![](http://www.tumblr.com/share/photo?source=http%3A%2F%2Flibbymurphy.com%2Fhumancomedy%2Fstorage%2Fcache%2Fimages%2F000%2F060%2F1951841%2Clarge.jpg%3F1382211617&caption=%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E%3Ca href="http%3A%2F%2Flibbymurphy.com%2Fhumancomedy%2Falbums%2Faspiring-courtesans%2Fcontent%2Fla-femme-de-menage%2F" title="La Femme de ménage"%3ELa Femme de ménage%3C/a%3E%3C/strong%3E%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EAlfred André Géniole
(French, 1813–1861)
La Femme de ménage (The Cleaning Lady), 1841–42
Lithograph
Gift of Eugene L. Garbaty, 1951.84.1
Feathers were associated with the evening dress that high-society women wore to fancy balls and theater outings. Balzac condemned the wearing of feathers, however, as too flashy for all but the most sophisticated aristocratic la-dies to pull off tastefully. One has to wonder whether the cleaning woman pictured here is a lorette vieillie, or aspir-ing courtesan grown old.
—Dire que j'ai eu des plumes de dessus ma tête et qu'à présent j'ai un plumeau sous le bras !...
—And to think that I once had feathers in my hair, and now I have a feather duster in my hand!...
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The Human Comedy: Chronicles of 19th-Century France
La Femme de ménage
Alfred André Géniole (French, 1813–1861) La Femme de ménage (The Cleaning Lady), 1841–42 Lithograph Gift of Eugene L. Garbaty, 1951.84.1
Feathers were associated with the evening dress that high-society women wore to fancy balls and theater outings. Balzac condemned the wearing of feathers, however, as too flashy for all but the most sophisticated aristocratic la-dies to pull off tastefully. One has to wonder whether the cleaning woman pictured here is a lorette vieillie, or aspir-ing courtesan grown old.
—Dire que j'ai eu des plumes de dessus ma tête et qu'à présent j'ai un plumeau sous le bras !...
—And to think that I once had feathers in my hair, and now I have a feather duster in my hand!...