women flaneur and ramblings

So as noted in previous posts, we are introduced to the idea of the "flaneuses," the female version of the flaneur. I have always been fascinated by this idea of the "lounger" generation that was produced with the rise of bourgeoisie. It seems to me like they were an epidemic, just people strolling around without a care in the world because they didn't have anything. It is interesting to see the female version of that, since bourgeoisie women were usually seen in the Madame Bovary sense, useless. Lady Dedlock encompassed that in the beginning, perpetually bored and yet she had a sense of purpose that she never unlocked, well it was too late when she did. 

Baudalaire saw them as key to understanding the city. I mean who better to know the city but someone who participates without really participating. its like a privilege to be able to just watch without being noticed and take it all in. 

What really intrigued me however was how flaneur reminded me of the book/movie American Psycho. Batemen essentially becomes in what we see in Poe's "Man of the crowd," a man of the crowd. If you guys arent familiar with the character, he's basically a 20 something rich wall street dude who kills people for fun and thrill and never gets caught cause in the end no one really knows who he is or how he looks even though they work with him.

Its like he was able to be invisible by being visible all at the same time. 

The movie of course degrades women in all possible ways. They are used as sex objects, seen as perpetually bored and easily murdered by Batemen.

Which leads me to another though. Women, especially then, were kind of invisible. I mean they kept up the sales for all the fluff novels that were published, because they were at home and read for leisure, but what else did they really do. There hasn’t even been one heroine in any of the novels we have read. Their lives are dictated by the male’s reaction and what they want. I mean Esther didn’t choose Woodcourt; she was gifted to him. Mary, well Mary was just there and decided she loved Wilson, in my opinion, just to keep the story going. And sybil, poor Sibyl, is the beginning of Dorian’s descent into hell, and dictated her life according to his words and feelings. Women are essentially objects.

 “Yet although the male ruling class did all it could to restrict the movement of women in cities, it proved impossible to banish them from public spaces. Women continued to crowd nto the city centres and the factory districts.”

I wish I saw more of this, sure Lady D is in the streets, but she’s dead.

I still think the fear of women in the streets is around today. I mean now there are programs like “take back the night,” where women proudly walk in darkened streets because they CAN and not because they want to be raped or hurt. But, don’t we all have that strange fear that maybe you shouldn’t go through that dark alley or walk to your car alone. (maybe I watch too much Lifetime, yes I DO watch too much Lifetime)

I guess what I’m trying to get to is….have things really changed that much.?