Widows in Third Republic France, 1870-1940
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WOMEN ALONE: WIDOWS IN THIRD REPUBLIC FRANCE, 1870-1940 Michael Lanthier MA, University of Alberta, 1999 BA Honours, University of Alberta, 1996 THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In the Department of History O Michael Lanthier 2004 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY November 2004 All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author. APPROVAL Name: Michael Lanthier Degree: Doctor of Philosophy Title of Thesis: Women Alone: Widows in Third Republic France, 1870- 1940 Examining Committee: Chair: Dr. Mark Leier Associate Professor of History Dr. Mary Lynn Stewart Senior Supervisor Professor of History Dr. Roxanne Panchasi Supervisor Assistant Professor of History -- Dr. Barbara Mitchell Internal Examiner Associate Professor of Sociology and Gerontology - Dr. Angus McLaren External Examiner Professor of History University of Victoria Date Defended: November 30'~.2004 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Partial Copyright Licence The author, whose copyright is declared on the title page of this work, has granted to Simon Fraser University the right to lend this thesis, project or extended essay to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the library of any other university, or other educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users. The author has further granted permission to Simon Fraser University to keep or make a digital copy for circulation via the Library's website. The author has further agreed that permission for multiple copying of thls work for scholarly purposes may be granted by either the author or the Dean of Graduate Studies. It is understood that copying or publication of this work for financial gain shall not be allowed without the author's written permission. Permission for public performance, or limited permission for private scholarly use, of any multimedia materials forming part of this work, may have been granted by the author. Ths information may be found on the separately catalogued multimedia material. The original Partial Copyright Licence attesting to these terms, and signed by this author, may be found in the original bound copy of thls work, retained in the Simon Fraser University Archive. Bennett Library Simon Fraser University Burnaby, BC, Canada ABSTRACT An examination of widowhood in Third Republic France intersects with many other key themes of political, social and women's history. The lot of poor widows in the Third Republic was often poverty and hardship, and will lead to a consideration of broader questions regarding several aspects of women's lives, such as work and old age. We will see that widows, like women in general. had very few viable options to choose from when it came to earning a living, and often could not afford the luxury of retirement before death claimed them. The different ways in which the government treated various categories of widows during the Third Republic will throw light on the complex evolution of the French welfare state. The slaughter of the First World War created hundreds of thousands of widows in a short period of time, with legislators deciding to provide these women with pensions and other forms of assistance. No matter how inadequate these were, they clearly differentiated war widows from "normal" ones and represented a marked increase in public welfare measures. In spite of this growing state interventionism, we will see that private charity (particularly of a religious nature) remained important to widows, demonstrating that the transition was slow, awkward and complex. The advent of war widows' associations during the 1920s highlights the difficulties faced by these women, and shows how people adapted to the state's new role and did not hesitate to make new demands of it. The study of widows will also reveal much about cultural notions of proper femininity and gender roles: the government, charities and associations all relied on a popular, idealized image of the eternally faithful widow that emphasized "traditional" roles for women, particularly that of wife and mother. This will lead us to a consideration of natalism, an ideology which also influenced new welfare measures; it will become obvious that legislators and civil servants were often preoccupied with widows because of their children. Ultimately, the difficulties and hardships of widows in the Third Republic reflected those of all women. DEDICATION Pour mes parents: merci pour votre encouragement et votre aide pendant toutes ces longues annees . Cette oeuvre n'est possible que grice a vous. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to thank all those who have assisted me in some way during this lengthy endeavour. I am gratehl to my committee members, Angus McLaren, Roxanne Panchasi and Barbara Mitchell, for their helpful comments and critiques. I wish to thank my supervisor, Mary Lynn Stewart, for her advice, her patience, her good humour, and her generous help with preliminary research. I also wish to thank Pat Prestwich for her guidance over the years. I owe a great deal to the staff at the various libraries and archives where I conducted research while in Paris. I would particularly like to thank Abbe Philipe Ploix and Vincent Thauzies at the Archives Historiques de 1'Archevikhe de Paris for their kindness and their help above and beyond the call and duty. I also owe a special debt of gratitude to the staff at the Archives de 1'Assistance Publique, who went out of their way to be helpful. TABLE OF CONTENTS .. Approval ........................................................... 11 ... Abstract ...........................................................111 Dedication .........................................................iv Acknowledgements ....................................................v Table of Contents .................................................... vi ... List of Major Government Agencies. Charities and Widows' Associations ........ v111 INTRODUCTION ........................................................... 1 The Welfare State, Natalism and Charity ...................................2 The Perfect WidowIWoman as Mother and Wife ............................. 8 Widowsandwork ................................................... 12 WidowsandOldAge ................................................. 13 The Historiography of Widowhood ....................................... 15 1: WIDOWS IN FRANCE: THE STRUGGLE FOR SURVIVAL ......................25 Widows' Work .....................................................28 Pensions ........................................................... 34 MutualAid ......................................................... 42 Old Widows and Hospices ............................................. 51 2: WAR WIDOWS' PENSIONS AND THE WARDS OF THE NATION ............... 66 Pensions ........................................................... 67 Behind the 19 19 Pension Law ..........................................79 Wards of the Nation .................................................. 85 The ONPN: Rhetoric and policies ................................... 90 The ONPN as Centralized Bureaucracy .................................. 100 Good Mothers and Bad Mothers ........................................ 107 3: CHARITIES FOR WAR WIDOWS ......................................... 115 Religious Charities .................................................. 121 The Association d hide aux veuves de militaires de la Grande Guerre .......... 125 Association d 'Assistance mkdicale aux veuves et orphelins des officiers de la guerre ................................................................ 138 Charity in Disguise: L 'Assistance mutuelle des veuves de guerre .............. 142 4: WAR WIDOWS' ASSOCIATIONS ......................................... 149 The Associations and Advocacy in the 1920s: Defending the Defenceless ........ 153 The Catholic Union of War Widows ..................................... 162 The Associations. Feminism and Suffrage ................................. 167 The Associations in the 1930s: Old Age. Work Conditions. Unemployment and Pacifism .......................................................... 171 The Associations and Remarried War Widows ............................. 178 New Associations for Remarried Widows and Ensuing Conflict ................ 182 Appendix 1: Widows in Third Republic France: A Brief Statistical Overview . 197 Appendix 2: Black Widows, White Widows: The Demographic Impact of the Great War . 205 Bibliography .............................................................213 List of Major Government Agencies, Charities and Widows' Associations Government agencies -Office National des Pupilles de la Nation (ONPN, National Office of the Wards of the Nation) -created 19 1 7 -merges with Office National des Anciens Combattants (Nat'l Office of Veterans) 193 3 -departmental branches throughout France Charities -Association d'aide aux veuves de militaires de la Grande Guerre -created 191 5 -disbanded 1934 -departmental branches throughout France -Association d'assistance mkdicale aux veuves et orphelins des officiers de la guerre -created 192 1 -assisted the widows of officers only -inherits Association d'aide aux veuves de militaires' resources and clients in 1934 -L'Assistance mutuelle des veuves de guerre -created 19 14 Widows' Associations -Departmental Association of War Widows, Orphans and Asccndents of CorrGze