Having it all in the Belle Epoque : how French women's magazines invented the modern woman / Rachel Mesch.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Mesch, Rachel.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Women's periodicals, French--France--History--20th century.

Women's periodicals, French.

French literature--Women authors--History and criticism.

French literature.

Feminist literature--France--History and criticism.

Feminist literature.

Feminism--France--History--20th century.

Feminism.

Femininity in literature.

Women in literature.

Femininity in art.

Women in art.

Physical Description:

xii, 241 p.

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Stanford, Calif. : Stanford University Press, 2013.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

At once deeply historical and surprisingly timely, Having it All in the Belle Epoque shows how the debates that continue to captivate high-achieving women in America and Europe can be traced back to the early 1900's in France. The first two photographic magazines aimed at women, Femina and La Vie Heureuse created a female role model who could balance age-old convention with new equalities. Often referred to simply as the "modern woman," this captivating figure embodied the hopes and dreams as well as the most pressing internal conflicts of large numbers of French women during what was a period of profound change. Full of never-before-studied images of the modern French woman in action, Having it All shows how these early magazines exploited new photographic technologies, artistic currents, and literary trends to create a powerful model of French femininity, one that has exerted a lasting influence on French expression. This book introduces and explores the concept of Belle Epoque literary feminism, a product of the elite milieu from which the magazines emerged. Defined by its refusal of political engagement, this feminism was nevertheless preoccupied with expanding women's roles, as it worked to construct a collective fantasy of female achievement. Through an astute blend of historical research, literary criticism, and visual analysis, Mesch's study of women's magazines and the popular writers associated with them offers an original window onto a bygone era that can serve as a framework for ongoing debates about feminism, femininity, and work-life tensions.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction. Femina, La Vie Heureuse and the Invention of the Femme Moderne

Chapter 1. Chères lectrices

Chapter 2. Beyond the Bluestocking

Chapter 3. The “Oriental” Authoress

Chapter 4. The Writer Writes Back

Chapter 5. A New Man for the New Woman?

Chapter 6. Jean Lorrain’s Women’s Magazine

Chapter 7. A Belle Epoque Media Storm

Conclusion. Imagining the Académicienne

Notes

Selected Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780804787130

0804787131

OCLC:

854521498