[Egmond Codfried]

Originally posted by Egmond Codfried:
[QB]

[Benjamin Constant: sanguine and bad complexion and Madame de Staël: swarthy]



http://blogs.centrictv.com/lifestyle...04/painter.jpg

[Nell Irvin Painter]


This thread was inspired by reading parts of ‘The History of White People’ by Nell Irving Painter. In chapter 8 she discuses Madame de Staël, and bases her description on a book by Lydia Maria Child: ‘Biographies.’ Child was a abolitionist and a feminist who met Madame de Staël. But she describes De Staël as a white, super white woman, with ‘transparent skin.’ This is further worked by Painter to state that as (poor) Madame de Staël had ‘transparent skin’ her veins must have been showing and she was blue blood. She then goes on to use the heresy about the 19th century origins of Blue blood as blue veins showing. Well, other biographies say that De Staël had black skin, was ‘swarthy,’ so Professor Nell Painter has it wrong. But I do not know what to make of Mrs Child. There is some confusion about personal descriptions. While Isabelle de Charriere writes that she does not have the white hands, a 19th century biographer says she was typically Dutch: with blond hair and blue eyes. There are portraits which show her as such, but also her grandma looks Classical African, so as a noble woman, De Charriere must have brown or lack skin, no matter what portraits we are shown. De Charriere were rivals for the love of Benjamin Constant who is described as ‘very bad complexion’ and of ‘sanguine complexion.’

http://www.amazon.com/History-White-.../dp/0393049345
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lydia_Maria_Child [/QB]