Love, Power, and Gender in Seventeenth-Century French Fairy Tales by Bronwyn Reddan

Abstract

Reviewed by: Love, Power, and Gender in Seventeenth-Century French Fairy Tales by Bronwyn Reddan Frances Novack Reddan, Bronwyn. Love, Power, and Gender in Seventeenth-Century French Fairy Tales. UP of Nebraska, 2020. ISBN 978-1-4962-1615-1. Pp. 242. Focusing on the women writers (conteuses) of the fairy tale vogue in the 1690s and after, this study shows how they discussed—and challenged—their society's gendered prescriptions for courtship and love in their individual tales. The conteuses, following salon conversation and vocabulary about emotions, set love as a precondition to a successful courtship/marriage, as well as the key subject of reflection for their literary community. This differentiates them from their male fairy tale author peers (conteurs), for whom "love functions as a plot device" (58). For the conteuses, love comes from the heart and is revealed on the body, especially in the eyes. Yet while mutual love is prerequisite to a happy ending, it is not always positive nor is it sufficient. The preliminary personal choice must be negotiated within a patriarchal social and economic context. Parental consent is required, meaning that the match should be of two people of the same socioeconomic status, with few mésalliances. Women may be able to control courtship with the possibility of refusal, but this negotiation does not empower them to bypass the traditional patriarchal structure of marriage, with men as the active partners and women moving from father to suitor, thus still under male domination. Reddan notes that in the conteuses' tales, marriage remains an "institution supporting male power" while female desire remains "a passion to be controlled by marriage" (97). Examining the stages of courtship reveals this traditional power structure. The declaration of love, which can strengthen the bond between the couple, remains largely a male prerogative. In tales by d'Aulnoy, most prolific of the conteuses, heroes initiate sixteen such declarations and heroines four (169–71). Gift giving, a frequent act in courtship tales, implies mutual obligation. In the well-known (male) Perrault's 1697 version of "Riquet à la houppe," the ugly Riquet offers intelligence to the slow-witted lady, expecting her to reciprocate by being a loving wife. This will transform him into a handsome husband. However, the 1696 text by the conteuse Bernard undermines traditional notions, as her lady is unable to reciprocate by loving him, and cannot transform the ugly prince who seeks to control her. She agrees to marry him only to avoid losing her intelligence, and their lack of mutuality yields unhappiness, with Riquet eventually seeking vengeance against his wife. While Perrault sees a happy companionate marriage under the patriarchal structure of French marriages, Bernard takes a more pessimistic view of love and marriage, also seen in other texts by conteuses, and ends with the jaundiced remark that over time "all lovers become husbands" (108). The rich range of reflection on love/marriage that Reddan finds in the conteuses' tales is complemented by thorough appendices and notes, with substantial quotes from their works. A stimulating book for anyone interested in love, power, and gender in the early modern period, and in ours. [End Page 216] Frances Novack Ursinus College (PA), emerita Copyright © 2022 American Association of Teachers of French