In the Shadow of the Sun King: The Précieuse

Abstract

In the Shadow of the Sun King: The Precieiise Vanessa Herold The seventeenth century French salon of the Marquise de Rambouillet played a decisive role in the development of social conduct. Within the Marquise's chambre hleiie, members set new patterns for behavioral codes by refining the nuances of politeness, gallantry and above all, conversation. Two distinct modes of comportment, honnetete and preciosite, evolved from the atmo- sphere of the blue room. However, their paths branched out in diverging directions. The honnete homnie became the social ideal whereas the precieiise became an object of satire and ridicule. Male writers of the century, including Moliere and the Abbe de Pure, mocked the precieiise' s imaginative language which clashed with the honnete homme's sober manner. Without any texts from the hand of a woman claiming to be a precieiise or to defend her cause, preciosite' s legacy fell into the hands of its detractors. The outpouring of satirical literature about the precieiise repre- sented a response to a perceived threat.^ Writers did not trivialize the precieiise' s character solely on the basis of her sex,^ but rather on the fear of her challenge to the established political and social order. This article seeks to demonstrate the subversiveness of preciosite to a monarch who attempted to build glory on fabricated The precieiise challenged Louis XIV, the ultimate sign maker {Aristocrat 129), by undermining his power base. Her discourse constructed new meanings between words and things, signs and referents.^ Louis XIV's self-transformation into the Sun King was contin- gent upon his subjects accepting his proposed artificial connec- tions between signifier and signified. To stabilize his power, Louis XIV had to be the one who brought into existence images and and artificial acts of distinction. meanings. At the beginning of Louis' personal rule in 1661, royal forces undertook the task of crushing all elements challenging the king's authority. This year marked the end of the cultural domi- nance of the salons and the symbolic death of the precieiises, both of which had been associated with the Fronde (1648-1653).^ Louis XIV never forgot the threat of this civil war to his absolute reign.