"The secret to making a man know you need him: Of course you can open a bottle of wine by yourself. But let him do it. That's equality, too."
I've always been a fan of fiction. Maybe it's because it was what I had grown up with, studied, loved. But I think that really and truly it was because fiction allows you to lose yourself in a world which is not your own, but a world in which you can inhabit for a while. So why exactly, in a world full of self-help books and manuals, does non-fiction seemed to have prevailed and, dare I say it, become the favourite child? There is a manual for just about every inch of self-improvement nowadays, and perhaps it is that, in a time of a clearer awareness and a clearer understanding of what we want and subsequently what we can achieve, non-fiction has come to serve an important role in society. In an era of a widespread rise in the support and awareness for feminism, the female has taken it upon herself to allow the world to see that she herself is capable of anything and everything she wants to achieve. More importantly, she wants to tell you exactly how you can achieve it too. Move over Jane Eyre, the woman of 2014 has full control of her life, and categorically does not need Mr. Darcy to tell her that. See the likes of Sophia Amoruso, and her (somewhat ironic and annoyingly titled) book #GIRLBOSS, and 'Not that Kind of Girl' by Lena Dunham. The trend of the female manual seems characteristically similar in each case; somewhat self-deprecating, sarcastic and of course, humorous. It's unusual to see this in print, because essentially we are used to the modest likes of the Bronte sisters describing the meek and subservient female of C19 whom either suffered tragedy or joy, quite simply because of their biological difference. We pity, or we sympathise with them, but until now, we have rarely felt any real physical, fuelled or gripping emotion towards her. We are a generation motivated by powerful words, and non-fiction provides exactly this.
The female is a mystery to many- she wants this and that and everything in between, but when you give her this and that she no longer wants it. Yet so few tropes have been exhaustively dug up than that of the Parisian. It's almost as if this is what the world has been waiting for; a book entitled, quite simply, 'How to be Parisian, wherever you are'. It's as if to say, don't worry that you've been trying for the past 20 years of your existence to feign Parisian charm and allure, by wearing breton stripes exhaustively and drinking black coffee whilst pretending to enjoy it. It's okay, because here it is; the Bible re-born. You might be from Skegness, but girl, you CAN be Parisian.
Essentially, the world wants to know what exactly lies behind je ne sais quoi, and perhaps most significantly- why the flip wasn't I blessed with this intangible quality which makes one alluring and allusive. Whilst there is not exactly a shortage of wisdom from its' Parisian writers, the book seems to occupy a slightly different space to its predecessors. Rather than telling us how to be Parisian, like its name quite frankly suggests, the book debunks and undresses the mythical creature that is the Parisian. Exposing her contradictory paradoxes, whilst all the while indulging in them. Self-deprication with pride. I guess that what has been truly achieved, is exposing the Parisian female as... well, human. Quite the revelation. No, she did not wake up with perfectly messy hair, and quite frankly- that envious 'au natural' look in fact took centuries of wisdom and knowledge passed down through 4 generations. And most importantly; no, she does not sweat Chanel No. 5.
Ten pearls of wisdom from De Maigret and co:
1. Always be f***able: when standing in line at the bakery on a Sunday morning, buying champagne in the middle of the night, or even picking up the kids from school. You never know.
2. Take the time to take time because nobody else will do it for you.
3. When it comes to revealing herself, [she] follows one golden rule: less is definitely more.
4. Leave a party when it's in full swing. (Even your own.)
5. Never lose control. (But make sure you have a steamy past.)
6. Always look as if you're gazing at the sunset. Even during rush hour in the Métro. Even when picking up frozen pizza from the supermarket.
7. When it comes to driving, there's only one rule the Parisian follows: may the best driver win. Sometimes she'll cut off a male driver, for the sake of gender equality, to prove that she, too, has balls.
8. The Parisian is always late. Unlike you, she has things to do.
9. Au naturel is the fruit of hard labor, meticulously passed down from generation to generation.
10. Lastly, my favourite, and perhaps the mantra to live life by; The secret to making a man know you need him: Of course you can open a bottle of wine by yourself. But let him do it. That's equality, too.
Because us women are all for equality, didn't you know?
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