Performing, flirting and intercourse: courtship in 18th-century France
Detail from Le Faux Pas (c1716-18) by Antoine Watteau. Courtesy the Louvre, Paris
is John E Green Regents Professor of History and Distinguished Teaching Professor during the University of Texas at Austin. This woman is the writer associated with the Practice of Patriarchy (1998), Family company (2009) and Intercourse in a vintage Regime City (2020).
Edited by Sam Haselby
In 1723, Jean Pillot and Marguerite Perricaud begun to see one another frequently. They both worked in textile manufacturing in Lyon, France’s 2nd city. They sought out for a 12 months and then he promised wedding. She told him he needed to inquire of her father. They took very very very long walks together after finishing up work and on Sundays, during that they create a real and intimacy that is emotional paved the way in which for wedding. Marguerite told a co-worker which they liked each other. Young couples’ talks about intercourse had been tightly woven into talks about matrimony. Neighbours often saw them together. Their relationship developed being a matter that is public view of this community.
One night, Jean arrived to Marguerite’s space having a candle that is lit locked the entranceway with an integral. That he loved her, and promised that he would never have another woman as she recalled later, he insisted. He then seized her by the hands, tossed her in the sleep and, despite all her opposition, had intercourse together with her twice, all while continuing to guarantee which he wouldn’t be with other ladies and she didn’t have to be afraid. They proceeded to see one another also to have sexual intercourse because, as she explained later on, she nevertheless anticipated to get hitched. (more…)