Barney: The Woman, Not the Dinosaur
I'm preparing a presentation about expatriate literary salons in Paris in the early 20th century, and I am focusing on Natalie Barney's salon, Rue Jacob No. 20. I am reading her biography and am becoming enchanted by a woman who apparently enchanted many. Here is one description of her that reminds me of some women I know. This is the type of woman I would like to become.
“As we’ve seen, Natalie had been in training her entire life to take on this role, learning from her own mother how to wow a crowd. Beyond this, she had an intuitive sense of how to make people feel special. She instinctively found and stressed commonalities, put shy souls at ease, and gave flight to the wit and brilliance of others. Most people who met Natalie for the first time walked away feeling that they had made an exciting new friend—one who appreciated their best qualities” (180).
“As we’ve seen, Natalie had been in training her entire life to take on this role, learning from her own mother how to wow a crowd. Beyond this, she had an intuitive sense of how to make people feel special. She instinctively found and stressed commonalities, put shy souls at ease, and gave flight to the wit and brilliance of others. Most people who met Natalie for the first time walked away feeling that they had made an exciting new friend—one who appreciated their best qualities” (180).
Wild Heart: A Life
Natalie Clifford Barney and the Decadence of Literary Paris
Natalie Clifford Barney and the Decadence of Literary Paris
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