Against Marriage
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Against Marriage

Against Marriage

By
Duchesse de Montpensier d'Orleans (Author)  

Paperback

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In 17th-century France, aristocratic women were valued by their families as commodities to be married off in exchange for money, social advantage or military alliance. Once married, they became legally subservient to their husbands. The duchesse de Montpensier - a first cousin of Louis XIV - was one of very few exceptions, thanks to the vast wealth she inherited from her mother, who died shortly after Montpensier was born. In the daring letters presented in this bilingual edition, Montpensier condemns the alliance system of marriage, proposing instead to found a republic that she would govern, "a corner of the world in which ...women are their own mistresses", and where marriage and even courtship would be outlawed. Her pastoral utopia would provide medical care and vocational training for the poor, and all the homes would have libraries and studies, so that each woman would have "a rooom of her own" in which to write books. Joan DeJean's lively introduction and accessible translation of Montpensier's letters - four previously unpublished - allow us unprecedented access to the courageous voice of this extraordinary woman.
Joan DeJean is Trustee Professor of French at the University of Pennsylvania. She is the author of a number of books, most recently Ancients against Moderns: Culture Wars and the Making of a Fin de Siecle and The Reinvention of Obscenity: Sex, Lies, and Tabloids in Early Modern France, both published by the University of Chicago Press.
  • Contributor: Duchesse de Montpensier d'Orleans
  • Imprint: University of Chicago Press
  • ISBN13: 9780226534923
  • Number of Pages: 115
  • Packaged Dimensions: 17x23x1mm
  • Packaged Weight: 198
  • Format: Paperback
  • Publisher: The University of Chicago Press
  • Release Date: 2003-01-14
  • Series: The Other Voice in Early Modern Europe: The Toronto Series
  • Binding: Paperback / softback
  • Biography: Joan DeJean is Trustee Professor of French at the University of Pennsylvania. She is the author of a number of books, most recently Ancients against Moderns: Culture Wars and the Making of a Fin de Siecle and The Reinvention of Obscenity: Sex, Lies, and Tabloids in Early Modern France, both published by the University of Chicago Press.

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