1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910787317503321

Autore

Mesch Rachel

Titolo

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

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Stanford, Calif., : Stanford University Press, 2013

ISBN

0-8047-8713-1

Descrizione fisica

xii, 241 p

Disciplina

054/.1082

Soggetti

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

French literature - Women authors - History and criticism

Feminist literature - France - History and criticism

Feminism - France - History - 20th century

Femininity in literature

Women in literature

Femininity in art

Women in art

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

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

Sommario/riassunto

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.