From the book
The Gods Are Athirst
Anatole France · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Meaning
Lemma.
Trivial ornaments or fussy adornments. Gamelin first uses the noun contemptuously for rococo painting. Élodie later gives clothing frills a practical defence: they may be cheaper than elegant simplicity. The two uses connect aesthetic judgement with the social means to realise it, preventing the reader from treating ornament as a single moral fault.
Places to read
- Chapter VI, paragraph 16Frenchles fanfreluches: The fripperies. Gamelin dismisses Watteau, Boucher and Van Loo by the term.
- Chapter X, paragraph 18Frenchnous mettons des fanfreluches: We wear frills. Élodie says economy, not always bad taste, can explain them.