The San Francisco call., 1905-04-28
WOMEN'S CLUBS
VERSUS SALONS
Instructor at University De-
scribes Activities of the
Literary Ladies' in France
SERIOUS WORK TAB0OED
Nothing That Sayors of the
schools" Is Tolerated
in the Gay Capital City

BERKELEY. April 27.-The women's
clubs of America, as contrasted with
the salons where French ladies' nur-
ture intellectual activities, formed the
subject of an address this afternoon by
M. Robert Dupouey, French instructor
at the university, the hall in the Stu
dents Observatory being crowded with
women who have given particular at
tention to Professor Dupouey's series of
talks on French women of this Pc
riod. Mr.. Dupouey spoke in part as
follows:
The idea OF founding ladies' clubs for liter
ary purposes is essentially Anglo Saxon. and
would hardly please Partisan women Such Sc
rfous associations in America,
organized with sections and deluged with lee
lures and courses of a higniy scholarly trend
would remind them too much of school, and
university and sullen professors. Besides, men
and women in French society not accus-
toned to separate meetings. They join to-
gether, either for pleasure or instruction.
Therefore, instead of clubs, we find in Paris a
few salons in which literary men, connoisseurs
and, generally speaking, appreciative gentle
men and ladies are welcomed and entertained.
The development of such salons is part OF
the history of the French literature. Their ac
tivities were unreasonable and ridiculous some
times, as we can see in Les Femmes Savantes
or Les Precieuses Ridicuies of Moliere, but
upon the whole they helped in training up the
literary taste of the nation. In the eighteenth
century principally such salons as those OF
Madame du Deffand, Mademoiselle de Lespi-
nasse and Madame Geoffrin possessed great in
fuence over contemporary literature. -r--
But. all along through the nineteenth cen
tury their influence declined progressively We
in l. IrnmorteI, !" novel OF Alphonse Daudet,
published In $780, that twenty five years ago
and caballing In favor or some literary men
against others, making and unmakins
Mans And few Years say aseT r,ttee IN
in 1891 by Edouard Pailleron, we can observe
tumble of French literary salons and
their caricatural imitation of French society.
However, in the contemporary Paris there
are still many literary salons left as illustrious
and Ineffective. bright and useless. survivors
Mathilde who died recently, the most
famous of all those in whIcn the literary men
present time we can mention the salons Of
Mesdames Taine, JuIiette Adam, Countess
Greffulhe. Viscountess Matthew de Noailles,
and also those or Prince Bibesco and count
Robert de Montesquion- Fezensac, who gave a
tour of lectures In America few days ago.
But too many salons stood in competition, SO
that they neutralized each other. In front Of
them against them. new groups and new in
fuences up; literary circles which do not
concert with society people any longer; literary
critics whose criticisms bring success failure
to the books; increase Of literary industrialisIn,
which, by means of announcements and puffs.
wfdens the circle of readers and quickly with
draws all literary influence from the narrow
sets Moreover, the contemporary writers do
not much their predecessors for
the literary salons
Therefore, salons nowadays, instead of pre-
siding over literary activities OF our time and
possessing influence over the minds OF the writ
ers give themselves to trideS and divert them
selves with childish complicated amuse-
ments. The hostesses of such salons are no
longer ladies of good literary taste, but sim
ply leaders of snob, liking eccentricity more
than originality.
Mr.. Dupouey gave a detailed exam
pie of this style of salon by describing
salon he knew personally, the salon
of Nine. Jane Dieulafoy. He described
the lady hostess, her husband, the sort
of people with whom they were ac-
quainted and how they were accus-
toned to amuse themselves in their
weekly meetings with society plays
composed by themselves. The speaker
concluded his address by saying that
the literary men cannot get anything
by being frequent guests of such sa-
Ions but occasional doubtful good for
tune and humiliations that are far
more certain"