How Women Make Diplomacy: The British Embassy in Paris, 1815–1841

Abstract

British diplomatic wives of the early nineteenth century were under increasing pressure to perform their public duties to higher standards of accountability. This article examines the embassies in Paris led by two women—Elizabeth Stuart and Harriet Granville—to ascertain how they negotiated the expectations of their post with respect to class and gender norms. Their records illustrate how new standards of state service could be set for women and how women’s hospitality work in the service of diplomacy could make it a more consultative political domain.

Os Elos Perdidos: A atuação feminina na diplomacia luso-brasileira, 1780-1822

“…Pelo conhecimento que tinha do funcionamento da corte francesa, foi nomeada para ser dama do paço, ajudando a princesa de Joinville a aclimatar-se no novo ambiente social. Com a vivência na corte francesa, portadora dos modos e práticas de um centro civilizacional, gabaritou-se para exercer o papel de for-12 Sobre a atuação de salonnières no âmbito diplomático, ver Ferraguto (2016) e Mori (2015). No caso português, ver os casos de Marie-Urbano de Lima Barreto, Suzanne Cappadoce-Peireira e Marianne da Silva em Pins (1984), 79-190. ex aequo, n.º 40, pp.…”

The gender turn in diplomacy: a new research agenda

“…Bastian's (2013) examination of early eighteenth century relations between Spain and France uses an exploration of the activities of two elite women -Françoise d'Aubigné, Madame de Maintenon and wife of Louis XIV, and Marie-Anne de la Trémoille, Princesse des Ursinsin order to illustrate the involvement of women in diplomacy. Moving on to mid-eighteenth century France, Dade (2010) provides an in-depth examination of how Madame de Pompadour shaped foreign relations as one of Louis XV's closest advisors (see also Hanotin 2014;Mori 2015). These women had to maneuver a diplomatic context of elite, generally aristocratic, masculinities, which demanded skills such as dueling (Clark 1998;Kiddle 2015).…”

Off the record: Margaret van Kleffens and the gendered history of Dutch World War II diplomacy

“…Other researchers too have long challenged the idea of separate spheres that seems to set the standard pattern in the literature for diplomatic spouses. Hanna Papanek wrote of the "two-person single career" (1973); Hilary Callan, who later coined the expression the "incorporated wife," highlighted the unpaid work of diplomats' wives in particular (Callan 1975;Callan and Ardener 1984); and scholars from multiple disciplines have joined them in tackling the myth of the solitary male genius and exploring the ways in which partnerships challenge the division of research into the categories public-private and male-female (Pycior, Slack, and Abir-Am 1995;Chadwick and de Courtivron 1996;Reynolds 1998;Berg, Florin, and Wisselgren 2011;Charmley and Davey 2011;Mori 2015).…”