Book





View of the favella Rocinha, Ipanema and the lagoa, Rio de Janeiro

 

 

I just finished reading for the second time the book

‘Lou. Histoire d’une femme libre’ de Françoise Giroud.

‘Lou. The story of a free woman’ by Françoise Giroud.

Written in 2002. Not recent but it doesn’t matter as a book like this one doesn’t age.

Françoise Giroud hypothesizes about Lou’s life traumas that would explain, not the superior intelligence of this woman as this is simply a fact, but her attitude toward men. Very interesting.

I would love to share a few extracts of the book with you

Extracts: (this is my own translation from French, I do apologise in advance for any meaning that could be lost)

“ It seems to me that we can say today:  a free woman is one who has the faculty to choose her life. Biologists will say that between our genes, the education we have received and the social class in which we were born, the margin of freedom of the human being is narrow. It is indeed. However everything leads us to think that it does exist. It is within this margin that we chose our life.  And at times, change it: we have the right to make mistakes (…)

If our life is chosen and not an underwent fate, nor endured by the social or family pressure, nor the pressure of the professional or friend’s environment – all who think to know always better than you do what is good for you – in a word, if we do not let ourselves be directed by Others, we are free. Which doesn’t stop you from maybe making mistakes, but you will have done them freely ! (…)

Being a free woman, is not necessary an objective, nor a pledge for happiness.

More than a century ago, Lou, at twenty years old, expressed:

“I cannot live following and ideal, nor be a model for someone else. But I can certainly live my own life, will do so whatever the consequences. Acting like this, I do not represent any principle, but something much more wonderful, something that lives in me, which is all warm with life, full of glee and seeks to escape …”

Neither a model nor an example, Lou Andréas-salomé has simply been a pioneer in the art of being herself.”

I don’t know about you, I personally feel that this woman called Lou and Françoise Giroud’s words are spot on. Because they tell us that we can find a way for choosing who we want to be, independently from the networks we are linked with: our family from today and the past centuries, professional or individual representations …

A woman who doesn’t want to work and prefers staying at home

A woman who chooses to have a professional career along with children

A woman who doesn’t want children

Etc…etc …

Is being judged

A man who looks after his children while his wife works

A man who works part time by choice

A man who expresses his feelings openly

Etc ... etc …

Is being judged

 

Judgment is there.

What do we chose to do with it ?

Can we not create a space of freedom for making new choices ?

I do think we can

I wish you a wonderful day !

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