Practicing Pleasure in the ‘City of Light,’ 1848-1900
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Urban Desires: Practicing Pleasure in the ‘City of Light,’ 1848-1900 by Andrew Israel Ross A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (History) in The University of Michigan 2011 Doctoral Committee: Associate Professor Joshua H. Cole, Chair Professor Kathleen M. Canning Professor David Caron Professor Scott D. Spector © Andrew Israel Ross 2011 In memory of Marcella Katz ii Acknowledgements This project relied on the generous financial support of the University of Michigan Department of History, Rackham Graduate School, and the Georges Lurcy Charitable and Educational Trust. Middlebury College provided financial aid that allowed me to attend their Summer Language Institute. The wonderful teachers at Middlebury helped me develop the skills necessary to navigating the French archives with minimal embarrassment. The staffs at the Archives de la préfecture de police, the Archives nationales de France, the Archives de Paris, the Bibliothèque nationale de France, and the Bibliothèque historique de la ville de Paris all provided invaluable assistance. I have relied on the support of friends and family throughout this process. Jennifer Butterfield has been a dear friend since elementary school and has watched me progress from first grade to my doctorate. Kristyna Comer and Lucy Biederman have both inspired me through their art; their talent is equaled only by their generosity. Philip Herd, Daniel Humphrey, Sarah Williams, Nenad Simonovic, Kaya Burgess, and Thuvaraka and Jon Ware have all remained some of my dearest friends since my study abroad at Oxford. My yearly trip to London in order to visit is always the highlight of the year. A series of amazing teachers shaped my development into a historian. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to work with Steven Hause at Washington University. iii Steve taught my first history course and introduced me to both French history and women’s history and he has continued to provide support as I progressed through graduate school. It was extremely gratifying to see his friendly face in the audience as I presented my first paper to the Society for French Historical Studies. While at Wash U, Elyane Dezon-Jones encouraged my interest in French literature as well as the development of a more mature political and feminist consciousness. At Oxford, tutorials with Geoffrey Ellis, John Robertson, and Anna Maria Misra proved foundational as I began my own course of study. They taught me how to read analytically – and quickly – and introduced to me the sheer variety of approaches available to historians. The scholarly community at the University of Michigan has been very good to me these past six years. Dena Goodman taught my first graduate seminar in French history. She introduced me to cultural history and pushed me to think about my preconceptions. Dena is a critical reader and my writing is better for it. Geoff Eley and Jay Cook helped orient my own approach to cultural history in a seminar in historical methods. Jay also served on my preliminary exam committee and encouraged my interest in cultural studies. David Halperin introduced me to the varieties of LGBT studies. His strong defense of history in the field of queer studies has inspired my own intervention in the history of sexuality. Michele Hannoosh, Jarrod Hayes, Michele Mitchell, and Helmut Puff all provided intellectual stimulation during my graduate studies. In addition, my graduate school cohort became not just a group of colleagues, but good friends. David Trout, Aaron Cavin, Millington Lockwood, Ken Garner, and Ray Patton not only do inspiring work, but also are important sources of intellectual and emotional support. Kithika St. John changed my life. Her humor, intelligence, sarcasm, and warmth all iv made coursework and prelims manageable. Ela Gezen has been a constant presence these past few years, whether during an unexpected hospital visit or a lunch companion. Her constant willingness to indulge my neuroses kept me sane. Johannes Burmeister is a constant source of amusement and well-deserved cynicism. Suzi Linsley and Kirsten Leng have been constant sources of feedback, especially since returning from France. They made Ann Arbor a fine place to write. My time in Paris benefited from the experience of new friends and acquaintances. Jennifer Solheim became one of my closest friends while we were both doing research. She grounded me while in Paris, made sure I knew her haunts, and introduced me to new friends. Jessica Fripp took up a similar role when she (finally) arrived in the city. My Harry Potter buddy, Jessica is also always there to sound off on. Bryant Ragan was also kind enough to meet with me in Paris and provide advice as I developed the project. Régis Revenin and Michael Sibalis provided early guidance in navigating the archives. Vanessa Schwartz introduced me to her students and provided initial input as I developed the project. François Brunet rented me an apartment and helped me settle in during my first stay in Paris. Malika Rahal was not only my landlord for a year and a half, but my French partner, colleague, and friend. Finally, Catherine Clark, Melissa Dean, Elisa Foster, Saphir Grici, Brian Jacobson, Tyson Leuchter, Jacob Lewis, Maxime Maujean, Carolyn Purnell, and Casey Schneider-Mizell all provided companionship, fun, and intellectual stimulation while abroad. This project has benefited greatly from the input of those who read parts of it as it developed. I thank the members of my readings groups for all of their valuable input. In addition, Johannes Burmeister, Jessica Fripp, Ken Garner, Ela Gezen, David Halperin, v and Kithika St. John all read pieces of this work. I especially thank Kirsten Leng, Jennifer Solheim, and Suzi Linsley for reading the dissertation almost in its entirety. I also thank the many comments I received when I presented parts of this work at conferences and for the feedback from the anonymous reviewers at the Berkeley Journal of Sociology. Finally, this work owes more to my committee than I can possibly say. David Caron has done so much more than most cognate members of a dissertation committee. He has provided invaluable comments and, most important of all, sustained encouragement and enthusiasm. Scott Spector has provided me with support from the beginning. His sense of humor is always refreshing and his insights always spot on. Kathleen Canning served as my first advisor in graduate school and also introduced me to the methods of gender history. Her work has been a source of constant inspiration. Joshua Cole has been just about the ideal advisor as one can imagine. From the moment he began teaching his graduate seminars, through my preliminary exams, and now the dissertation he has provided support, constructive criticism, and encouragement. His willingness to do anything and everything to ensure this work was accomplished means a great deal. My career owes everything to his constant support. Finally, my family. My Aunt Sandy’s love of history apparently proved infectious. My sister Michelle is a constant encouragement and inspiration. She’s always there when I need an escape to the big city; her Chicago apartment has been my own vacation spot these past few years. My parents encouraged me in whatever I wanted to do. Although they still sometimes describe this dissertation as a “paper,” they have vi always supported my goals, shown interest in the work, and encouraged me when things seemed difficult. My grandmother, Marcella Katz, was the strongest person I have ever known. She unfortunately passed away before I entered graduate school, but I have a feeling she would have gotten a kick out of the project. I dedicate this work to her memory. vii Table of Contents Dedication…………………………………………………………………………………ii Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………………iii List of Figures…………………………………………………………………………….ix List of Abbreviations……………………………………………………………………..xi Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………..xii Introduction………………………………………………………………………………..1 Chapter 1: Transforming Paris: Social Order, Sexuality and the Modern City……………………………………29 Chapter 2: Streetwalking the Boulevards of Paris: Urban Life and the Emergence of a Public Sexual Culture……………………...85 Chapter 3: Defending the Neighborhood: Public Sexuality and the Bourgeois City…..126 Chapter 4: “Le plus drôle de mélange qui soit dans Paris”: Sex, Commerce and Spaces of Sociability……………………………………..175 Chapter 5: Creating Spaces of Pleasure: Public Urinals and Same-Sex Sexual Activity.....................................................229 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………...267 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………274 viii List of Figures Figure 1.1: Honoré Daumier. Le gamin de Paris aux Tuileries. Le Charivari, 4 March 1848 (From the Bibliothèque nationale de France: http://expositions.bnf.fr/daumier/grand/079.htm)……………………………......68 Figure 1.2: Edouard Manet, La Musique aux Tuileries (1862). Oil on Canvas. National Gallery, London (From Wikimedia Commons: http://commons. wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Manet_-_Musique_aux_Tuileries_rep.jpg)…………...75 Figure 4.1: Edouard Manet, Bal masqué à l’Opéra (1873). Oil on Canvas. National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. (From Wikimedia Commons http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Edouard_Manet_093.jpg)…………..219 Figure 5.1: Charles Marville, “Urinal of 8 stalls, cast iron and slate, with screen of shrubbery, jardin des Champs-Elysées, around 1870. Paris (8th arrondissement) [Urinoir à 8 stalles, fonte et ardoise, avec écran d'arbustes,