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((Short description|French term used in English))
((More citations needed|date=June 2020))((Italic title))
'''((lang|fr|Demi-monde))''' is a French 19th-century term referring to women on the fringes of respectable society, and specifically to [[courtesans]] supported by wealthy lovers.<ref>((cite web|url=https://www.oed.com/dictionary/demimonde_n|title=Demimonde, n.|website=Oxford English Dictionary|access-date=30 December 2023))</ref> The term is French for "half-world", and derives from an 1855 play called ((lang|fr|Le Demi-Monde)), by [[Alexandre Dumas fils|Alexandre Dumas ((lang|fr|cat=no|fils))]],<ref>((cite web|url=http://www.theatrehistory.com/french/dumasfils002.html|title=Le Demi-monde, a synopsis of the play by Alexander Dumas (fils)|first1=Alice B. |last1=Fort |first2=Herbert S. |last2=Kates))</ref> dealing with the way that prostitution at that time threatened the institution of marriage. The ((lang|fr|demi-monde)) was the world occupied by elite men and the women who entertained them and whom they kept.

'''Demimondaine''' became a synonym for a [[courtesan]] or a prostitute who moved in these circles—or for a woman of social standing with the power to thumb her nose at convention and throw herself into the [[hedonistic]] nightlife. A woman who made that choice would soon find her social status lost, as she became ((lang|fr|italic=no|"déclassée")).

For the men, the high life of the ((lang|fr|demimonde)) was isolated from the other world of wives and families and duties (if any). It embraced heavy drinking and other drug use, gambling, attending the theatre and ballet and horse races, the pursuit of high [[fashion]] in every aspect of life, and sexual promiscuity. Lavish spending led to indebtedness; promiscuity, in the worst scenario, led to [[Syphilis|disease]].

Historically, the height of the ((lang|fr|demimonde)) was encapsulated by the period known in France as ((lang|fr|[[Belle Époque|La Belle Époque]])) (1871–1914), from the end of the [[Franco-Prussian War]] to the beginning of [[World War I]].

The twentieth century brought the rise of the [[New Woman]], changing economies and social structures, as well as changing fashions and social mores, particularly in the aftermath of World War I. Prostitution and the keeping of mistresses did not disappear,  but the label ((lang|fr|demimondaine)) became obsolete as the 'half-world' changed.

== Women called ((lang|fr|demimondaine)) ==
Externally, the defining aspects of the demimonde were an extravagant [[lifestyle (sociology)|lifestyle]] of fine food and clothes, often surpassing that of other wealthy women of their day with a steady income of cash and gifts from their various lovers. Internally, their lifestyle was an eclectic mixture of sharp business acumen, social skills, and [[hedonism]]. Intelligent demimondaines, like the fictional [[Gigi (novella)|Gigi]]'s grandmother, would invest their wealth for the day when their beauty faded. Others ended up penniless and starving when age took its toll on their beauty, unless they managed to marry.

A famous beauty was [[Virginia Oldoini, Countess of Castiglione|Virginia Oldoini, Countess di Castiglione]], who came to Paris in the 1850s with very little money of her own and soon became mistress of [[Napoleon III]]; after that relationship ended she moved on to other wealthy men in government, finance and European royalty. She was one of the most aristocratic and exclusive of the demimondaines—reputed to have charged a member of the British aristocracy one million francs for 12 hours in her company.

Another woman who doubtless influenced later images of the demimondaine was the dancer and adventuress [[Lola Montez]], though she died before the term came into general use.

The actress [[Sarah Bernhardt]] was the illegitimate child of a courtesan; in her day all actresses were generally considered demimondaines. Her many lovers and extravagant lifestyle fit the type, though her genuine successes as an artist and innovator eventually gained her a kind of public esteem most demimondaines never achieved.

[[Marguerite Steinheil]], young member of the powerful dynasty of French industrials the Japy family, married minor [[Academic art]] painter Adolphe Steinheil in 1890. She is her husband's model for some time, but aspires to a more intense and moneyed existence, and opens in their villa at 6 bis, Impasse Ronsin, close to [[Montparnasse]], a salon soon frequented by all of Paris. Combining ambition and temperament, her status as the archetypal demimondaine explodes as she successively enters the arms of some of the most influential and generous lovers in the country. Marguerite, always concerned about her husband's career, indeed obtains painting commissions from her protectors for him, which makes it all the easier for Adolphe to accept his marital misfortunes.

Meg Steinheil's affair with the President of the Republic, Félix Faure, earns her understanding husband an official commission for a monumental painting representing ''The Presentation of Decorations by the President of the Republic to the Survivors of the Disaster of the [[Fort de la Redoute Ruinée]]'' (August 8, 1897), which is exhibited at the Salon des artistes of 1898, as well as the [[Legion of Honor]] cross the same year. Félix Faure is alleged to have suddenly died from a stroke whilst receiving sexual favours from her at the [[Élysée Palace]]. This part of her life has been fictionalised in the tv series [[Paris Police 1900]].

== Fictional ((lang|fr|demimondaines)) ==
Descriptions of the ((lang|fr|demimonde)) can be found in ''[[Vanity Fair (novel)|Vanity Fair]]'' (1848), a novel which satirizes nineteenth century society, written by [[William Makepeace Thackeray]].  Although it does not mention the terms ((lang|fr|demimonde)) and ((lang|fr|demimondaine)) (they were coined later), the terms were later used by reviewers and other authors in reference to three characters in it.((citation needed|date=January 2013)) Lady Crackenbury and Mrs. Washington White are ((lang|fr|demimonde)) characters, both of whom Captain Rawdon Crawley lusts after in his younger days. [[Becky Sharp (character)|Becky Sharp]] is perceived as a ((lang|fr|demimondaine)) before she is presented at court, and then becomes one when she travels through [[Europe]] after her husband abandons her.

Possibly the most famous portrayal of the ((lang|fr|demimonde)), albeit from before the word was coined, is in [[Giuseppe Verdi]]'s opera ((lang|it|[[La traviata]])) (1853). The opera, in turn, was inspired by [[Alexandre Dumas, fils|Alexandre Dumas ((lang|fr|cat=no|fils))]]'s ((lang|fr|[[The Lady of the Camellias|La Dame aux Camélias]])); Marguerite Gautier, the heroine of the book and subsequent play, was based on [[Marie Duplessis]], 1840s Paris courtesan and mistress to a number of prominent men, including Dumas.<ref name=nyt>((cite news|last=Webber|first=Carolline|title='My Favors Cost a Great Deal': 'The Girl Who Loved Camellias', by Julie Kavanagh|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/21/books/review/the-girl-who-loved-camellias-by-julie-kavanagh.html?pagewanted=all|access-date=July 20, 2013|newspaper=The New York Times|date=July 19, 2013))</ref> She would famously be portrayed on stage by the aforementioned [[Sarah Bernhardt]].

In writing his 1924 play ''[[Easy Virtue (play)|Easy Virtue]]'', [[Noël Coward]] stated his object was to present a comedy in the structure of a tragedy "to compare the ((lang|fr|italic=no|déclassée)) woman of to-day with the more flamboyant ((lang|fr|italic=no|demi-mondaine)) of the 1890s."

[[Colette]]'s ''[[Gigi (novella)|Gigi]]'' (1944), and its [[Gigi (1958 film)|1958 film adaptation]], also describe the demimonde and their lifestyle.  Gigi is schooled from childhood to be a kept woman, to stifle her feelings in return for a life of ease. "We never marry in our family", says Gigi's grand-mother. But Gigi finds herself a misfit in the ((lang|fr|demimonde)) of [[Paris]] in the '[[Gay Nineties]]', as she desires true love with only one man.

In ''[[A Little Night Music]]'' (1973, [[Stephen Sondheim]]), the main female character, Desiree Armfeldt, is an actress whose mother, Madame Leonora Armfeldt, sings a song, ''Liaisons'', which describes the material benefits of being a serially kept woman. For example, "At the villa of the Baron De Signac, Where I spent a somewhat infamous year, At the villa of the Baron De Signac—I had ladies in attendance—Fire-opal pendants." And: "At the palace of the Duke of Ferrara, Who was prematurely deaf but a dear, At the palace of the Duke of Ferrara—I acquired some position—Plus a tiny Titian."

In ''[[The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (film)|The Seven-Per-Cent Solution]]'' (1976), the character Lola Devereaux is labeled a ((lang|fr|demimondaine)) by the character [[Sigmund Freud]].

== Other uses of the term in fiction ==
In [[Henryk Sienkiewicz]]'s ''[[Without Dogma]]'' (1891), the term ((lang|fr|"demimonde")) refers to the affluent, pleasure-seeking portion of society, unbound by morals, religion or tradition, and is loosely analogous to the "[[jet set]]" of modern times.

In [[Marcel Proust]]'s ''Swann's Way'' (1913), Odette de Crécy is described as a ((lang|fr|demimondaine)).<ref>((Cite book|title = Swann's Way|last = Proust|first = Marcel|translator1-first = C. K. |translator1-last = Scott Moncrieff |translator1-link = C. K. Scott Moncrieff |translator2-first = Terence |translator2-last = Kilmartin |translator2-link = Terence Kilmartin |publisher = Random House |year = 1981 |isbn = 0394506448 |location = New York))((rp|205))</ref>

[[Françoise Sagan]], in her novel ((lang|fr|[[Bonjour Tristesse]])) (1954), uses the term ((lang|fr|demimondaine)) to refer to the character Elsa, a young, stunningly attractive woman who leverages her appearance into support by wealthy men, which allows her entrance into the social world of the upper classes.

The high society men in [[Peter Matthew Hillsman Taylor]]'s novella ''The Old Forest'' (from the story collection of the same name, 1985) use ((lang|fr|demimonde)) to refer to a group of "adventurous" and intelligent young women in 1937 Memphis, Tennessee; in the story, it is common for the men to continue courting such "demimondames"<!-- neologism --> right up until the time they are married to high society women.

The term appears repeatedly in [[James Joyce]]'s ''[[Ulysses (novel)|Ulysses]]''.

In [[Kim Stanley Robinson]]'s ''[[Mars trilogy]]'' (1990s), the term ((lang|fr|demimonde)) refers to a semi-tolerated, "off the net" society of commerce and education.

In his ‘’Rivers of London’’ series, author Ben Aaronovitch repeatedly uses the term demi-monde to refer to a societal underworld where supernatural and faerie peoples mingle.

The English-language title of the Hungarian feature film ((lang|hu|Félvilág)) is ((lang|fr|[[Demimonde (film)|Demimonde]])).

The [[Showtime (TV network)|Showtime]] series ''[[Penny Dreadful (TV series)|Penny Dreadful]]'' recasts the ((lang|fr|demimonde)) as a spiritual dimension. It is also the title of the fourth episode of the first season.

==See also==
* [[Ukiyo]]

==References==
((reflist))

==Sources==
* [[William Makepeace Thackeray]] (1848), ''[[Vanity Fair (novel)|Vanity Fair]]''.
* [[Colette]] (1945), ''[[Gigi (novella)|Gigi]]''.
* William Blatchford (editor) (1983), ''The Memoirs of Cora Pearl: The Erotic Reminiscences of a Flamboyant 19th Century Courtesan''. [[London]]; [[New York City|New York]]: Granada. ((ISBN|0-246-11915-2)).
* Katie Hickman (2003), ''Courtesans : Money, Sex and Fame in the Nineteenth Century'' . New York: Morrow. ((ISBN|0-06-620955-2)).
* [[Joanna Richardson]] (1967), ''The Courtesans: The Demi-monde in 19th Century France''. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson.

[[Category:1850s neologisms]]
[[Category:Social groups]]
[[Category:French words and phrases]]
[[Category:High society (social class)]]
[[Category:Prostitution in France]]
[[Category:Prostitutes by type]]
[[Category:Courtesans by type]]
[[Category:Belle Époque]]

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