Menstruation and Procreation in Early Modern France by Cathy McClive

Abstract

pervasive thematic element seems to be how Sfar investigates the two sides of his Jewish family history in order to confront“persecution and the temptation of counterviolence ” within his work (224). A few minor mistakes are found in this book: the mentions of Galicia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire refer to the geopolitical situation in Europe before World War One, not World War Two (83). Overall, however, Sfar So Far is refreshingly free of typographical errors. Leroy’s interview of Sfar (in English) concludes this volume, which contains an appropriate number of illustrations , including several in color. Leroy has produced a consistently insightful work that is well-written and thoroughly documented, and that will be of interest to all scholars and readers of French bandes dessinées. Western Washington University Edward Ousselin McClive, Cathy. Menstruation and Procreation in Early Modern France. Surrey: Ashgate, 2015. ISBN 978-0-7546-6603-5. Pp. 267. £70. Drawing from hundreds of medical, judicial, and theological documents from the sixteenth through eighteenth centuries, as well as personal correspondences by women to their families and medical practitioners, McClive examines the broad-ranging complexity of the phenomenon of menstruation in early modern France. She argues that the prevalent contemporary“myth of ‘menstrual misogyny’”incorrectly identifies early modern French attitudes toward menstruation as negative, as it also incorrectly posits menstruation as a direct signifier of womanhood that is related to procreation in a straightforward manner. Rather, McClive turns to post-structuralist and recent feminist analytical frameworks to interrogate or “trouble” reductionist binary dichotomies (sex/gender, female/male, natural/cultural, positive/negative) that lead to polarized analyses of menstruation. McClive then applies the microhistorical methodology of the “exceptional normal” to contextualize the “exceptional” bodies found in some early modern case studies within the “normalizing” framework of numerous theological, medical and legal documents. That is, she incorporates the study of medical, legal, and theological exceptional cases as a means to define and comprehend early modern understandings of menstrual norms. Through this broader analytical perspective, McClive concludes that the negative attitudes frequently cited in historical scholarship on early modern menstruation were not the norm; they were only one piece of an overly simplified picture. With chapters entitled, “Leviticus and the Problem of Sex during Genital Fluxes,”“Menstruation, Conception and the Timely Use of Marriage,”“Menstrual Regularity and Irregular Menstruation,”“Detecting and Proving Pregnancy,” “Menstrual Time and the Moons of Pregnancy,” and “Bleeding Hermaphrodites and Menstruating Men,”McClive explores the phenomenon of menstruation from a wide variety of biological, legal, and theological perspectives. Her well-researched and documented examination of conflicting early modern discussions 248 FRENCH REVIEW 89.4 Reviews 249 of menstruation, sex, procreation and pregnancy, and (rare) cases of menstruating men and bleeding hermaphrodites, demonstrates that early modern French attitudes were much more complex,nuanced,and frequently ambivalent than has been previously stated. The ramifications of McClive’s analysis of menstruation are far-reaching and implicate our analyses of a broad range of historical, political, cultural, and biological issues, such as definitions of embodiment, sex, and gender, as well as procreation, patriarchy, and patrilineage. McClive’s stated goal through this work is to expand historical discussions of early modern menstruation and to encourage comparative approaches to this important and currently “emotive” field of study. Her original and fascinating study will be of tremendous interest to students and scholars of early modern history, politics, theology, gender, and culture studies. Northern Arizona University Erika E. Hess Nord, Philip. France 1940: Defending the Republic. New Haven: Yale UP, 2015. ISBN 978-0-300-18987-2. Pp. 189. $27. The early chapters of World War Two were not very glorious for France, but one of the author’s stated goals is to make the case for a more sympathetic understanding of France’s devastating defeat. This is a refreshing perspective in the light of the nottoo -distant French-bashing of the Iraq war period and the use by some of“cheese-eating surrender monkeys”to refer to the French people. This book offers an overview of the events leading up to the Pétain regime: the diplomatic tribulations that preceded the war; the military defeat of May–June 1940; and the ensuing disintegration of...