By adopting a pseudonym, writers can completely alter identity markers announced by their name, in terms of cultural origin, social class or gender. Many women have thus chosen male pseudonyms, whereas some men have also deployed female names. Yet these strategies differ considerably, not just in aim, but also in form, especially when they constitute a way of entering the literary field. While the pen names of female authors like Daniel Stern (Marie d’Agoult) and George Sand are immediately recognized as pseudonyms and continue to be used as such, male writers like Prosper Mérimée and Pierre Louÿs each adopted a female heteronym, Clara Gazul and Bilitis, for a specific work. The disparity in these aims and methods accentuate, however, a common trait: the literary recognition process, and access to publication, pass through a male figure, whether fictive or real, who enables entry into the literary field.