Splendeurs et misères de la grisette: Évolution d'une figure emblématique (review)

Alain Lescart's careful and thorough investigation into the social and cultural importance of this literary figure rights an injustice which has existed far too long in the field. Since his appearance in the popular imagination, first via the prose of Balzac and then further theorized by Baudelaire, le flâneur has been the focus of an impressive amount of worthy scholarship. By contrast, la grisette, that other equally—if not more—ubiquitous presence in nineteenth-century French literature and popular culture who may be seen as a counterpart to le flâneur has not enjoyed such attention. At first glance, their differences in gender and class make the two an unlikely pair. The flâneur spends his time wandering the streets of a city (most often, Paris) in order to observe the goings-on that surround him; this activity is only possible to a man of adequate means and ample free time—a member of the bourgeoisie, that is. The grisette, on the other hand, is most certainly of the lower class, as she is defined by her cheap grey dress, her illiteracy, and the fact that she must work for a living. Despite their differences, the two share a similar function within the artistic imagination of their time; each is able to embody a prevalent component of society, and both carry with them a series of complex and sometimes contradictory philosophical implications. Devoid of individual personality traits, the character who is designated a flâneur or a grisette is automatically inserted into a preconceived social category and can be easily deciphered and understood by the spectator or reader. And yet, while both figures perform this role, the flâneur seems to have received a disproportionate amount of academic attention. Lescart's in-depth investigation into this feminine character is therefore quite welcome, as is the serious treatment of the subject. The work is entitled Les Splendeurs et misères de la grisette, after the 1847 novel by Balzac entitled Splendeurs et misères des courtisanes, a nod to the respectable literary pedigree from which the grisette arises.

Lescart helpfully begins his book with a clear statement of purpose: he intends to carry out an exhaustive study of the various apparitions of the grisette in popular culture and in literature in order to track the larger social changes taking place within post-Revolutionary France. He goes on: "La grisette emblématise les luttes de la classe populaire en vue de l'acquisition d'une plus grande indépendance sociale et économique. Cette thèse entend clarifier les raisons socioculturelles qui ont conduit à la pollinisation du modèle grisette dans les arts populaires et littéraires de la première moitié du dix-neuvième siècle" (Introduction). In other words, because of the grisette's special (and perhaps even subconscious) status as representative of the working class, we can better understand where this class is in its struggle by looking to how the grisette is being depicted. What the Lescart does not spell out—and perhaps for good reason—is how this figure may also represent her entire sex: faced with a woman who does not fit in the usual categories, society must adapt its attitudes.

The organization of the work is impeccable. The first part, Etude du modèle français, comprises the bulk of the study, carrying out a thorough examination of each stage in the grisette's evolution as a prominent cultural persona. The first chapter is a survey-style exploration of pre-nineteenth century variations of the grisette. Lescart begins with her first literary appearance in La Fontaine's "Jaconde ou l'infidélité des femmes," a short story, written in 1664, which sets the tone for future representations of la grisette. Lescart finds three conclusions that may be drawn from La Fontaine's representation of the grisette: one, she is of low social status (her father is an innkeeper), and thus must be naturally...