A Mother's Love: Crafting Feminine Virtue in Enlightenment France

by Lesley H. Walker

Overview

A Mother's Love: Crafting Feminine Virtue in Enlightenment France chronicles the emegence 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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781611482867
Publisher:	University Press Copublishing Division
Publication date:	03/01/2008
Series:	Bucknell Studies in Eighteenth Century Literature and Culture
Pages:	251
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.30(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Lesley H. Walker is associate professor of French and chair of the Department of World Language Studies at Indiana University South Bend.

Editorial Reviews

'Lesley Walker's ably executed interdisciplinary study is a welcome contribution to the field of maternal discourse: it is well worth the reading.'

New Perspectives on the Eighteenth Century - Antoinette Sol