Translated from the French.

Includes bibliographical references and index

A 'wilful extremist' according to the London Times, Helene Cixous is hailed as one of the most formidable writers and thinkers of our time. From collaborating with the acclaimed performance company Theatre du Soleil, to producing a weighty body of both fiction and non-fiction, Cixous is celebrated for her brilliant contributions to contemporary culture. Acclaimed by luminaries such as Jacques Derrida, her writing has nonetheless been misunderstood and misread to a surprising extent. With the inclusion of Stigmata, one of her greatest works, in the Routledge Classics series, this is about to change. Questions that have long concerned her - the self and the other, autobiographies of writing, sexual difference, literary theory, post-colonial theory, death and life - are explored here and woven into a narrative.