Salon (gathering) - Historiography of The Salons

Historiography of The Salons

The historiography of the salons is far from straightforward. The salons have been studied in depth by a mixture of feminist, Marxist, cultural, social and intellectual historians. Each of these methodologies focus on different aspects of the salons, and thus have varying analyses of the salons’ importance in terms of French history and the Enlightenment as a whole.

Major historiographical debates focus on the relationship between the salons and the public sphere, as well as the role of women within the salons.