Le roman du bijou fin-de-siècle: esthétique et société by Sophie Pelletier (review)

Pelletier embarks on an engaging exploration of fin-de-siècle French culture through the intriguing lens of the jeweled narrative. Organized into three main sections, the study consists of six chapters as well as an introduction. Part one,"L'objet," considers gems as prized possessions endowed with both filial and financial value in late nineteenth-century fiction. The opening chapter,"Bijoux et dandys: l'ostentation aristocratique confrontée à la marche du siècle," investigates the highborn aesthete's complex relationship to precious stones in the Decadent novel. Clarifying that the power and legitimacy of the aristocracy relied on intransience and lastingness for its continuation, Pelletier argues that "la pierre dure et durable, immuable et pérenne, s'offre alors comme la matière toute indiquée pour affirmer et afficher la perpétuité noble" (35). In her discussion of Jean Lorrain's Monsieur de Bougrelon, Pelletier uses the image of "l'épave" to convey the multilayered symbolism of the dandy's heirlooms caught between permanence and dissolution—"entre fixité et désintégration"—and simultaneously straddling past memories and the passage of time (47). Chapter two, "Fabriqué en argent et valant de l'argent: leçon d'homonymie fin-de-siècle," explains how with the disappearance of sumptuary laws and dress codes, the display of costly jewels ceased to be an aristocratic monopoly as"bourgeois, paysans et routiers"gained the right to wear ornaments and finery (55). Pelletier defines this transfer of wealth and ostentation from the nobility to the rising bourgeoisie in terms of the jewel's status shift from emblem of durability and perpetuity to "un objet circulant et fluctuant selon les lois du marché" (90). Part 2, "Le corps," equates jewels with the feminine body, corporeality, and the construction of sexual identities and social roles. This section presents women's adornment as both a sign of her enchainment and a symbol of her power. In the chapter "Collier esclavage, yeux d'émeraude et corps de pierre: de quelques artifices féminins," Pelletier interprets Renée's finery in Zola's La curée as an indicator of her subservient role in her marriage to Saccard and comments that "le corps paré de Renée est entièrement mis au service de la réputation, des affaires et des projets de son mari" (117). Similarly, in her reading of Rachilde's La marquise de Sade in "Instruments de résistance féminine," Pelletier underscores the impact of Mary's jeweled tools, such as"ses joyaux-couteaux"and"ses bijoux-scalpels,"which enable the marquise to wield"un pouvoir masculin" (202). Part 3,"La matière," features precious stones with their power of evocation as material for literature. In the closing chapter, "Écrivains-orfèvres et textes-bijoux: un art décoratif," the author notes that "travailleurs des lettres, passionnés des gemmes, spécialistes des minéraux et artisans des pierres s'occupent [...] des mêmes objets et communiquent leur enthousiasme de façon semblable," before borrowing the jeweler's craft as a metaphor for writing and the creative process (295). Pelletier's critical insights and expressive prose combine to create an enriching and illuminating read.