From the Pages of Daniel Dutot
All information included in this article is based on the research of a friend of mine, Daniel Dutot. If text appears like this, it is my own addition to his writing and research to help better establish the setting of 1889 Paris as seen through the eyes of the kithain.
Neustria (France) - The Duchy of Bayeaux
The land of Neustria serves as a stronghold for the dominion of the sidhe in Europe, even with the Arcadian sidhe non communiqué. With a two to one ratio of nobles to commoners, most of the sidhe favor the old feudal system and a monarchic government. The ruling sidhe consider commoners without an oath of fealty to link them to a noble as suspect, perhaps even anarchists - a very popular political movement at the time.
Crime
Paris is starting to modernize its police force (gardiens de la paix publique: Guardians of the Public Peace), with finger-printing and mugshots beginning to be used along with bicycle units. Street gangs become bolder in both their scope and in their fashion, with the papers calling them ‘Apaches’ after the indigenous tribe. The guillotine is still the dominant method of execution. The Dreyfus Affair will later show the corruption of the courts (and the military) along with the conservative bias of the major newspapers.
Clurichaun and redcaps are both disruptors of social order. It is not uncommon to see them amongst the street gangs and prison lines (though a piskey's penchant for theft might land them there as well).
A troll, however, is much more likely to be with the gardiens than with the rabble and unwashed masses. Honor and duty could be found amongst the Apache gangs, it's true, but far more is found in a uniform in most cases.
Culture
Many cafes start to feature their own entertainment. Plenty of strange places for kithain to have as their ‘local’ haunt.
- Cabaret du Néant ("Cabaret of Nothingness"/"Cabaret of the Void")
- Cabaret du Ciel ("Cabaret of Heaven")
- Cabaret de l'Enfer ("Cabaret of Hell")
- Théâtre de la Renaissance
Satyrs, clurichaun, and eshu find much comfort in the pageantry and music of the cabarets and theaters. But all kith find many of their Dreamers - sources of Glamour, upon which they depend to survive - from the actors, singers, and courtesans of these establishments.
Sidhe, in addition, may sponsor commoner kith (or lesser nobles) to write songs, plays, or paint for them. It is a cushy life for any changeling that manages to find a patron, fae or not.
LGBTQ Life
Paris was considerably more ‘open-minded’ compared to other European cities towards LGBTQ topics. Below are a few examples of both fictional and non-fictional queer folk from the era.
- Natalie Clifford Barney
- Lady Stella Pelham Clinton/Ernest Boulton
- Jane Dieulafoy
- Anne Lister
- Mathilde "Max" de Morny
- La Vie singulière d'Albert Nobbs ("The Singular Life of Albert Nobbs")
- Herbert Charles Pollitt
- Liane de Pougy
- Rachilde
Three Gender Stories from Nineteenth-Century France by Rachel Mesch
Old-fashioned Gender-neutral Terms of Endearment
The French Revolution decriminalized sodomy in 1791 and as a result increasingly robust queer cultures began to emerge in Paris in the late 18th and 19th centuries. They were allowed to continue on condition that they remain private and discreet. The booming economic expansion of the Belle Époque during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries brought Paris a reputation as the bohemian and erotic capital of the West, which allowed queer cultures in Paris to flourish. A network of still relatively underground venues for LGBT people emerged, including, salons, bars, cafes and bathhouses, particularly in the Montmartre and Les Halles. Gay men would also meet in the gardens by the Carrousel du Louvre, along the Champs Elysées, by the Bourse, and elsewhere.
Lesbians and bisexual women in particular saw increased visibility during this period, both in the public sphere and in representations in art and literature. Fin de siècle society in Paris included bars, restaurants and cafes frequented and owned by lesbians, such as Le Hanneton and le Rat Mort. Private salons in the early 20th century, like the ones hosted by the American expatriates Nathalie Barney, and Gertrude Stein drew LGBT and heterosexual artists and writers of the era, including Romaine Brooks, Renée Vivien, Colette, Djuna Barnes, André Gide, Pierre Louÿs, Truman Capote, and Radclyffe Hall. One of Barney's lovers, the courtesan Liane de Pougy, published a best-selling novel based on their romance called l’Idylle Saphique (1901). Many of the more visible lesbians and bisexual women were entertainers and actresses. Some, like the writer Colette and her lover Mathilde de Morny, performed lesbian theatrical scenes in Paris cabarets that drew outrage and censorship. Descriptions of lesbian salons, cafes and restaurants were included in tourist guides and journalism of the era, as well as mention of houses of prostitution that were uniquely for lesbians. Toulouse Lautrec portrayed Parisian lesbian and bisexual entertainers in many of his paintings, such as dancers Louise Weber, Jane Avril and May Milton, and the clown Cha-U-Kao
Tamagne stated that beginning in the 19th century Paris became known as a centre for LGBT culture. Foreign expats continued to be drawn to the more open society that existed in Paris. Oscar Wilde spent his last years in a hotel in Paris, where he befriended French author André Gide, who wrote openly about his own homosexuality.[Celebrated French poet Paul Verlaine, who had had an intense relationship with poet Arthur Rimbaud, could be seen drinking absinthe in late 19th century Parisian cafes in his final years
Medicine
The newborn science of psychology is a source of fascination for the French. Here it is not uncommon to find ‘alienists’ (Those experts who studied mental pathologies) of all gender identities.
Dr. Charcot, known as the ‘Napoleon of neuroses,’ teaches at the largest hospital in France , with prominent students such as Georges Gilles de la Tourette (who classified Tourette’s Syndrome), Constance Pascal, first woman to be head doctor of a psychiatric hospital in France) and masc-presenting socialist Madeleine Pelletier.
Medicine and science are incredibly banal places. If your changeling spent any time in the care of an asylum or hospital, there is a good chance that you have already been Undone once. If you have medical knowledge/expertise, you have had to work doubly hard so as to not lose your fae nature: indulging in revelry and wild nights to keep the dream alive.
Media
Satyrs are dreams of passion and poetry, and so sometimes could be called to contribute to a magazine. But boggans were the true back of the papers. Not writing, it no: printing it.
They appreciated the necessary labor and artistry that went into early works from printing presses — mostly careful and laborious woodblock carving — and the physical process of inking, rolling, pressing, and binding that was still necessary for production. It is a perfect go-to for boggans as a career, who enjoy the quiet bustle of a printer’s workshop and the attention to detail that came with setting type for print.
Occult
Theosophists, Rosicrucians, Martinists, Freemasons, Gnostics, and neo-Cathars
Joséphin Peladan, Papus, Stanislas de Guaïta, Saint-Yves d’Alveydre, Jules Doinel
Sluagh deal most heavily with things of the dark, that make the humans shiver. They are amongst good company with the occultist trends of the time - though all fae benefit from the imagination, wonder, and excitement amongst those who believe in the practices.
The eshu, with their "exotic" appearances, are often dragged in by mortals as supposed experts in the occult - which can work well to line their pockets, but can become boring and monotonous in its own right.
Politics
Paris and France itself are a hotbed of clashing political factions. The Left wants to return to the ideals of the Revolution and the Paris Commune, Royalists want the return of the Ancien Régime or at least something similar (the Crown Jewels have been sold in an attempt to dissuade this), the military wants revenge on the Germans for the loss of Alsace (and are close to staging a coup), the Republicans seek to further weaken the Catholic Church’s power by removing them from teaching public education, and Anarchists have begun a series of bombings against the corruption of the Third Republic.
It has been 100 years since the French Revolution, and so the sidhe nobility no longer feel quite so cautious about the commoner riff raff. Still, fae monarchy holds strong in France (indeed, the Royalists have the sympathy of the sidhe), and so the anarchist presence amongst the (mostly Unseelie) commoner folk is felt quite strongly.
In particular, the boggans are known for their union action and involvement in women's rights movements. Redcaps are known for their destructive, anti-authoritarian tendencies, and so while they do not add much to the leadership of a movement, they are always willing to do what needs to be done (or do what doesn't need to be done, but what they want to). Most commoner fae, however, are united by a love and want for freedom. Some find that they can find this within the monarchy system, but others look at their American cousins - who have become completely self-governing - and wish for the same in Europe.
The Autumn sidhe, for the most part, are less authoritarian than their Arcadian cousins might be, tempered with centuries among the commoners. That does not keep them from being dreams of nobility, however, and to suggest that they step down from their thrones is a fool's errand.
However, the continued weakening of the Catholic Church is universally praised by the kith - as it is a source of great banality for them as a people.
- French Third Republic policies
- Georges Ernest Boulanger - general and politician. Hugely popular, and had a chance to launch a coup d'état in January of 1889 after winning his election for deputy of Paris. But he delayed too long and ended up fleeing Paris when his opponents issued a warrant for his arrest for conspiracy and treasonable activity. He was stripped of his position following that. Today, the Boulangist movement is viewed as a proto-fascist right-wing movement.
- Sadi Carnot - current president of France
- Émile Henry - anarchist and terrorist
- Louise Michel - anarchist
- Moderate Republicans
- Possibilism
- Ravachol - anarchist and terrorist
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