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Abaisser l'éventail fermé vers le
sol : je te méprise Jeter
l'éventail de la main : je te hais The Language of The Fan The lady shows up briefly at the balcony,
slowly fanning herself, and returns inside, shutting the balcony: Long ago, fans were used to communicate a Lady's
thoughts graciously; they were used for more than just accessories to
women's attire. Below are some meanings associated with a Victorian
Lady's fan motions: Carrying it in the left hand: desirous of an
acquaintance True to my word I have researched the Language
of the Fan for my readers. I found two different versions of the
language. As I read the two versions I found them quite intriguing. I
do question if they were ever used.; As I explained to Bob and my
husband; men do not pick up on subtleties and hints, how would they
know this secret language.; And if you used this language every lady
who knew it would know what you were saying to a particular gentleman.
I also wonder how a man would know that the lady was using the fan as a
fan or if she was sending a secret message. Hiding the eyes behind the fan means I LOVE YOU Placing the fan behind the head means DON'T
FORGET ME A shut fan on the right eye means WHEN MAY I BE
ALLOWED TO SEE YOU Threating with a shut fan means DON'T BE SO
IMPRUDENT Shutting the fully open fan slowly means I
PROMISE TO MARRY YOU Opening and shutting the fan several times means
YOU ARE CRUEL Pressing the half open fan to the lips means YOU
MAY KISS ME The second language of the fan I found was
published in 1877 in a book by Daniel R. Shafer titled "Secrets of Life
Unveiled". There was even a painting done in 1882 by
French painter Jules-Joseph Lefebvre; it portrays a woman in red with a
red fan. http://www.wiedzaizycie.pl/97014100.htm Victorian Fans The fan had been a means of conveying intimate
thoughts. The flutters were described as the timorous flutter, the
confused flutter, the amorous flutter, and even an angry flutter.
Fluttering a fan at different speeds could indicate anything from rage,
to interest, to the most languid indifference. A folded fan that was
touched to milady's chin, told a gentleman that she found him
attractive; touching the tip of a folded fan to one's lips was an
unspoken declaration of love. Even the way a fan was closed could send
a message. Snapping it shut was a curt dismissal; flickering it shut
was a sudden slap to the palm and ended all conversation with it
warning that one was being watched! Article By Marian A. Doyle Je ne voulais plus faire de film, plus
exactement, je voulais ne plus faire de film, en finir une fois pour
toutes. Et pour dire cela, j'avais besoin d'en faire un, je ne pouvais
le dire qu'en en faisant. Après Leçon de vie (terminé en 1995), que je
considère comme mon « dernier film », mon « testament cinématographique
», j’ai beaucoup filmé, cueillant, collectionnant jour après jour,
semaine après semaine, images et sons, fragments de journal, archives
personnelles et privées, idées et propositions de films. Depuis bientôt
dix ans, j'avais commencé ces séries infinies (à l’instar des
Cinématons de Gérard Courant), autour de titres et de thèmes
générateurs: Onomatopées, le Langage de l'éventail, l’Amour en fleurs,
Je suis fier d'être belge, Tentatives de se décrire, Confessions,
Aide-mémoire, la Division de mon temps, Savoir compter jusqu’à cent,
Homme portant son film le plus lourd, Mes voyages... Boris Lehman In modern times, elegant ladies from Venice in
the 15th century were the first to carry fans, which from the start
were assigned an important function of distinguishing unmarried from
married women: the latter fanned themselves with feathers, while girls
with a kind of small flag. The trinket object became famous due to
Queen Elisabeth I, who officially acknowledged the fan to be the only
gift worthy of a queen. Although the fan was a mandatory element of
women's apparel, it was used frequently; opening a fan in the ruler's
presence was considered an affront. Fans dating back to the 18th century are richly
decorated with love scenes inspired by paintings by popular Rococo
artists, such as Antoine Watteau. Those fans are often small works of
art, sometimes very valuable: the materials used for the rack include
ivory, tortoiseshell, horn, exotic wood and precious metal plates. Fans
were made from silk and fine lace, covered with painting, embroidery
and prints; very attractive are those from peacock, ostrich, bustard,
marabou and rhea feathers. The fashion for "fan language," coming from
Spain, spread in Europe immediately gaining great popularity. Being a
woman of fashion was not easy. To use the fan with both skill and
grace, it required good knowledge-either education at a special
"academy" or from textbooks-and plenty of practice. Imagine such a scene taking place at one of the
numerous balls at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries for instance
in France: looking at a gentleman, a lady raises her opened fan to her
heart, closes it slowly, then opens it just slightly again and covers
with it her lips. Suddenly another young man appears. The lady starts
to fan herself very quickly and then puts the fan up to her left ear.
Without not even one word, everything is clear thanks to the fan code,
today long forgotten. The message for the first man was: "You've won my
love, I will marry you, you can kiss me," while for the second, "I am
engaged, go away!" An English fan dated from about 1780, decorated
by Gaetano Stefano Bartolozzi's copperplates, proves the great
influence of graphic techniques on the history of fans. The printing of
"regular" fans contributed to their accessibility; even regular
townswomen could afford them. This, however, did not save fans from
downfall in the wake of the French Revolution, which spurned them as a
destructive symbol of luxury and decadence. Fans returned to favor at
the beginning of the 19th century, with the vogue for little
plate-fans, sometimes combined with opera-glasses. Quite surprisingly, the exhibition shows that
fans were not only used by women to flirt with men. Fans were kept as
souvenirs from a journey, presenting famous buildings, they
commemorated important events ranging from the death of an emperor
through a victorious battle to the opening of Miejski Theater in Lvov
in 1900. Fans were used by collectors of autographs, or even as space
for advertisements. From early ancient times, in the culture of the
Far East the fan fulfilled multifarious functions. In Korea, it was
attributed to a scholar. In Japan, priests used it in religious
ceremonies, while the emperor presented it to his servants. Samurai
used it for coded messages and also to attack an enemy-fans with an
iron rack were a deadly weapon. Fan decoration had the status of a separate art
discipline, reflecting trends present in painting. The favorite
decorative motifs included flowers, birds, human figures and scenes
from old legends. The exposition has a companion bilingual folder,
in the form of a fan. The museum's gift shop offers for sale replicas
of old fans. Edyta Gajewska Ethereal Beauty. Fans of the Occident and
Orient, open through Nov. 18 in the main building of the National
Museum in Cracow, 1, 3 Maja Ave.; Tue., Thu.-Sun. 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m.,
Wed. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Original Language The Language of the Fan Carrying in left hand in front of face: Desirous
of acquaintance Placing it on left ear: I wish to get rid of you Drawing it across the forehead: You have changed Twirling it in the left hand: We are watched Carrying it in the right hand: You are too
willing Drawing through the hand: I hate you Twirling in the right hand: I love another Drawing across the cheek: I love you Presented shut: Do you love me? Drawing across the eyes: I am sorry Touching tip with finger: I wish to speak with
you Letting it rest on right cheek: Yes Letting it rest on left cheek: No Open and shut: You are cruel Dropping it: We will be friends Fanning slowly: I am married Fanning quickly: I am engaged With handle to lips: Kiss me Open wide: Wait for me Carrying in left hand, open: Come and talk to me Placed behind head: Don't forget me With little finger extended: Good-bye The shut fan held to the heart: You have won my
love The shut fan resting on the right eye: When may
I be allowed to see you? Touching the unfolded fan in the act of waving:
I long always to be near thee Threaten with the shut fan: Do not be so
imprudent Gazing pensively at the shut fan: Why do you
misunderstand me? Pressing the half-opened fan to the lips: You
may kiss me Clasping the hands under the open fan: Forgive
me I pray you Cover the left ear with the open fan: Do not
betray out secret Shut the fully opened fan very slowly: I promise
to marry you
With handle to lips: Kiss Me. Language of the Fan Nancy Armstrong, in her book Fans refers to some
18th century fans that were made in such a way that one could hold up
the fan and pull back a tiny section revealing a letter of the alphabet
behind it -- spelling out each word rather than remembering each fan
'signal'. Rather slow, and of course requiring good eyesight! In 1740 the following method was referred to in
The Gentleman's Magazine, explained thus in the History of the Fan by
Wooliscroft Rhead: Five signals are given, corresponding to the
five divisions of the alphabet, the different letters, omitting the J
being capable of division into five, the movements 1,2,3,4,5
corresponding to each letter in each division. By moving the fan with the left hand to right
arm. Fenella, a Spaniard , published fifty directions
on how to converse with a fan -- this was eventually translated into
English by Duvelleroy of Paris, and printed on small cards. They are
refined into 33 actions as follows: Carrying in right hand in front of face: FOLLOW
ME Carrying in left hand in front of face: DESIROUS
OF ACQUAINTANCE Placing it on left ear: I WISH TO GET RID OF YOU Drawing across the forehead: YOU HAVE CHANGED Twirling in left hand: WE ARE WATCHED Carrying in right hand: YOU ARE TOO WILLING Drawing through the hand: I HATE YOU Twirling in right hand: I LOVE ANOTHER Drawing across the cheek: I LOVE YOU Presented shut: DO YOU LOVE ME? Presenting a number of sticks, fan part opened:
AT WHAT HOUR? Touching the unfolded fan in the act of waving:
I LONG ALWAYS TO BE NEAR THEE Threaten with the shut fan: DO NOT BE SO
IMPRUDENT Gazing pensively at the shut fan: WHY DO YOU
MISUNDERSTAND ME? Pressing the half opened fan to the lips: YOU
MAY KISS ME Clasping the hands under the open fan: FORGIVE
ME I PRAY YOU Cover the left ear with the open fan: DO NOT
BETRAY OUR SECRET Shut the fully opened fan very slowly: I PROMISE
TO MARRY YOU Always presupposing the object of your silent
conversation understands your 'language' this might prove an amusing
diversion; and an explanation might be a means of starting conversation. CONDUCT FOR A PROPER SOCIETY 2) A closed fan touching the right eye: "When
may I be allowed to see you?" 3) The number of sticks shown answers the
question: "At what hour?" 4) Threatening movements with a fan closed: "Do
not be so imprudent" 5) Half-opened fan pressed to the lips: "You may
kiss me." 6) Hands clasped together holding an open fan:
"Forgive me." 7) Covering the left ear with an open fan: "Do
not betray our secret." 8) Hiding the eyes behind an open fan: "I love
you." 9) Shutting a fully opened fan slowly: "I
promise to marry you." 10) Drawing the fan across the eyes: "I am
sorry." 11) Touching the finger to the tip of the fan:
"I wish to speak with you." 12) Letting the fan rest on the right check:
"Yes." 13) Letting the fan rest on the left cheek: "No." 14) Opening and closing the fan several times:
"You are cruel" 15) Dropping the fan: "We will be friends." 16) Fanning slowly: "I am married." 17) Fanning quickly: "I am engaged." 18) Putting the fan handle to the lips: "Kiss
me." Use your fan to convey your message 19) Opening a fan wide: "Wait for me." 20) Placing the fan behind the head: "Do not
forget me." 21) Placing the fan behind the head with finger
extended: "Goodbye." 22) Fan in right hand in front of face: "Follow
me." 23) Fan in left hand in front of face: "I am
desirous of your acquaintance." 24) Fan held over left ear: "I wish to get rid
of you." 25) Drawing the fan across the forehead: "You
have changed." 26) Twirling the fan in the left hand: "We are
being watched." 27) Twirling the fan in the right hand: "I love
another." 28) Carrying the open fan in the right hand:
"You are too willing." 29) Carrying the open fan in the left hand:
"Come and talk to me." 30) Drawing the fan through the hand: "I hate
you!" 31) Drawing the fan across the cheek: "I love
you!" 32) Presenting the fan shut: "Do you love me?" Activity #1: Social Studies: Places &
People: The Legend of the Poinsettia: A Mexican Legend.
This Mexican legend has a beautiful and meaningful message that can be
shared with the children. Explore it and decide how would like to
include its content in the activities. This legend is appropriate for a
memorable Bible activity as it relates to The Nativity (Luke 2
& Mathew 2). Idea: Hold a finished fan craft during this part
of the discussion or have other examples of fans. How to Communicate Across a Crowded Room Without
Saying a Word In the early days of the Tango, young ladies
were accompanied to the dances by a chaperone, usually their mothers or
an aunt. In order to communicate with the young men, the ladies created
a way to send a message with their fans. If the lady moved her fan very slowly over her
chest it meant: "I am free and available, I don't have a boyfriend" If she moved the fan in fast and short
movements over her chest it meant, "I have a partner or boyfriend, so
keep going". If she opened and closed her fan and touched her
cheek with it, it told the gentleman: "I like you!" If she placed the fan on her temple and looked
upwards, it said: "I think of you day and night!" If she saw her boyfriend talking to another girl
or suspected he was being unfaithful she touched the tip of her nose
with her fan, meaning: "Something doesn't smell good here" If she walked from side to side hitting the palm
of her hand with the fan, it meant: "Be careful, the "Chaperone" is
coming" And finally, if she covered her mouth with the
open fan and looked at him very suggestively she was sending him a kiss
and obviously the young man knew he was the chosen one. Today, we may have forgotten the language of the
fan, but we know that sure comes in handy in a steamy milonga. Les ajoncs éclatants, parure du granit, José-Maria de Heredia Language of the Fan
by Ivison & Louis Wheatley
Softback, 35 pages, 23 colour, 13 b/w illustrations, ISBN 948 939 06 0 Le Langage de
l'Eventail - 1882
From a Spain trip plan ...shoppers
will find a large variety of beautiful silk fans: the shop assistant
should be able to explain the famous “fan language” – the different
ways to hold, fold and unfold this elegant accessory, just as the
Spanish beauties used to do in the past to express (discreetly) their
feelings... The
Jerusalem Post Wednesday,
September 9, 1998 (19 Elul 5758) WITH
PREJUDICE: Will she, or won't she? ...One
example of what are frequently ambiguous situations was spelled out in
1922, for example, by Helen Rowland. "Why does a man take it for
granted that a girl who flirts with him wants him to kiss her," she
asked in A Guide to Men, "when nine times out of ten she only wants him
to want to kiss her."... ...Dapper Dan Collins, one of the 20th
century's most outstanding utilitarian philosophers, an occupation he
combined with robbing coin-boxes, maintained that "between the ages of
16 and 60 no man is completely sane except for the 10 minutes
immediately following orgasm." FORTUNATELY, ADVICE for the perplexed is
available from Robert Kubiak, who teaches a nine-hour course on
flirting - for those who are pathologically shy or, perhaps, simply out
of practice - through Toronto's Network for Learning... ...Nearly 2,000 years ago Ovid claimed that
"Venus favours the bold," but Kubiak prefers a cautious, step-by-step
approach. As Max Kaufman
once pointed out, these things cannot be rushed. "Our courtship was
fast and furious," he wrote, "I was fast and she was furious."... Perhaps one way to solve the problem would
be to reintroduce the 17th-century "fan language" which was universally
understood. Special conventions in handling the fan "grew into code
signals of amorous import," as Eleanor Sachs, a curator of New York's
Metropolitan Museum, once put it. She was not alluding, of course to Sally
Rand's famous dance with two ostrich-plume fans which the Burlesque
Queen waved about to cover and - the Rand is Quicker than the Eye -
never quite uncover parts of her naked body. Eleanor Sachs was, in
fact, referring to a useful if less coarse code; a fluttering fan held
just below the eyes was, for example, a flirtatious declaration of
availability, while a closed fan tapped on an unsuitable cavaliere's
shoulder signified dismissal. THE MET collection includes marvelous
confections of lace and pierced mother-of-pearl, but there is nothing
to compare with my rattan fan which is just like the one Fredric March
waved about when he played William Jennings Bryan in Inherit the Wind,
the movie based on the Scopes "monkey trial." This was presented to me
some years ago and its message is only too clear: A.G. Brinkman Funeral
Director Phone Plaza 5058 8131 Mack Ave. Detroit. It is a great pity that fans are to all
intents and purposes obsolete for, before the introduction of
air-conditioning, Fredric March found his invaluable for coping with
the heat of a sweltering southern courtroom. They might have come in
handy, too, for those unfortunates who were inflamed with passion when
they came within the sizzling orbit of that ludicrous arch-seductress,
Marlene Dietrich, who sang Frederick Hollander's, er, torch-song in The
Blue Angel: Men cluster to me,. Book II, Court Duel,
continues the argument, but replaces the tense encounters and pitched
battles of the first volume with the subtle flutters of
fan language and an increasingly suspenseful exchange of
letters. Sherwood Smith's narrative never wavers from the point of view
of her heroine, who is endearingly slow to realize what's between her
and Shevraeth, and slow, too, to understand that it will take the
combination of their two approaches to solve the problems of Remalna
and bring about a new age. |
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