The feminine figure in some poems of Paris Spleen, by Charles Baudelaire

Abstract

It is known that the feminine theme in poetry is multisecular. However, if it has been considered in the poetic tradition a source of admiration, exaltation, and inspiration, the poetic Modernity, with Baudelaire, seeks to break with this tradition, presenting the feminine figure sometimes as an object of admiration, exaltation, seduction, and inspiration, sometimes as a source of deception, evil, and terrible horrors. Based on these premises, this paper analyzes the way in which the image of the woman is caricatured in some poems of Paris Spleen or Petits Poèmes en prose (1869). The focus of the present analysis are the poems The Wild Woman and the Little Mistress, Portraits of Mistresses, The Gallant Marksman. In this study, supported by Farias (2001), Pires (2009), Paixão (2010), Strömberg (2012), and Brandão (2014), the analysis begins with some previous notes on Baudelaire, then the theme of the woman is considered and, finally, an interpretative reading of the poems is presented in the light of the feminine figure. The analysis of these poems shows exaltation, admiration, and at the same time contempt, demonization, and lowering of the feminine figure. This duplicity of representation allowed us to explore tensions and the contradictions typical of Baudelairean poetry and to approach his poetry as a place of thought.