« Ni bas-bleu, ni pot-au-feu » : la conception de « la » femme selon Augusta Moll-Weiss (France, tournant des XIXe-XXe siècles)

• Main Author: Sandrine Roll
• Format: Article
• Language: fra
• Published: Association Mnémosyne 2009-12-01
• Series: Genre & Histoire
• Subjects: Augusta Moll-Weiss; Feminism; Gender; Home economics; Housewifery; Philanthropy
• Online Access: http://journals.openedition.org/genrehistoire/819

This article explores the ideas and works of the Augusta Moll-Weiss, head of the École des mères. The latter started housewifery lessons at the turn of the 19th century at a moment when public discourse among both working and upper-class reformers sang the praises of the housewife. Her work offered a new approach to these typically feminine activities. Far from training only “angels of the home”, the lessons given at the Mothers’ School also offered students the possibility of preparing a professional career. Augusta Moll-Weiss then imagined a range of employment opportunities which placed care in the sphere of social work. Her commitment to housework training was accompanied by consideration of new domestic models likely to encourage women to enter the world of work. Rationalisation and the sharing of domestic duties according to sex as well as the question of part-time work were at the heart of her project. On the margins of philanthropy and feminism, Augusta Moll-Weiss adopted a strategy to gain recognition of women's role in the public sphere. Following a presentation of the institutions she created, this article deals with her vision of the “New Housewife” and her approach to feminism.