The Flâneur and his City Patterns of Daily Life in Paris 1815-1851

by Burton, Richard D. E.

• ISBN13: 9780719081873
• ISBN10: 0719081874
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-04-01
• Publisher: OXFORD UNIV PR

Summary

The book provides a "flaneur's eye view" of Parisian life in the first half of the nineteenth century: dress, cafes and restaurants, but also shops and passages, the omnibus,bals publicsand carnival. The author provides general conclusions about the private and public spheres in "le vieux Paris." Like theflaneur, the author concentrates less on factual information for its own sake--which may be found in the secondary works cited in the text and footnotes--than on the "semiological" or anthropological significance of the cultural forms in question. Links are drawn between cultural institutions and class relations in pre-1850 Paris, with particular emphasis on cultural inequality, on the persistence of cross-class contacts, and the growing differences between classes as reflected in behavior and attitudes.

Author Biography

Richard D. E. Burton (d.2008) was Professor of French and Francophone Studies at the University of Sussex.

Table of Contents

The flâneur * Human hieroglyphs: the role of dress in Parisian life * The rise of the café * The restaurant * Guingettes, goguettes and marchands de vin * Shops and shopping * The omnibus * Bals public * Carnival * Saltimbanques and prostitutes * Conclusion: 'public' and 'private' in pre-1850 Paris * Notes and references