Subscribers by Rebecca Breedlove

Subscribers - by Rebecca Breedlove

Warming up at the bar, a roomful of youthful dancers stretch before the beginning of rehearsal. Crowded in the corner are a gaggle of middle-aged men surveying the ballerinas before them. One dancer catches a tall dark suited man’s eye; he is intrigued with her ease of movement and confidence in the piece or choreography. She scoffs at his staring and finishes the rest of rehearsal without a care. The next night at performance the confident dancer, quiet and concentrating, stands in the wings of the stage anxiously awaiting her cue with the rest of the chorus ballerinas. The tall dark-suited figure behind her stands deliberately close; she can almost feel him breathing against the back of her fitted bodice. The tails of the black satin chocker around her neck flutter. The musical cue strikes her ear and her thankful legs spring onto the stage in perfect form. The man stands in the wings and watches the chorus closely eyeing a single ballerina.

This scenario was not an unusual situation in Edgar Degas’ time; it is even evident, but not obvious, in many of his paintings. In the oil on canvas La classe de danse de M. Perrot there are men and older women crowded into the corner of a rehearsal room (Browse plate 9). Another such painting is Preparation four la classe in which mothers are huddled over their young daughters and one dancer even clings to her mother from behind (Browse plate 12). Another example of this kind of odd situation is a piece that is actually black ink on white laid paper -- Pauline and Virginia Conversing with Admirers (Reff 184 plate 129). This ink sketch, including its title, is an obvious example of what the observing men’s intentions really were.

During this time period in France, the late 1800s, prostitution was an accepted practice. In Paris alone between the years of 1871 and 1903, “there was a total of 155,000 women registered with the police as licensed prostitutes” (Dunlop 140). Paris alone at the time had the “most prostitutes per head than any city in Europe” (Dunlop 140). This is merely an example of how Parisian culture was so open to sexual relationships. This aspect of their culture translated into the ballet which was successful and prestigious at the time. Men who were either tired of the abundance of brothels in Paris or who simply were intimidated by them could “subscribe” to the ballet. Such subscribers “were permitted behind the scenes to watch the dancers practice” (“Degas metmuseum”). These close interactions between money-making men and beautiful young dancers often resulted in sexual relationships or favors.

These interactions were not unusual during late nineteenth century Parisian ballet. It was such a common practice that at one point mothers became involved. In some of Degas’ paintings these subscribers are huddling in the corner along with older women intermingled with them. These women are believed to be the mothers of some of the dancers. Ballerinas entered dance school around the age of eight and continued on. Once they grew into young women, subscribers began to sniff around and mothers were there to either approve or disapprove of such men pursuing their daughters. Dancer/subscriber relationships were usually purely sexual; however, occasionally they resulted in a successful courtship. Mother’s roles within the rehearsal rooms were to screen such anxious men.

An example of this kind of situation is in the oil painting La classe de danse de M. Perrot (Browse plate 9). There is a studio room filled with young dancers, all in their tight bodices and swishing tutus. It seems to be a normal rehearsal in the studio: a music stand holds the sheet music that the ballet will be performed to and there is a dancer center floor trying to perfect a pose in front of the aging instructor. The instructor holds his body up with a rather tall cane; he is dressed in a light sagging suit that hangs off his thin body and black ballet slippers. A cello lies on the floor next to the music stand and ballerinas throughout the room are posing and adjusting their tutus and slippers. The only aspect that is out of place in this typical rehearsal is the group of middle-aged men and women in the corner. These are the subscribers who are seeking out the ballerinas and their mothers attempting to protect their young impressionable daughters. It was supposedly common practice that subscribers would ask ballerinas out to dinner or other similar activities and their mothers would have to approve (Reff 184).

This is exactly the situation in the ink sketch Pauline and Virginia Converse with Admirers (Reff 184 plate 129). Two young dancers stand at the bar. Virginia and Pauline’s tutus reflect in the mirror behind them, standing close to one another as three men gather around them. Two of the anxious subscribers stand in front while the third puts is hand on the mirror to prop himself up. All the men are dressed in dark suits with tall top hats and two with curiously pointed facial hair. The supposed story is that these two young dancers are approached by an artist-subscriber and two friends who invite them to dinner. The dancers say yes with much enthusiasm but regretfully respond, “But mamma will never consent” (Reff 185). This is a perfect example of the dancer/subscriber dancer relationship. After the subscribers approach generally their mothers will have to meet the men and approve of the activity that is proposed.

History has progressed and roles have shifted and yet this dynamic of men and women still seems grudgingly the same. Even in modern times women are treated as a commodity. If an outsider of American society were to be thrown in to see how we portray women, what exactly would they think of the ladies American women long to be like?

On one cover of Cosmopolitan, a petite young blonde dressed in a black tie up corset and too tight black jeans smiles mischievously back at the reader (Cosmopolitan vol 245 no. 5). Opening up the magazine the reader can see a clothing ad with a tall gaunt young lady with gobs of black eye make-up; her pretty face is sunken in and the dark shades of eye shadow make her appear the victim of an unfair fight. She stands submissively against a brick-wall backdrop in what looks like a tailored-tattered blue satin dress; her eyes are closed and her head is facing the direction of the floor (Cosmopolitan vol 245 no. 5). Her body language screams submissive, obedient, and willing to please. This disturbing image is placed next to a completely separate bright and shining Cover Girl ® make up ad for Color Stay Foundation. What does this reveal about women in modern society? Modern young ladies are used to sell products: clothes, make up, and accessories. But these women are being sold as well. The gaunt girl in the clothing ad is a poster child for what women are expected to be: tall, thin, beautiful, and subservient. The model’s image, physical and emotional, is being sold just like the everyday product that she is placed next to in the magazine.

Exactly like over a hundred years earlier, women are seen as a product or merely a piece in a game to be played with. The only thing that has changed is the role of men; once subscribers to the ballet, now they merely need to have a magazine, HBO, or pornography subscription to view the products that they want. This idea of women as a product, or even merchandise, can be plainly seen in almost all American media: magazines, billboard ads, children’s stories, movies, commercials, television, and the modeling industry.

Even children’s stories, like the classic Disney movies, stimulate the idea of these roles and images for women. In the Disney movie Cinderella there is a hopeless poor beautiful young lady who is a housekeeper and maid for her stepmother and stepsisters after her father dies. Cinderella is a petite blonde with a small waist, shapely body, and blue eyes. Her perfect skin glows even when soiled with dirt and grime. First off is the impression of her image; not all women can fulfill this stereotype. The only hope she has of escaping her awful predicament is if she can impress and woo the prince to his liking with her beauty and charm. This is the message that is sent by even innocent-seeming fairy tales to very young women in American society. This message is that women’s only chance at success and achievement is if they can be beautiful, agreeable, and submissive. Even though young men are not as likely to watch Cinderella, they take away from the story the image that they grow to expect women to be.

Men have been presented these images for years and years from subscribers of the ballet to subscribers of magazines and pornography. On the other end of the spectrum women are shown and expected to live up to these standards as well. From fairy tales in Disney movies to advertisements and covers of magazines the impossible image of what women should be surrounds every American young lady and woman.

Works Cited

Browse, Lillian. Edgar Degas: Ballet Dancers. London, UK: The Folio Society, 1960.
Cosmopolitan Nov. 2008: 1-1.

"Degas." Metmuseum.org. Metropolitan Museum of Art. 17 Sept. 2008
.

Dunlop, Ian. Degas. London, UK: Thames and Hudson, 1979.

"Gucci." Advertisement. Cosmopolitan Nov. 2008: 86.

Reff, Theodore. Degas: The Artists Mind. Harper &Row, 1976.

Subscribers - Assignment

Paper 2 - Research Paper – 6-8 pages

Ideally, the research paper will be an extension of one (or more) of your abstracts from Paper #1--probably not all three. However, if you decide that you despise what you did in Paper #1, you may certainly develop a new topic. In this case, talk to me about your ideas and plan out your time.

A research paper is an extended critical analysis. You will develop a thesis and make a particular argument. The research you do will help you to support claims and enter into critical discourse. Consider your own interests and tastes and develop the paper so that you can pursue a topic that you find appealing and want to learn more about. You will need several sources in order to familiarize yourself with the scholarly work already available on your topic. This research will have the added benefit of sparking your imagination and creating new lines of attack for you to explore in your analysis.

Subscribers - Draft 1

Warming up at the bar, a roomful of youthful dancers stretch before the beginning of rehearsal. Crowded in the corner are a gaggle of middle-aged men surveying the ballerinas before them. One dancer catches a tall dark suited man’s eye; he is intrigued with her ease of movement and confidence in the piece or choreography. She scoffs his staring off and finishes the rest of rehearsal without a care. The next night at performance the confident dancer, quite and concentrating, stands in the wings of the stage anxiously awaiting her que with the rest of the chorus ballerinas. The tall dark suited figure behind her stands deliberately close, she can almost feel him breathing against the back of her fitted bodice, the tails of the black satin chocker around her neck flutter. The musical que strikes her ear and her thankful legs spring onto the stage in perfect form. The man stands in the wings and watches the chorus, closely eyeing a single ballerina.

This scenario was not an unusual situation in Edgar Degas time; it is even evident, but not obvious, in many of his paintings. (give examples of paintings). But why would an awkward man be backstage with so many graceful young ballerinas?

During this time period in France, the late 1800’s, prostitution was an accepted practice. In Paris alone between the years of 1871 and 1903, “there was a total of 155,000 women registered with the police as licensed prostitutes.” (Dunlop 140). Paris alone at the time had the, “most prostitutes per head than any city in Europe.” (Dunlop 140). This is merely an example of how Parisian culture was so open to sexual relationships and this aspect of their culture translated into the ballet, which was so successful and prestigious at the time. Men who were either tired of the abundance of brothels in Paris, or who simply were intimidated by them could “subscribe” to the ballet. Such “subscribers…were permitted behind the scenes to watch the dancers practice.” (metmueseum.org). Such close interactions between money-making men and beautiful young dancers often resulted in sexual relationships or favors.

These interactions were not unusual during late nineteenth century Parisian ballet, it was such a common practice that at one point mothers became involved. In some of Degas paintings where such subscribers are huddling in the corner there are also older women intermingled with them. These women are believed to be the mothers of some of the dancers. Ballerinas entered dance school around the age of eight and continued on. Once they grew into young women, subscribers began to sniff around, mothers were there to either approve or disapprove of such men perusing their daughters. Dancer subscriber relationships were usually purely sexual, however occasionally they resulted in a successful courtship. Mother’s roles within the rehearsal rooms were to screen such anxious men.

(how does this attitude translate into the rest of society? Into Degas work? Into today’s society?)

Subscribers - Draft 2

Warming up at the bar, a roomful of youthful dancers stretch before the beginning of rehearsal. Crowded in the corner are a gaggle of middle-aged men surveying the ballerinas before them. One dancer catches a tall dark suited man’s eye; he is intrigued with her ease of movement and confidence in the piece or choreography. She scoffs his staring off and finishes the rest of rehearsal without a care. The next night at performance the confident dancer, quite and concentrating, stands in the wings of the stage anxiously awaiting her que with the rest of the chorus ballerinas. The tall dark suited figure behind her stands deliberately close, she can almost feel him breathing against the back of her fitted bodice, the tails of the black satin chocker around her neck flutter. The musical que strikes her ear and her thankful legs spring onto the stage in perfect form. The man stands in the wings and watches the chorus, closely eyeing a single ballerina.

This scenario was not an unusual situation in Edgar Degas time; it is even evident, but not obvious, in many of his paintings. In the oil on canvas La classe de danse de M. Perrot there are men and older women crowded into the corner of a rehearsal room (Browse plate 9). Another such painting is Preparation four la classe in which mothers are huddled over their young dancers and one dancer even clings to her mother from behind (Browse plate 12). Another example of this kind of odd situation is a piece that is actually black ink on white laid paper, Pauline and Virginia Conversing with Admirers (Reff 184 plate 129). This ink sketch is an obvious example what the observing men’s’ intentions really were. But what are the true intentions of these mysterious men?

An example of this kind of situation is in the oil painting, La classe de danse de M. Perrot (Browse plate 9). There is a studio room filled with young dancers, all in their tight bodice’s and swishing tutus. Seemingly a normal rehearsal in the studio; a music stand holds the sheet music to which the ballet will be performed, there is a dancer center floor trying to perfect a pose in front of the aging instructor. The instructor holds his body up with a rather tall cane, dressed in a light sagging suit that hangs off his thin body, and black ballet slippers. A cello lies on the floor next to the music stand and ballerinas throughout the room are posing and adjusting their tutus and slippers. The only aspect that is out of place is the group of middle-aged men and women in the corner. These are the subscribers who are seeking out the ballerinas and their mothers attempting to protect their young impressionable daughters. It was supposedly common practice that subscribers would ask ballerinas out to dinner or other similar activities and their mothers would have to approve (Reff 184).

This is exactly the situation in the ink sketch Pauline and Virginia Converse with Admirers (Reff 184 plate 129). Two young dancers stand at the bar, Virginia and Pauline’s tutus reflect in the mirror behind them, stand close to one another as three men stand around them. Two of the anxious subscribers stand in front while the third puts is hand on the mirror to prop himself up. All the men are dressed in dark suits with tall top hats and two with curiously pointed facial hair. The supposed story is that these two young dancers are approached by an artist subscriber and two friends who invite them to dinner. The dancers say yes with much enthusiasm but regretfully day, “But mamma will never consent.” (Reff 185). This is a perfect example of the dancer subscriber dancer relationship. (find another way to expand on and/or explain this unique relationship between subscriber dancer, and mother).

(how does this attitude translate into the rest of society? Into Degas work? Into today’s society?)

Subscribers - Draft 3

Warming up at the bar, a roomful of youthful dancers stretch before the beginning of rehearsal. Crowded in the corner are a gaggle of middle-aged men surveying the ballerinas before them. One dancer catches a tall dark suited man’s eye; he is intrigued with her ease of movement and confidence in the piece or choreography. She scoffs off his staring and finishes the rest of rehearsal without a care. The next night at performance the confident dancer, quite and concentrating, stands in the wings of the stage anxiously awaiting her que with the rest of the chorus ballerinas. The tall dark suited figure behind her stands deliberately close, she can almost feel him breathing against the back of her fitted bodice, the tails of the black satin chocker around her neck flutter. The musical que strikes her ear and her thankful legs spring onto the stage in perfect form. The man stands in the wings and watches the chorus, closely eyeing a single ballerina.

This scenario was not an unusual situation in Edgar Degas time; it is even evident, but not obvious, in many of his paintings. In the oil on canvas La classe de danse de M. Perrot there are men and older women crowded into the corner of a rehearsal room (Browse plate 9). Another such painting is Preparation four la classe in which mothers are huddled over their young daughters and one dancer even clings to her mother from behind (Browse plate 12). Another example of this kind of odd situation is a piece that is actually black ink on white laid paper, Pauline and Virginia Conversing with Admirers (Reff 184 plate 129). This ink sketch is an obvious example of what the observing men’s’ intentions really were. But what are the true intentions of these mysterious men?

During this time period in France, the late 1800’s, prostitution was an accepted practice. In Paris alone between the years of 1871 and 1903, “there was a total of 155,000 women registered with the police as licensed prostitutes.” (Dunlop 140). Paris alone at the time had the, “most prostitutes per head than any city in Europe.” (Dunlop 140). This is merely an example of how Parisian culture was so open to sexual relationships. This aspect of their culture translated into the ballet, which was so successful and prestigious at the time. Men who were either tired of the abundance of brothels in Paris, or who simply were intimidated by them could “subscribe” to the ballet. Such “subscribers…were permitted behind the scenes to watch the dancers practice.” (metmueseum.org). Such close interactions between money-making men and beautiful young dancers often resulted in sexual relationships or favors.

These interactions were not unusual during late nineteenth century Parisian ballet, it was such a common practice that at one point mothers became involved. In some of Degas paintings these subscribers are huddling in the corner along with older women intermingled with them. These women are believed to be the mothers of some of the dancers. Ballerinas entered dance school around the age of eight and continued on. Once they grew into young women, subscribers began to sniff around, mothers were there to either approve or disapprove of such men perusing their daughters. Dancer subscriber relationships were usually purely sexual, however occasionally they resulted in a successful courtship. Mother’s roles within the rehearsal rooms were to screen such anxious men.

An example of this kind of situation is in the oil painting, La classe de danse de M. Perrot (Browse plate 9). There is a studio room filled with young dancers, all in their tight bodice’s and swishing tutus. Seemingly a normal rehearsal in the studio; a music stand holds the sheet music that the ballet will be performed to, there is a dancer center floor trying to perfect a pose in front of the aging instructor. The instructor holds his body up with a rather tall cane, dressed in a light sagging suit that hangs off his thin body, and black ballet slippers. A cello lies on the floor next to the music stand and ballerinas throughout the room are posing and adjusting their tutus and slippers. The only aspect that is out of place in this typical rehearsal is the group of middle-aged men and women in the corner. These are the subscribers who are seeking out the ballerinas and their mothers attempting to protect their young impressionable daughters. It was supposedly common practice that subscribers would ask ballerinas out to dinner or other similar activities and their mothers would have to approve (Reff 184).

This is exactly the situation in the ink sketch Pauline and Virginia Converse with Admirers (Reff 184 plate 129). Two young dancers stand at the bar, Virginia and Pauline’s tutus reflect in the mirror behind them, standing close to one another as three men gather around them. Two of the anxious subscribers stand in front while the third puts is hand on the mirror to prop himself up. All the men are dressed in dark suits with tall top hats and two with curiously pointed facial hair. The supposed story is that these two young dancers are approached by an artist subscriber and two friends who invite them to dinner. The dancers say yes with much enthusiasm but regretfully say, “But mamma will never consent.” (Reff 185). This is a perfect example of the dancer subscriber dancer relationship. After the subscribers approach, generally there mothers will have to meet the men and approve of the activity that is proposed.

As these relationships flourish they usually begin to take one of two routes, merely a physical relationship or a courtship. Courting is an idea long gone in modern westernized society, however during this time in France it was still a feasible route of finding a husband or wife. Many of the ways that marriages used to come about have all disappeared in today’s society, dating is the primary stepping stone to a relationship that could possibly lead to marriage. There is yet another way that the permanent status of marriage can be achieved, the betrothal or the arranged marriage.

The young woman sits nervously in her room, awaiting to hear from her wise father, she did not care about the dowry, or the celebration but rather the man that was chosen for her. She had faith in her father, in how well he knows her, and that he would never choose a man that she could not stand. Rather he would choose someone who would love her and care for her, someone she could return that love to. Yet still, her mind raced at the thought of not knowing the man who she would spend the rest of her life with. The still of her bedroom seemed to close in around her, until she was startled by the heave of the heavy front door and the familiar footsteps of her father’s boots on the old worn floors. The steps continued to approach her door in the long main hallway of her ever familiar home. As she listened to the steps a tear came to her eye, now she would have to get used to the sound of a new set of footsteps coming to her door.

Arranged marriage used to be a very practical and purposeful practice. Often marriages where arranged for financial or business purposes, to tie two families together, to build power. Women seemed to nearly be a pon in the game of chess that men would play. A dowry was often put forth, argued about and settled upon before a marriage was even began. The wedding was always paid for by the father of the bride and the dowry was paid to the groom and his family, often it was used as a starting budget for the newly adjoined couple and family to come.

In today’s society and culture, arranged marriage seems silly and impractical. Men and women are married at an older age and marriage usually isn’t for the purpose of financial or business advancement as it once was.

Subscribers - Draft 4

subscribers_DRAFT_4(clean).doc

Subscribers - Process Memo

My paper Subscribers was probably the most challenging paper for this class. It took me the longest to write and I had a really hard time working out all of my main points with strong enough support. This was my only paper of the year where I completely took out an entire section and replaced it with a whole new idea. At first I absolutely hated the idea of just erasing what I had written but it was not helping my paper at all. I did the most research for this paper and learned an incredible amount about ballet, French culture, and specifically Parisian culture. I also learned about the variety and specifics about Edgar Degas’ work.

Looking back at my paper now after a few months without reading it I see so many things I did well and not so well. I am really pleased with how my comparison of the dynamics between men and women in two different cultures and times came together toward the end. I also really love how I tied in three very different kinds of media to make the comparison: classic art, a modern magazine, and a Disney movie. One thing I wish I had taken out was an awkward paragraph towards the beginning that listed the works I was going to talk about. I don’t think it was effective or contributed to my paper. I also wish I could have made this paper a bit longer but I still feel I got my point across in what I have down. Overall I really like how this paper turned out in the end.