Parisian Women’s Travels in Asia

Abstract

Despite the limited material resources available to women in the second half of the 19th century and the early 20th century, many actively participated in the major journeys of the time and gradually developed their own individual conception of travel. This article focuses on a publishing phenomenon that developed between 1870 and 1930: the publication of travelogues written by French women who explored the world, considered to be testimonies of intrinsic quality. More specifically, we will study the travelogues of five Parisian women who travelled to Asia: Marie de Ujfalvy-Bourdon, Isabelle Massieu, Laure Durand-Fardel, Louise Bourbonnaud and Alexandra David-Neel. Asia fascinated travellers because of its marked differences from the West, yet it remained largely unknown at the time, as most people's attention was still focused on other parts of the world. A wide range of contrasting impressions emerge as the travellers journey through these regions; however, their initial perceptions quickly give way to a sense of wonder. This study examines the ways in which they perceive Asian societies and cultures, seeking to highlight both the convergences and divergences in their representations of otherness, in order to explore how the journey to Asia becomes, for them, a genuine quest for inner meaning.