{"id":272,"date":"2015-12-03T16:01:26","date_gmt":"2015-12-03T16:01:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smilingmadamebeudet.sac.lsa.umich.edu\/?page_id=272"},"modified":"2015-12-03T16:01:26","modified_gmt":"2015-12-03T16:01:26","slug":"changes-to-the-female-role","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/courses.lsa.umich.edu\/smilingmadamebeudet\/changes-to-the-female-role\/","title":{"rendered":"Changes to the Female Role"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe difference between the sexes cannot and must not be suppressed by the progress of institutions and moeurs; indeed, in superior organisms and in superior societies the division of functions only becomes more accentuated.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

– Judith Surkis, \u201cIntroduction: Regular Love and Republican Citizenship,\u201d in Sexing the Citizen: Morality and Masculinity in France<\/em><\/p>\n

\"french<\/a><\/p>\n

[12]<\/a><\/p>\n

In Third Republic, France, 1870-1920, gender roles were implemented in culture to differ drastically. During this period, it was believed that all superior cultures had set roles for the sexes. In French culture, this entailed the role of women as submissive both politically and within their marital relationships. The Third Republic granted women certain social rights and protections including\u00a0access to education and limitations on their work week. However, women were not granted any political representation or the right to vote until 1944. The repressed role of women was thought to be a \u201csocial good\u201d and necessary for the health of France because a\u00a0woman\u2019s focus should solely be on the family, which thus maintained the core strength of the nation. French culture did not consider the ability of women to excel in a broader role, but rather only considered their presumed vulnerability and victimization. The marriage contract re-instituted a woman\u2019s submission to the patriarchal French society and reinforced the role of women as primarily\u00a0anchoring the men and instilling good morals in children. [6]<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\"fitz\"<\/a><\/p>\n

[7]<\/a><\/p>\n

Furthermore, the role of women in France was characterized and conceptualized as the \u201cmother educator\u201d. Post World War I, France experienced an economic crisis that became a social crisis urging women in society to leave the workforce and \u00a0concentrate on having and raising children. This being said, the maternal and marital role did not grant women the right to citizenship and therefore any influence or power in society. [8]<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\"frenchfamily3\"<\/a><\/p>\n

[9]<\/a><\/p>\n

Although women had minimal independence from their husbands in the 1920s, there was a social shift occurring in France that makes some sense of Madame Beudet\u2019s disobedience. An article published in the Los Angeles Times on September 11, 1923 discusses the dramatic rise in divorce rates in France between 1913 and 1920. In 1913, 19,000 couples filed for divorce while in 1920 35,000 couples filed for divorce, a nearly doubled statistic in only 7 years. The fact that more people in France were pursuing divorce during\u00a0this time implies that women were gaining more autonomy\u00a0in their relationships. Although Mr. Beudet controls much of Madame Beudet\u2019s life, like her access to her piano, she maintains some level of freedom in the relationship; she does her own activities during the day and she decides to not go to the theater even though her husband really wants her to go. Her behavior and her obvious rejection of female expectations of this time period suggest that Madame Beudet saw a life for herself outside of her marriage, and she was not afraid to pursue it. [10]<\/a><\/p>\n

\"smbd\"<\/a><\/p>\n

[11]<\/a><\/p>\n

In, <\/span>The Smiling Madame Beudet, <\/span><\/i>Germaine Dulac directly contradicts the expectations of French women in society with her characterization of Madame Beudet. Madame Beudet is essentially a paradox of the conventional role of French women during this time. In\u00a0<\/span>The Smiling Madame Beudet,\u00a0<\/span><\/i>Madame Beudet refuses to submit to the will of her husband and furthermore refuses to submit to French society as a whole through her lack of children and her will to live beyond what society expects of her.<\/span><\/p>\n

Elizabeth Smith and Haleigh Bauer<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe difference between the sexes cannot and must not be suppressed by the progress of institutions and moeurs; indeed, in superior organisms and in superior societies the division of functions only becomes more accentuated.\u201d – Judith Surkis, \u201cIntroduction: Regular Love and Republican Citizenship,\u201d in Sexing the Citizen: Morality and Masculinity in France [12] In Third … <\/p>\n

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