Having It All in the Belle Epoque: How French Women's Magazines Invented the Modern Woman
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.92 (539 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0804784248 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 256 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2017-12-13 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
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.. 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 Am
Rachel Mesch has an amazing command of the subject and portrays it in a David B. This book blew my mind. If you are interested in history, specifically that of France and the evolution of women's roles in society, this book is a must read. Rachel Mesch has an amazing command of the subject and portrays it in a way that is extremely interesting.
. World events interfered, and the publisher Hachette acquired and merged the magazines in 1916. Plugging into the literary scene and an intellectual image, the magazine editors set up literary prizes, cultivated women writers, and featured photo spreads of celebrity novelists at their writing tables, including Colette. The hybrid failed its mission, the femme moderne movement lost momentum, and suffrage was delayed until 1944. Illus. The first half of the book concentrates on the glamorized image of the working woman as conceived by both magazines, while the second half measures the scope of their influence including the legacy of the on