VIDEO. Can we still be gallant? Response with Jennifer Tamas, literature professor

Jennifer Tamas, professor of French literature at Rutgers University, explains: “In the 17th century, gallantry is not just a word, it is a way of life, a way of life, a way of living together.” According to the professor, gallantry emerges as “a form of counter-power to a patriarchal society” where women moved from the father’s house to that of the husband. It was a way to have “conversational relationships, debates of ideas, at a time when women are prescribed silence.” She emphasizes that “gallantry is co-constructed by men and women” as “a know-how, a know-how.”

However, the professor mentions that “certain men will use this way of interacting to trap women.” She explains that a distinction was introduced between gallantry and “preciousness”, the latter being perceived as “something feminine and ridiculous” through works like Les Précieuses ridicules by Molière. So, “gallantry will become masculine, seductive” where women “no longer have any share of agency.” Jennifer Tamas also deplores the erasure of “matrimony” female literary anthologies, contributing to the loss of the true dialogue of gallantry.

Faced with this recovery of gallantry, Jennifer Tamas proposes a contemporary redefinition: “A gallant act is a way of taking care of the other, of asking what they think, of wanting to create a bond, but without being too insistent.” She insists on “take the time to domesticate yourself, to tame yourself, to understand others” while being “listening to yourself to better listen to others.” Modern chivalry thus implies mutual consent, attentive listening and respect, far from the masculine recuperation and inappropriate insistence denounced.