A mother's love
Subtitle: crafting feminine virtue in Enlightenment France
By: Lesley H. Walker.
Series: The Bucknell studies in eighteenth-century literature and culture
Publisher: Bucknell University Press
Published: 2008
Place of publication: Lewisburg [PA]
Language: eng
Number of pages: 251
ISBN-13: 9780838756850
Subjects: Motherhood -- France -- History -- 18th century; Love, Maternal -- France -- History -- 18th century; Women -- France -- Intellectual life -- 18th century; Women -- France -- Social conditions -- 18th century
Description: "A Mother's Love: Crafting Feminine Virtue in Enlightenment France chronicles the emergence of an idealized mother figure whose reforming zeal sought to make French society more just. Lesley H. Walker contends that this attempt during the eighteenth century to "rewrite" social relations in terms of greater social equality represents an important but overlooked strand of Enlightenment thought. During this period, popular domestic novels, the ever-raging debates about women's social roles, and highly sought-after genre paintings produced a remarkable image of motherhood. Through a focus on feminine virtue, Walker studies female writers and artists to argue that these women theorize the domestic sphere as a site of significant social and ethical productivity."--Jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 230-238) and index.