ABSTRACT
In La Jongleuse, Rachilde attempts to deconstruct traditional gender roles, yet, unlike in the case of Raoule de Venerande, this is largely unintentional and done to show their absurdity. This chapter argues that the prior sexual knowledge granted to Rachilde's heroine not only provides her widowed female protagonist with a power that enables her to seduce men and maintain male desire. Rachilde introduces her widowed heroine in both a black mourning dress and a white engagement dress before any act of juggling takes place in the narrative. Madame X is arguably Sargent's greatest psychological portrait, because it successfully reveals the unattainable beauty and self-destructive narcissism of both the women and the decadent society that Gautreau embodied. The chapter suggests that Rachilde's heroine does not need the male body for sexual pleasure, as his mere presence is sufficient. It is only by attracting male admiration through performance and placing herself apart on stage that she feels alive.
