From the book
The Gods Are Athirst
Anatole France · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Meaning
Lemma.
Affranchir means setting free or releasing from constraint. The narrator applies it unexpectedly to the waists of women citizens: the Revolution has liberated the figure from earlier constriction. Yet the skirt still enlarges and conceals the body’s forms. The political metaphor therefore does not end in a claim that fashion has made the body perfectly natural or transparent. Freedom from one restraint can coexist with a new presentation that changes what is seen.
Places to read
- Chapter IV, paragraph 8Frenchla Révolution avait affranchi la taille des citoyennes: political emancipation applied to dress. The following clause notes continued enlargement and concealment of the body.