Wednesday 19 August 2015

The Modern Woman...

...Doesn't carry a réticule, nor something else, but a book :-)

Today's Trouvaille from Journal des Dames et des Modes, Nr 3, Year 8 (October 1803)


The ladies go out in the morning. According to fashion, they carry neither money, nor a handkerchief, nor a réticule in their hand, but a book. Therefor the daily stroll becomes a meeting point for blue stockings. We don't see them anymore at Rennelagh; and in the evenings the fashionable family splits as such: Madame goes to watch Miss Duchesnois or Elleviou, the children visit the Pittoresque and Mechanical theatre, and Monsieur goes to Frascati.

*******

Mlle Duchesnois: a famous tragic actress. https://fr.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine-Joséphine_Duchesnois

Mlle Duchesnois was a rival to today better known Mlle Georges, and a protégée of Joséphine Bonaparte. 

The Ranelagh is a théâtre established in 1722, mostly performing comedies, thus a meeting point for the Young and Beautiful.

The Frascati is like the Ranelagh or the Tivoli one of the hotspots for all the Bright a Young Things. 
Famous for Ices.


Thus the interpretation is: Madame is fashionably (read superficially)redirected towards tragedy (the higher form of theatre), the Children are enthused by technical novelties, while Monsieur visits the ice-cream parlour. 

No comments:

Post a Comment