Juicy Couture does Marie-Antoinette

Marie-Antoinette mania strikes again, in a recent ad for Juicy Couture fashion and fragrance. What on earth could this image really mean? The teeny bopper with the pink Antoinettesque hairdo and avian companion seem an unlikely combination… unless one recalls the popularity of such portraits in eighteenth-century high society, and the delightfully wicked connotations associated with the death of a girl’s pet bird (as seen here in Greuze’s famous “Jeune fille qui pleure son oiseau mort”). Whereas the innocence of the Old Regime flew the coop long ago, it is amusing to see how the advertising world in the USA keeps the memory alive, and how the tale of the naughty queen and her coterie is ever reinvented in the hopes of selling luxury to a society of plebs.

The wizardry of Oz, 2: Echoes of Robespierre?

Have you ever noticed the political echoes between the Wizard of Oz and Robespierre? Consider these similarities: 1) In the L. Frank Baum novel, the Wizard of Oz obliges all inhabitants of the Emerald City to wear green-tinted spectacles because, as the guard explains to Dorothy upon her arrival at the gates, “if you did not wear spectacles the brightness and glory of the Emerald City would blind you. … They are locked on, for Oz so ordered it when the City was first built” (117). 2) Robespierre himself always wore green-tinted glasses, according to his biographer Ruth Schurr (Fatal Purity, 12). 3) When he is unveiled at the end, Baum’s Wizard admits he is a humbug and reveals the tricks he has used to fool observers into believing in his power (ventriloquism, optical illusions, hot air balloon technology), his reclusive habits, and fear of being revealed. But his original rise to prominence, he insists, was something of an accident; as he notes, “I found myself in the midst of a strange people, who, seeing me come from the clouds, thought I was a great Wizard. Of course I let them think so, because they were afraid of me, and promised to do anything I wished them to” (187). The Wizard’s final words underline his goodness. In response to Dorothy’s exclamation, “I think you are a very bad man,” he replies: “Oh no, my dear; I’m really a very good man, but I’m a very bad Wizard, I must admit.” (189). 4) Robespierre’s speech to the Jacobins on November 21, 1793 reveals a similar mix of grandiloquence and humility. Defending his notion of a great Being who watches over the people, he describes himself as a “poor sort of Catholic,” but insists that his aim is true: “I have never cooled in my friendship for, or failed in my championship of, my fellow men. Indeed, I have only grown more wedded to the moral and political ideas that I have expressed … The French people pins its faith, not on its priests, nor on any superstition, or any ceremony, but on worship as such–that is to say, upon the conception of an incomprehensible power, which is at once a source of confidence to the virtuous and of terror to the criminal” (cited in Shurr, 194).
These echoes may be fortuitious; the landscape of 19th-century America abounded with tyrants and tricksters, to be sure. Nevertheless, it is intriguing to note the reverberations that echo between the sentiment and populism of the Wizard of Oz and the so-called Charlatan of the Terror.
Works cited (and sources of illustrations):
Ruth Schurr, Fatal Purity: Robespierre and the French Revolution (NY: Henry Holt, 2006).
L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (repr. of 1900 edition; Ann Arbor, MI: Ann Arbor Media Group LLC, 2003).

Reflections on women of the Revolution, by Julie Congdon

This comment just in, from TAS participant Julie Congdon, who contributed an arresting poster featuring famous women of the French Revolution and some of their most memorable words. She writes, “Since many women played an instrumental role behind the scenes (and a few at the forefront) of the American Revolution, I wanted to research the women who were key figures prior to and during the French Revolution. What would be the repercussions of the choices they made? With the massive bloodshed and executions that were taking place at the time, who was brave enough to stand for their beliefs? Many of the women depicted in the poster paid the ultimate price for the decisions they made, thus the placement of the guillotine by their picture.”
by Julie Congdon, Technology Lab Facilitator, LaSalle Intermediate Academy, South Bend, IN

Louis XVI, the pitiful king

All but forgotten today, Van Dyke’s 1938 film “Marie-Antoinette” starring Norma Shearer and Robert Morley bears a second look for those students of the French Revolution who seek another perspective on Louis XVI, one closer to the image favored by his contemporaries. The clip featured here, showing the first encounter of Louis (then Dauphin) and the archduchess Marie-Antoinette, includes many of the themes that would dominate early 19th-century accounts of the king’s demise. In these few minutes, one already espies those elements which would cause his undoing: the scandalous intrigues involving his brother le Comte d’Artois and especially the conspiracies launched by his duplicitous cousin (and would-be heir to the throne), le Duc d’Orléans. Louis comes across here much as he does in period fiction, such as Mme Guénard, Irma (1799-1800); Regnault-Warin, Le Cimetière de la Madeleine (1800-01); and Roussel, Le Château des Tuileries (1802): he is a bashful, awkward presence in public, and painfully aware of that shortcoming. What saves him in this film, as in the novels noted above, is his role as tender-hearted father to his children-people, and his decency towards the voluble queen. We are not claiming that this film is closer to reality than other modern remakes by Sofia Coppola or Ettore Scola, merely that Van Dyke’s sympathetic portrayal of Louis XVI echoes with greater accuracy some of the most widely-read French fictions of the late 1790s-early 1800s.
P.S. Did we mention that Louis’s speech is an absolute howler? Robert Morley was never more hilarious, or more perfectly cast, than in this succulent role of the pitiful king.

The Tiers américain, by Catherine McPhee

Catherine McPhee, participant in the October Teachers as Scholars seminar on the French Revolution, contributed a visually powerful collage made of newspaper clippings, magazine photos and headlines broadcasting the hardships currently holding the American people in their grip. She notes that, “I feel the political and economic situation in the United States today is very similar to that of France just prior to the French Revolution. My collage represents three tiers of society: the poor, the middle class, and the wealthy and the serious problems that lie within each tier. Even though there is this separation of class, there still lies the underlying theme of unity our country has for preserving our democracy, so thus the circle of stars. The image of President Obama is included in all of the tiers representing hope that our government can help us move toward a more equitable means of life for all. It is not a socialistic society that I envision, but one where respect and tolerance for all is achieved. Hopefully this happens before we have our own revolution.”
Catherine McPhee, Media Specialist, John J. Young Middle School, Mishawaka, IN

A question of rights, by Cynthia MacWhorter

Cynthia MacWhorter participated in the 2009 Teachers as Scholars program on “The French Revolution: A Cultural Approach” (10/6 & 10/13/09). The creative project she contributed is a painting in grisaille of Marie-Antoinette juxtaposed, over whirling cloud-like brush strokes, against images of Robespierre, the halls of Versailles, the National Assembly, and the guillotine. The text on the painting reads: “October 16, 1793: What was her crime, really? Born, wrong place, wrong time? Totally clueless? Married a guy equally clueless? Not French?”
This commentary accompanies the painting: “Due to the fact that the revolution was all about human rights, I felt I wanted to address the lack of rights granted to the many persons who lost their lives due to who they were by birth. Obviously they were not totally innocent of ignorance, respect for the plight of thousands of deprived individuals and a lack of understanding which they probably could have remedied, but as I am opposed to captital punishment for even the worst criminals in contemporary society, I wanted to draw (with paint) attention to the young Queen and her plight.”
Cynthia MacWhorter, Art teacher, St. Joseph High School, South Bend, IN

Trompe l’œil imagery: Irma, ou les malheurs d’une jeune orpheline

Thanks to the astute detective work of participants in the October 2009 “Teachers as Scholars” seminar on the French Revolution, another tantalizing instance of trompe l’œil imagery has been unveiled. Look carefully at the folds of Irma’s dress, near her right leg, and you will see an angry head jutting forward toward the tomb.
Given that the story ends with a macabre account of Robespierre’s ghost haunting the catacombs in Paris and devouring the remains of his victims, perhaps this furious demonic-looking face is supposed to represent the infamous terrorist himself. It would make sense, as this image captures the final scene of the first edition of Irma, where Irma (anagram of Marie, sole survivor of the royal family) is reunited with her betrothed, the Duc d’Angoulême, and takes a vow to marry him over the tomb of Louis XVI.

This frontispiece is found in Elisabeth Guénard (Méré, madame Brossin de). Irma, ou les malheurs d’une jeune orpheline ; histoire indienne, avec des romances. Publié par la Ce. Gd. A Delhy et se trouve à Paris : Chez l’auteur, An VIII (1799-1800). University of Notre Dame: Rare Books Small PQ 1987.G45.I7.1799z. vol. 1.

News on “What You Must Know About the French Revolution: Literary Round Table / Les Must de la Révolution française: Table ronde littéraire”

Speakers and titles for session on Friday March 19, 2010, 8am – 9:30 am, in the Hotel Albuquerque, at ASECS Annual Meeting on “Les Must/ What You Must Know about the French Revolution”:
Pamela Cheek (Univ. of New Mexico): Isabelle de Charrière, Trois femmes (1798)
Nanette Le Coat (Trinity Univ., San Antonio, TX): Pauline Guizot, Les Contradictions (1799) et La Chapelle d’Ayton (1800)
Catriona Seth (Université de Nancy 2 and Visiting Indiana Univ.): François Vernes, Adélaïde de Clarencé ou les Malheurs et les Délices du sentiment (1795)
Antoinette Sol (Univ. of Texas at Arlington): Elisabeth Guénard, Irma ou les malheurs d’une jeune orpheline (An VIII)
James Steintrager (Univ. of California Irvine) : Marquis de Sade, La Philosophie dans le boudoir (1795)
Jennifer Tamas (Stanford Univ.): Olympe de Gouges, La Déclaration des droits de la femme (1791)
Format: Round Table. Speakers will present position papers 5-7 minutes in length on the one book that people “must” read to understand the French Revolution. Longer versions of the papers will be posted in advance on a website to encourage optimal discussion during the session. For information, contact jdouthwa@nd.edu

Literature and the big (economic) picture, or Advice to Wall Street’s Math Wizards: Get Real, Read Lit

Oh, what a difference a year makes. From September 2008 to September 2009, the financial world imploded: Lehman Brothers folded, Morgan Stanley hemorrhaged, and Citigroup fell flat. The tales of woe from these former titans of Wall Street have now become a genre, as captured in the New York Times’ commemorative edition: “Financial Crisis: One Year Later” (9/13/09). And still no one knows exactly what went wrong.
Yet some signs of hope are emerging. A new theme is surfacing in the recondite world of econometrics, as once-arrogant “quants” begin to realize the cost of their indifference to the “real world” of human behavior. Suddenly, economists are reaching out to psychology, securing multi-million dollar grants to combine insights from cognitive neuroscience and evolutionary biology to create new perspectives on how financial markets—and their buyers—work. But the most elusive factor they will face, and the most relevant force in the “real world” is panic.
Although researchers will doubtless devise ever-more sophisticated models to understand just went wrong, they may be better advised to read great works of fiction. Edgar Allan Poe is particularly expert in describing the psychological phenomena unleashed by fear. Poe’s works provide harrowing case studies of how otherwise lucid, decent men descend into panic and dread. And once there, they rarely emerge unscathed.
Readers and scholars of fiction are often scolded for our divorce from the “real world.” But perhaps our world—the world of careful probing among the human psyche, using language as our guide–may ultimately be more reliable than econometric modeling.

NB: A shorter version of this commentary was published in the New York Times Business section (9/20/09): BU, 7.

On Labor Day 2009

On this Labor Day 2009, it is fitting to reflect on the lot of working people in the USA. Those of us fortunate enough to be employed are working harder than ever. A recent labor report announced that in the second quarter of 2009, the American work force produced the largest increase in output since 2003. As Walter Kirn notes in his 9/06/09 New York Times editorial, “What caused the jump is open to speculation, but I imagine it was partly because of nervousness. … Anxiety is nature’s most plentiful stimulant. Under its influence, trembling fingers fly.”
How sad it is, then, that a vast cross-section of our work force remains on the job today, on this rare holiday designed to honor labor. From department stores and restaurants to gas stations and universities, millions of people went to work today. My institution gave the administrative staff a holiday, but it was work as usual for the 12,000+ faculty and students on campus. Might we remind the powers-that-be that charity is supposed to start at home? As Jean-Jacques Rousseau noted in 1762: “L’essentiel est d’être bon aux yeux des gens avec qui l’on vit. Défiez-vous de ces cosmopolites qui vont chercher loin dans leurs livres des devoirs qu’ils dédaignent de remplir autour d’eux. Tel philosophe aime les Tartares, pour être dispensé d’aimer ses voisins » (Emile, Livre 1).
If Labor Day is, as we hope, to have lasting significance for the American people, may all employers heed Rousseau’s advice and take care of their own. One last day of respite to enjoy summer’s bounty will not make us less productive. Who knows, it may be just the boost we need to out-produce the competition in the hectic months ahead.