Politics Courting La Citoyenne In Le Courier De L Hymen

Personals and Politics: Courting la citoyenne in Le courier de l’hymen

“Personals and Politics: Courting la citoyenne in Le courier de l’hymen” was an article written by author and teacher Jennifer M. Jones in 2001. She is an associate professor of history at Rutgers University and is a Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences’ Honors Program. Her essay discusses the concept of courtship and marriage and how it evolved from the time of the aristocratic Old Regime of France to the new and more contemporized society of eighteenth century France. Jones discusses how revolutionized eighteenth century France brought about many changes, including the way that courtship and marriage functioned. Marriage no longer operated under the control of parents

and political alliances, rather, courtship and marriage became something that sough out love.

Although revolutionary, this new change in structure came with a collective anxiety and confusion on how society in the eighteenth century could make the new and more intimate version of marriage and courtship function smoothly. I believe that the overall thesis of this essay, as well as the answer to everyone’s anxiety at that time, can be understood through the quote, “how would they be able to tell a virtuous suitor from a dissipated roué, the woman of their dreams from the Old Regime nightmare… They would do so by reading – by partaking of a new form of commercialized courtship found in the pages of the Le courier de l’hymen” (Jones, 174). Therefore, according to Jones, the answer to the new version of courtship and marriage could be found in the French journal, Le courier de l’hymen, and other works of fiction from that time

including Rousseau’s Emile and Bernardin de Saint-Pierre’s Paul et Virginie.
The most significant thing that I learned from this article was the attention that women were given through the advertisements and editorials in Le courier de L’hymen. Before the French Revolution, women did not have a say in simple daily matters, let alone the ability to choose a spouse or have a say in the creation of a new culture of courtship and marriage. The extent of the new appreciation for women’s literacy was exemplified in Le courier. Although this French journal was edited by a man, “through Le courier, literate female citizens – part of the emerging public sphere of print culture – were brought into and engaged with the revolutionary project of the reformation of manners and morals, a project particularly directed at women through the topics of courtship and marriage” (Jones, 173). Le courier revolutionized the way marriage was seen, the way politics was broadcasted in the terms of marriage, and the way journals helped open a public forum for women to voice their thoughts on their relationships.
I think the most difficult part of the argument for me to understand was the economic portion.

I understood how the economy played a role in the concept of courtship and marriage when it came to a dowry or a woman’s desire to choose a man based on income and property. However, it just felt as though the marriage system was progressing so much socially in the eighteenth century, but the profits of the new system still only benefitted those with money. To expound upon that notion, “many of the men and women who advertised cam from a prosperous commercial milieu… They owned shops and collected rent” (Jones, 177). So, if this article was explaining the revolutionary new changes of the marriage system, the progress that society made when it came to breaking down the social walls only went as far as how much money one had to spend on advertising

themselves.
This article was a pioneering article for me that pushed my scholarship in a new direction when pertaining to the French Revolution’s views on marriage. Although the footnotes in this essay mostly referenced different works in order to broaden the ideas that Jones expressed, by bringing primary sources such as Rousseau’s Emile, Cabinet des modes, Bernardin de Saint-Pierre’s Paul et Virginie, and primarily Le courier de l’hymen, I began to understand the transparency and honesty that the eighteenth century French society graved so desperately. Whether it was the political advertisements made in Le courier de l’hymen, which the editor firmly refused to choose a side, or the advertisements for marriage that included political preferences, the connection between political and personal became evident. In order to choose a person that one truly wanted to be with, “advertisements of this sort may have encouraged readers to consider that political sympathies might be as important in choosing a spouse as the amount of dowry or annual income, and to consider that political and martial virtue might walk hand in hand” (Jones, 177). Marriage was considered political during that time. Therefore, personal happiness being integrated into the marital process would mean that society needed to change their political and moral standings. “By publicizing the “marriage plots” of dozens of ordinary men and women – the journal encouraged female readers to believe that, although they may not have marched on Versailles or attended the National Assembly, they too could be part of the revolutionary project” (Jones, 181).
Other than the movement towards a new and contemporary marriage institution, the author does not actively discuss any theories. However, this article reminded me of the theme of social revolution in society during the French Revolution. While the proletariat and bourgeoisie fought against the aristocracy in order to create a norm in which the classes functioned on more of an equal ground, the eighteenth century France was also fighting for an equality when it came to marriage. It reminded me of The Princesse de Cleves by Madame de Lafayette in the sense that we see women taking primary roles when it comes to love and marriage.