"The Good, the Bad and the Beautiful": Reflections on a Hidden Motif in Literature

In the 19th century, women’s undergarments certainly remained an instrument of powerful strategies for alienating women, in particular through the coercion of bodies by the imposition of the corset. It is nonetheless possible to perceive in the late 19th century and the Belle Epoque a hidden motif apparent in the use of feminine lingerie, as shown by recent scientific research and by an informed reinterpretation of literary works of the period. Such is the growing reflection upon an object that crystallizes often contradictory points of view. For in this object, the beauty of lacework or ribbons can signify all at once good or evil, wonder or pain, and it could throw light, a century later, on social situations that create an unexpected discourse on love, sex and equality.