of theother and the dramatization of love; the delineation/depiction ofan alternative form of relationship between self and other whichwould have a significance in a wider sphere than that of the merelypersonal.This much-needed book will be welcomed by students in literatureand literary theory, feminism and women's studies, English andFrench studies and philosophy.