Imagining Women at War: Jane Dieulafoy's 1913 Campaign

This article examines Jane Dieulafoy (1851-1916)'s little-known campaign to recruit women into auxiliary positions in the French army, thereby freeing up more men to fight at the front. Drawing on the letters that Dieulafoy received in reaction to her campaign, found in the Fonds Dieulafoy, Bibliothèque de l'Institut, this article sheds light on the positions held by "ordinary" women regarding men's and women's roles in France in war time service and combat, on the eve of the First World War. In addition, it provides an example of "Belle Époque media feminism" (Mesch), whereby a woman of some notoriety mobilizes her public image and her example to encourage women to engage in a new, non-traditional activity.