A History of Modern Europe - From the Renaissance to the Present

The Consumer Explosion 779

represented by the depart­
ment stores of the West End

of London became a liberating
experience, a veritable zone of
pleasurable consumerism.

Leisure in the Belle Epoque

During the Belle Epoque,

there was more to do than

ever before for those with

time for leisure and money to

spend. The French capital

set the tone for style in Eu­

rope, if not the world. Dance

halls, cafes, and cafe­

concerts, the latter offering

the performances of musi­

cians, singers, poets, come­

dians, jugglers, acrobats, The actress Sarah Bernhardt dramatically laid

female wrestlers, and snake out in the Art Nouveau style in a coffin,

charmers, lined the grands

boulevards, attracting throngs of Parisians and tourists alike. Hundreds

of thousands of Londoners and Parisians attended the theater at least once

a week. The tango and the turkey trot, imported from the Americas, were

banned in some establishments. German Emperor William 11 forbade officers

from dancing these steps while in uniform.

The talented and beautiful actress Sarah Bernhardt (1844—1923) embod­

ied images of fin-de-siecle Europe. The daughter of a Dutch immigrant, she

became famous for her dramatic expressiveness and ability to communi­

cate tears to an audience through her supremely evocative voice. Bernhardt

learned her trade from the traditions of the popular boulevard theater.

Renowned for her dramatic gestures (as a young woman she asked a pho­

tographer to take a picture of her in a coffin) and for a variety of sexual

liaisons, Sarah Bernhardt’s worldwide fame was such that the American

circus entrepreneur P. T. Barnum, upon hearing that she risked the ampu­

tation of a leg, offered her a fortune if she would allow him to take it on

the road and exhibit it with his famous circus.

Sports in Mass Society

Sports emerged as a prominent feature of mass society during the last de­

cades of the century, a phenomenon linked to modern transportation and

to a general increase in leisure time. The first automobile race was held in

1894 in France. Some of the cars were powered by electricity, others by