Kvinnligt och manligt i Malla Silfverstolpes salong

Abstract

Tliis artide discusses the literary salon as a cultural "room" for women and men with regard lo emancipatory possibilities, gender constructions and issnes of power. On the basis of the most famous salon in Sweden, Malla Sifverstolpe's salon during literary romanticism (1820-1850), the sex/gender system of the salon is investigated. The result shows that on the one hand Silfverstolpe^ salon is strongly influenced by the dominant romantic ideology of difference at that time. This ideology advocates an idea of complementary separate spheres where men are responsible for society and intellectual matters and women for the home and the emotional area. As a result of this division of labour a sex/gender hierarchy is formed where men and masculinity are superior. On the other hand, however, structural elements of the salon, such as the dominant role of the hostess and the social and cultural position of the salon as a semi public context, offer possibilities for deviations from the dominant ideology. Women are invited into Silfverstolpe s sulotl clS daughters and vvives of famous male artists and academics. They partake of artistic activities and occasionally develop into artists, although not always for a public audience. Alternative personal relationships and gender constructions also grow out of the salon milieu because of its offer of a cultural room which is situated outside of the family and the family ideology. The emancipatory possibilities of the salon are connected to its historically continuous criticism of the family and family-oriented gender constructs. This criticism can be strong and explicit as in the "précieuse" salons of 17th century France and the early romantic salons of Germany around 1800, and weaker and more implicit as in the case of Silfverstolpe's salon. Men often profit from the salons, i e as young artists who get pecuniary as well as personal support from the hostess and other encouraging women. But a young woman artist can get similar help as shows the example of the author Thekla Knös (1815- 1880) who has been called a "daughter" of Silfverstolpe^ salon. Men's social and political power make them powerful also in the salons, but women's use of the salon in their moves towards power is therefore not without interest.