Gender in 19th-Century France
Plates 17 and 18 comment on ‘proper’ femininity in 19th century French society. The women described as affreux (awful) are violent and poor while the women who are “the most beautiful thing in the world” are refined and well-dressed. A woman’s value, in the eyes of the caricaturist, relate to her class and her nonviolent comportement.
Before taking a look at specific examples of women in La Caricature and violence against them, let us examine some quantitative trends that I uncovered.