Sex and the Founding Fathers: The American Quest for a Relatable Past (Sexuality Studies) by Thomas A. Foster

Author:Thomas A. Foster [Foster, Thomas A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2014-02-04T05:00:00+00:00

Franklin and French Beauties

As for Franklin's reputation while a widower in France, today Franklin appears to be the harmless older man and not the threatening sexual deviant. The "French beauties," one mid-twentieth-century biographer explains (gleefully), whom "he visited most" while living in and outside Paris were Madame Brillon and Madame Helvetius. Given the letters that were exchanged and the surrounding company who observed Franklin in the salon culture of Paris, the relationships are well-documented and commented on by virtually all his biographers. As with his writings, through the twentieth century, the relationships have become increasingly embraced and enjoyed as evidence of Franklin's joie de vivre, his ease with women and sexuality, in sharp contrast to the oppressive Puritans of stereotypical early America.

Thirty-three-year-old Madame Brillon was his neighbor in Passy. In the hands of many biographers, romantic mist encircles the depiction of Franklin and Madame Brillon. Consider the following passage from an article in a special 2003 issue of Time magazine, entitled "Why He Was a Babe Magnet":

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