Fragile Lives: Violence, Power and Solidarity in Eighteenth-century Paris

by Arlette Farge

"Fragile Lives" is a vivid and engaging account of the everyday lives of Parisians in the eighteenth century. Through the experiences of ordinary people, Arlette Farge traces the solidarities and conflicts which arose between men and women, rich and poor, masters and servants, neighbours and colleagues. Drawing on judicial records, she deals with three arenas of conflict and the home, the workplace and the street. By examining these interwoven and 'fragile' lives, Farge is able to challenge our conventional perception of everyday experience in the eighteenth century, of the aspirations of women both within the family and as abandoned mistresses, of the behaviour of the crowd as active and passive participants in street violence, and of the workshop as the arena for social conflicts. Farge paints a picture of a society in a process of mutation which was gradually constructing a new set of values.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, France, 18th Century

250 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

Arlette Farge est historienne spécialiste du XVIIIe siècle. Elle a publié de nombreux ouvrages, parmi lesquels La Vie fragile. Violence, pouvoirs et solidarités à Paris au XVIIIe siècle, Le Goût de l'archive, et, avec Michel Foucault, Le Désordre des familles. Lettres de cachet des Archives de la Bastille au XVIIIe siècle.

Reviews

[Sean Mccarrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fragile Lives covers the world of 18th century Paris and the common folk who inhabited it. There are three foci to this within the book. They are, women and children, labor, and crowds/phenomena. All in all this book was really amazing. The way in which Farge painted a pictured of the working classes of Paris using only archival evidence was quite astounding. That being said it was also a bit hard to get through, and the quirks of European history writing appear frequently in this book. That being said it was a well done piece of history.