The Petit-Maître in Eighteenth-Century France

SEX, POLITICS, AND NATIONAL IDENTITY: THE PETIT-MAÎTRE IN EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY FRANCE By Karen J. Manna A dissertation submitted to Johns Hopkins University in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Baltimore, Maryland October 2013 ©2013 Karen J. Manna All Rights Reserved Abstract Sex, Politics, and National Identity: The Petit-Maître in Eighteenth-Century France Karen J. Manna The petit-maître, a popular social and literary type in eighteenth-century France, emblematizes the negative image of the old regime French aristocrat: he wears extravagant wigs, embellished waistcoats, high-heeled shoes, make up, and he is often criticized for his obsession with women and for his "effeminacy". The petit-maître is a symbolic bouc-émissaire: he is often portrayed as ridiculous and he is mocked and scorned for his affected manners, his ostentatious appearance, and his frivolity. He is the consummate example of how not to act in old regime polite society. Yet the figure's popularity at the time abounds: it appears in hundreds of comedies between 1650 and 1800 and it features prominently in numerous novels of the same period, including some by such well-known authors as Crébillon, Diderot, Rousseau, and Laclos. This figure also shares many qualities with the infamous eighteenth-century libertine: they are both represented as constantly seeking personal gain, but in so doing, they present themselves with manners and airs that aim to please, although not always achieving that goal. They are depicted in eighteenth-century literature as cunning manipulators who seek self-satisfaction and as countermodels for social and moral standards. Despite the overwhelming popularity of the petit-maître in novels and plays of the time, he has gone virtually unnoticed in contemporary critical studies of old regime political history and society. Therefore, this dissertation has two main goals: on the one hand, it brings to light an extremely popular character that has been largely overlooked in ii contemporary critical scholarship. On the other, it illustrates that the petit-maître, like the libertine, represents a reaction against seventeenth-century standards of sociability. Through an analysis of the ways in which the petit-maître symbolizes "bad taste", this dissertation aims at a reexamination of civility and libertinage in eighteenth-century France. Advisers: Elena Russo and Wilda Anderson Readers: Laura Mason, Katrin Pahl, and Jacques Neefs iii Table of Contents Sex, Politics, and National Identity: The Petit-Maître in Eighteenth-Century France Introduction ....................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1: Mentors, Initiates, and Imitators: Homosociality in Crébillon's Les Egarements du cœur et de l'esprit ...................... 16 Chapter 2: The Petit-Maître and the Libertin in Choderlos de Laclos's Les Liaisons Dangereuses........................................................... 63 Chapter 3: Effeminacy and Anti-Civility: The Petit-Maître and Honnêteté in Eighteenth-Century Theater .................................. 96 Chapter 4: The Impotent Petit-Maître and the Paradox of Power .............. 132 Chapter 5: French National Identity and the Petit-Maître: Madame de Staël's Comte d'Erfeuil .......................................... 174 Epilogue: The Petit-Maître, the Dandy, and the Politics of Appearances.......................................................................... 225 Works Cited ................................................................................................... 264 iv Introduction This dissertation is about the petit-maître: an old regime social and literary figure that was exceedingly popular at the time but that has been unduly overlooked in contemporary literary studies. A male aristocrat of low rank, the petit-maître is sometimes portrayed as a social débutant having just entered into worldly society; other times he is represented as an experienced socialite having found his place in le monde. In both cases, the petit-maître feels that to gain prominence in society he must stand out: he puts on airs, speaks in exclamatory remarks and hyperbole, and exaggerates his manners and gestures. This figure is also portrayed as a fashion obsessed coxcomb who tends to embellish his appearance in the effort to distinguish himself from other men and to gain the public’s attention. He wears wigs, rouge, false beauty marks (mouches), and dresses in the latest, most elegant fashions that often appear womanly. His whole persona depends on simultaneously impressing and disparaging others so as to set himself above them and to gain their esteem in order to develop an illustrious reputation. The image of the petit-maître is meant to serve as an example of 'what not to be' and is ridiculed or otherwise disparaged in society and in literature. It is a negative example, one that constantly challenges social norms and consequently is either punished, rehabilitated, or exiled. The petit-maître is complex because it is a protean figure that changes according to the context in which it is portrayed. This complexity also stems from the fact that the boundaries between this character and the infamous eighteenth-century libertine are not necessarily clearly drawn: they are both figures that seek personal gain, but in so doing, they present themselves with manners and airs that aim to please but do not always 1 achieve that goal. They are depicted in eighteenth-century literature as cunning manipulators who seek self-satisfaction and as countermodels for social and moral standards. Thus, the following work explores how the petit-maître, with his focus on appearance, his theatricality, and his attempts to master l'art de plaire, represents a reaction against seventeenth-century codes of sociability. It also shows that the petit- maître has much in common with the eighteenth-century libertine and that the difference between the two is only a matter of degrees. Ultimately, it is the goal of this study to bring to light a prevalent social type and literary character that symbolizes bad taste and greatly influences the image of the libertine but has yet to be granted its due exposure. The petit-maître was widely discussed by many writers in old regime France. In the late seventeenth century (1699) Charles Rivière Dufresny explains that in the French court, the petit-maître contrasts with the galant homme. For Dufresny, the petit-maître is a ridiculous foil to the respectable and honnête courtier: "Quoi que le courtisan et le petit- maître soient d'un même pays, ils ont néanmoins des mœurs toutes différentes. Le courtisan s'étudie à cacher son dérèglement sous des dehors réglés. Le petit-maître fait vanité de paraître encore plus déréglé qu'il n'est."1 In the eighteenth century, Voltaire's satirical Le Temple du goût, published in 1733, describes petits-maîtres as superficial social butterflies who are refused entry into the illustrious temple of good taste: "les petits-maîtres […] des gens qui ont brillé dans de petites sociétés, qui ont régné chez certaines femmes, et qui se sont fait appeler grands hommes, sont tous surpris d'être 1 Dufresny. Amusements sérieux et comiques. Second édition, revue, commenté et augmenté (Paris: NP [DCCVII]), 49. 2 refusés".2 In the late eighteenth century (1776), Restif de la Bretonne describes Paris as being overrun with effete and frivolous petits-maîtres whose carriages trample the honest, decent, and hard-working people in the streets: "à Paris [...] la populace est écrasée par les carrosses, [...] le plus frivole petit-maître, la plus méprisable catin, peuvent impunément passer sur le ventre à cent mille honnêtes gens qui servent la patrie".3 Now the petit-maître exemplifies the danger to all of French society of the callousness and trivialities of the elite. The widespread impact of the petit-maître figure is emphasized by the fact that it has a leading role in hundreds of comedies performed between 1685 and 1800, including ones by such famous playwrights as Marivaux, Réné Lesage, and Louis de Boissy. The character also features prominently in many well-known novels, including those of Diderot, Rousseau, and most of the corpus of Crébillon. But given the predominance of the petit-maître in society and the popularity of the character in the theater and narratives of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, it is surprising to note that it is the object of very few contemporary critical studies of the period. When the petit-maître is critically examined, it is often incorrectly described and categorized. Philippe Laroch's study on the libertine in eighteenth-century novels, entitled Les Petits-maitres et les roués: Evolution dans la notion de libertinage dans le roman francais du XVIIIe siecle, fails to recognize the polyvalence of the petit-maître and instead makes a categorical distinction between this figure and the roué, insisting on the 4 petit-maître's shallow frivolity and the roué's methodical and villainous qualities. But 2 Voltaire, Le Temple du goût (Genva: Droz, 1953), 71. 3 Restif de la Bretonne, Le Paysan perverti, ou les dangers de la ville; Histoire récente, mise au jour d'après les véritables lettres des personnages. 1775. Vols 1-2 (Geneva: Slatkine Reprints, 1987), 164. 3 Laroch's study neglects the prevalence of the petit-maître in theater and it fails to acknowledge that in many works the petit-maître is also represented as methodical, influential, and diabolical. Laroch's uncompromising

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