This article explores douceur as an aesthetic relating specifically to Chantal Akerman in her cinematic adaptation of La Prisonnière. Taking inspiration from the reflections of Anne Dufourmantelle, douceur here is studied as a force that activates the latent writing of a work. Akerman approaches Proust’s text like a living material whose power is to be invested, especially the power of feminine douceur. Her rewriting for the screen, which engages in and explores douceur, resembles a certain form of women’s writing.