{"title":"Ballet and Celebrity at the Paris Opera, or the Dreams of the Rat","authors":"Madison Mainwaring","doi":"10.1353/ncf.2023.a911798","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Abstract:</p><p>The panoramic literature of the July Monarchy (1830–48) depicts the <i>rat</i> or ballet girl to be destined for prostitution, her dream of becoming a star a mere pretext used to exploit her. In my analysis of journalists writing about the young female dancer, I interrogate the neutrality of such sources, contextualizing the dance profession in relation to other employment options available to female women workers of the lower classes and reconsidering the <i>rat</i> as an icon of women's economic and artistic ambitions. While dance was described as essentializing femininity, it promised a transformation of the body and the self that allowed for social mobility, self-expression, and artistic renown. Including accounts from former <i>rats</i> (including Berthe Bernay, Cléo de Mérode, and Judith Gautier) I show how dancing informed their identities, allowing them to imagine alternative realities and giving form to the articulation of their desires for the future.</p></p>","PeriodicalId":42524,"journal":{"name":"NINETEENTH-CENTURY FRENCH STUDIES","volume":"4 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1000,"publicationDate":"2023-11-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"NINETEENTH-CENTURY FRENCH STUDIES","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1353/ncf.2023.a911798","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"0","JCRName":"LITERATURE, ROMANCE","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Abstract:
The panoramic literature of the July Monarchy (1830–48) depicts the rat or ballet girl to be destined for prostitution, her dream of becoming a star a mere pretext used to exploit her. In my analysis of journalists writing about the young female dancer, I interrogate the neutrality of such sources, contextualizing the dance profession in relation to other employment options available to female women workers of the lower classes and reconsidering the rat as an icon of women's economic and artistic ambitions. While dance was described as essentializing femininity, it promised a transformation of the body and the self that allowed for social mobility, self-expression, and artistic renown. Including accounts from former rats (including Berthe Bernay, Cléo de Mérode, and Judith Gautier) I show how dancing informed their identities, allowing them to imagine alternative realities and giving form to the articulation of their desires for the future.
期刊介绍：
Nineteenth-Century French Studies provides scholars and students with the opportunity to examine new trends, review promising research findings, and become better acquainted with professional developments in the field. Scholarly articles on all aspects of nineteenth-century French literature and criticism are invited. Published articles are peer reviewed to ensure scholarly integrity. This journal has an extensive book review section covering a variety of disciplines. Nineteenth-Century French Studies is published twice a year in two double issues, fall/winter and spring/summer.
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