This volume consists of new translations of twenty-six representative selections from the belle äpoque, the period of cultural efflorescence in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century France. These pieces have a remarkably modern sound; the anger of Nelly Roussel, the arguments for reproductive freedom, and the case histories of prostitutes transcend time and circumstance. Chosen from newspapers, speeches, novels, political tracts, and the like, these selections portray the range of feminist response to the prevailing social situation of women?from the generally meliorist position of the Christian feminists to the radical stances of socialist and utopian feminists. The works of authors well known at the turn of the century are interspersed with stories of the lives of some of society's victims. The selections are organized thematically: education, work, prostitution and the double standard, marriage and male-female relations, maternity, and political and civil rights. In the volume introduction and in introductions to each selection, the editors place the pieces within their historical and social settings.

The Third Republic, known as the ‘belle époque’, was a period of lively, articulate and surprisingly radical feminist activity in France, borne out of the contradiction between the Republican ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity and the reality of intense and systematic gender discrimination. Yet, it also was a period of intense and varied artistic production, with women disproving the critical nearconsensus that art was a masculine activity by writing, painting, performing, sculpting, and even displaying an interest in the new "seventh art" of cinema. This book explores all these facets of the period, weaving them into a complex, multi-stranded argument about the importance of this rich period of French women’s history.

“In this entertaining academic history of these rival magazines, Mesch . . . explores the emergence of the working woman in France.” —Publishers Weekly 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 1900s 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

The period 1890 to 1910 was a period of lively, articulate and surprisingly radical feminist activity in France. It was also a time of intense artistic production, with women disproving the critical near-consensus that art was a masculine activity. This book explores this rich period of French women's history.

This volume consists of new translations of twenty-six representative selections from the belle époque, the period of cultural efflorescence in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century France. These pieces have a remarkably modern sound; the anger of Nelly Roussel, the arguments for reproductive freedom, and the case histories of prostitutes transcend time and circumstance. Chosen from newspapers, speeches, novels, political tracts, and the like, these selections portray the range of feminist response to the prevailing social situation of women--from the generally meliorist position of the Christian feminists to the radical stances of socialist and utopian feminists. The works of authors well known at the turn of the century are interspersed with stories of the lives of some of society's victims. The selections are organized thematically: education, work, prostitution and the double standard, marriage and male-female relations, maternity, and political and civil rights. In the volume introduction and in introductions to each selection, the editors place the pieces within their historical and social settings.