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Suzanne Curchod Necker (1737-1794) and the Stigmatization of the Self

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Suzanne Curchod Necker (1737-1794) and the Stigmatization of the Self STAGING THE IMPROPER BODY: SUZANNE CURCHOD NECKER (1737-1794) AND THE STIGMATIZATION OF THE SELF by Sonja Boon Master of Arts (Liberal Studies), Simon Fraser University, 2004 PGRNCM, Royal Northern College of Music, 1994 Master of Music, Indiana University, 1993 Bachelor of Music in Performance, University of Toronto, 1991 THESIS SUBMITrED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMEI\lT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences © Sonja Boon 2008 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Spring 2008 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: Sonja Boon Degree: Doctor of Philosophy Title of Thesis: Staging the Improper Body: Suzanne Curchod Necker (1737-1794) and the Stigmatization of the Self Examining Committee: Chair: Dr. Marilyn MacDonald Assistant Professor of Women's Studies Dr. Mary Lynn Stewart Senior Supervisor Professor of Women's Studies Dr. Kathy Mezei Supervisor Professor of Humanities Dr. Rosena Davison Supervisor Professor of French Dr. Betty Schellenberg Internal Examiner Professor of English Dr. Valerie Raoul External Examiner Professor Emerita of Women's Studies University of British Columbia Date Defended/Approved: 12 March 2008 ii SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Declaration of 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 use in its circulating collection (currently available to the public at the "Institutional Repository" link of the SFU Library website <www.lib.sfu.ca> at <http://ir.lib.sfu.ca/handle/1892/112>) and, without changing the content, to translate the thesis/project or extended essays, if technically possible, to any medium or format for the purpose of preservation of the digital work. The author has further agreed that permission for multiple copying of this 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. This information may be found on the separately catalogued multimedia material and in the signed Partial Copyright Licence. While licensing SFU to permit the above uses, the author retains copyright in the thesis, project or extended essays, including the right to change the work for subsequent purposes, including editing and publishing the work in whole or in part, and licensing other parties, as the author may desire. The original Partial Copyright Licence attesting to these terms, and signed by this author, may be found in the original bound copy of this work, retained in the Simon Fraser University Archive. Simon Fraser University Library Burnaby, BC,Canada Revised: Summer 2007 Abstract This dissertation explores the life and writings of the eighteenth-century Parisian salonniere, Suzanne Curchod Necker (1737-1794), from the perspective of corporeal autobiography. In it, I posit the body as a stage upon which identity can be displayed and argue for an understanding of the body as an agentive entity which has the capacity to take an active role in the construction and presentation of the autobiographical self. My work, which analyzes Madame Necker's published and unpublished writings, is mainly concerned with identifying corporeal contradictions; that is, in understanding manifestations of corporeal impropriety as loci for the performance and presentation of self. Looking at the performance of illness in particular, this work suggests that physical suffering functions as a barometer for an individual's psychic perceptions and can be consciously deployed as a strategy for managing social, religious, and cultural exile. My work identifies four interlocking themes in Madame Necker's life: sociability, religion, illness, and the reproductive body, and seeks to assess the relationships, intersections, and tensions between them, particularly as they emerged in the form of embodied practices. I suggest that the contradictions iii between the sociable body (as represented by the irreligious mondanite of the French elite) and the Calvinist body (understood through Madame Necker's moral stance) played themselves out in the maternal body, which functioned not only as the site for the realization of true virtue and happiness, but also as the locus of human weakness. The tensions and contradictions between sociable, Calvinist, and maternal bodies converged in the sick body, an entity marked by psychic and somatic suffering which was finally memorialized-in the form of the embalmed cadaver-as the divine body. Ultimately, I argue that the externally-visible corporeal sufferings of Madame Necker's sick body might be conceived as a highly theatrical instance of narcissistic display, evidence of a ritualistic understanding of the symbolic power of the corporeal as a prime site for the performance of abjection and the longing for absolution. Keywords: corporeal autobiography; abjection; gender; illness; religion; performance Subject Headings: Necker, Suzanne Curchod, 1739-1794; Women Authors, French ­ 18th century - Biography; Body, human in literature; Suffering - Religious Aspects; Autobiography - Religious Aspects; Sex role - France - History - 18th century iv Dedication To Stefan and T6bin v Acknowledgements I would like to express my deepest thanks and appreciation to everyone who has helped me to complete this project: my research would not have been possible without their encouragement, generosity, and commitment. To Dr. Mary Lynn Stewart, thank-you for your patience, your high standards, and your sense of humour. Thanks for sharing your insights, experience, and your fascination for the body. I could not have asked for a better mentor and supervisor, and for this I am very grateful. To Dr. Kathy Mezei and Dr. Rosena Davison, thank-you for your consistent encouragement, your care and support, and your probing questions. To my SFU friends and colleagues, in particular, Heather Latimer, Helen Loshny, Byron Lee, and Mary Shearman, thanks for reading various bits and pieces (in some cases, several - thanks, Mary!), for listening to me whinge and whine, and for sharing ideas and laughter. I also want to express my sincere appreciation to the staff of the Bibliotheque nationale de France and the Archives nationales de France for their help and assistance during my 2006 research trip, to Mme. Danielle Mincio and the staff of the rare books division of the Bibliotheque cantonale et universitaire de Lausanne, Mme. Barbara Roth and the staff of the Salle Senebier of the Bibliotheque de Geneve, and to the cheerful and very enthusiastic archivist of the Archives cantonales vaudoises (Lausanne), for their welcome, assistance, and generosity during my 2007 trip to Switzerland. Finally, to the staff in SFU's Interlibrary Loan division: Nancy Blake, Mirfat Habib, Scott Mackenzie, Sonny Wong, and Vera Yuen, my grateful thanks for processing the most obscure requests for a variety of seventeenth and eighteenth-century works, for locating copies from afar, for discovering treasure troves of previously-unknown electronic editions, and for their neverending patience and goodwill. I am indebted to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and Simon Fraser University for the funding that made this research possible. vi Thank-you to Dr. Dena Goodman for sharing an unpublished article, Dr. Betty Schellenberg for talking through ideas with me at a very early stage, Dr. Stephen Duguid for introducing me to the delights of eighteenth-century French intellectual culture, Dr. June Sturrock for encouragement and support as I considered the leap into doctoral study, and the faculty members of the Department of Women's StUdies, in particular: Dr. Cindy Patton for challenging me during my first, awkward months as a doctoral student, and Dr. Helen Leung and Dr. Lara Campbell for their cheerful support and encouragement along the way. My sincere appreciation to the staff of the Women's Studies department: Christine Goodman, Kathryn Hunter, and Roberta Rogers for their efficiency, goodwill, and relaxing conversations, and to thesis assistant Penny Simpson for battling the thesis-formatting demons with me. Finally, I could not possibly have undertaken this work without the support of my family. Thank-you to Bui Petersen, Stefan Boon-Petersen, and Tobin Boon-Petersen for sharing laughter, sticky kisses, wet (and other!) bottoms, pinches, pokes, and hugs, and for your unquestioning and completely unconditional love. vii Table of Contents Approval ii Abstract iii Ded ication v Acknowledgements vi Table of Contents viii Abbreviations 1 A Note Concerning Orthography 2 Introduction: Abjection and Display: Corporeal Performance in the Parisian Salon 3 Chapter 1: "Elle n'aura jamais I'art de plaire": Suzanne Curchod Necker and the Practice of
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