Mathilda Trausch

Areas of Interest

Feminist Theory, Motherhood Studies, 19th to 21st century German and French literature, Autofiction, Literary Theory

Bio

Mathilda joined the German Department at Yale in 2025. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in German Studies and Philosophy from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf and a Master of Arts in Comparative Literature from Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.
 
Her research focuses on feminist literary theory, motherhood studies, and literary representations of violence within family structures. In her master’s thesis, she analyzed the representation of infanticide in two contemporary French novels (by Leïla Slimani and Marie NDiaye), both of which engage with the Euripidean Medea myth to expose how patriarchal structures shape maternal roles and narratives.
 
At Yale, Mathilda aims to further explore concepts of motherhood and family, particularly within a German-speaking context, and to build upon the foundations of her previous work.