Conservative Tradition in Pre-Revolutionary France

Beschreibung

The establishment of the Parisian salon as a distinctive form of sociability in the mid-seventeenth century was a result of the convergence of three elements: the consolidation of the absolute monarchy after the Fronde, the shift in emphasis from traditional noble values to honnêteté, and the perception of the vital role of women in disseminating these values. Paradoxically, by accepting their role in sustaining honnêteté, women limited, rather than fostered, their own advancement in society. The very existence of a salonnière was founded upon the agreement that the only «public» role allowed for a woman was that of provider of propriety and good manners. The salon emerges as a niche in which society allowed her to function, on the assumption that she would not violate the bienséance considered appropriate for her sex; thus, as an institution deeply rooted in the status quo. The standpoint taken by Parisian salon women in the eighteenth-century quarrels over the French and the Italian opera reflected this traditional salon philosophy.

Autor*in

Jolanta T. Pekacz

Themen in »Conservative Tradition in Pre-Revolutionary France«

Absolute monarchy CONSERV Conservative France Parisian Parisian salon REVOL Revolutionary Salon Status quo TRADIT Tradition Traditional philosophy Women Women role

Stimmen zu »Conservative Tradition in Pre-Revolutionary France«

«Jolanta Pekacz raises vital questions not only about the role of the salons in the French Enlightenment, but also about how deeply the movement's ideas became established within the public at large. A brilliant volume that shows how much musical discourse can help us understand cultural life in general.» (William Weber, Professor of History, California State University, Long Beach)
«This is an important and provocative work. Supported by exhaustive research, Jolanta Pekacz challenges many of the accepted views about the role of the salons and the women who presided over them in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century France. Moreover, by integrating the 'salonnières' into the musical wars of the period, she adds a whole new dimension to the field.» (James A. Leith, Professor of History, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario)

()

Details

Link teilen