n that of
_preciosite_.

As the power of the young king became stronger, his favor became
the goal of all men of letters. Although woman still to some extent
controlled the destinies of those who were struggling for recognition
and reputation, her influence was of a secondary nature, that of the
king being supreme. Woman seemed to be overcoming the influence of
woman--Mme. de Montespan replaced Mlle. de La Valliere, and she was in
turn replaced by Mme. de Maintenon.

The degeneration of the king was accompanied by that of literature,
society, and morals. The characteristic inclination of the day was
eagerly to seek and grasp that which was new, and the noble, forceful,
and dignified style of language of the previous period was replaced
by one of much lighter description; many female writers directed their
efforts entirely toward amusing, pleasing, and gaining applause.

In the beginning of the eighteenth century, with Mme. de Lambert as
its leader, there was a renascence of the _preciosite_ of the Hotel
de Rambouillet, women protesting against the prevalent grossness
and indecency of manners. The salon of Mme. de Lambert was the great
antechamber to the Academy, election to which was generally gained
through her. A new aristocracy was forming, a new society arose;
from about 1720 to 1750, libertinism and atheism, licentiousness and
intrigue, crept into the salons.

The new aristocracy was of doubtful and impure source, cynical in
manner, unbridled in habits, over-fastidious in taste, and politically
powerful. In this society woman began to be felt as a political force.
M. Brunetiere said: "Mme. de Lambert made Academicians; the Marquise
de Prie made a queen of France; Mme. de Tencin made cardinals and
ambassadors." Montesquieu wrote: "There is not a person who has any
employment at the court in Paris or in the provinces, who has not
the influence (and sometimes the injustices which she can cause) of
a woman through whom all favors pass;" and M. Brunetiere added: "This
woman is not his wife." The popular spirit in literature was one of
subtleness, irony, superficial observations on manners and customs.
From the beginning of the eighteenth century up to the eve of
the Revolution, woman's influence continued to increase, but that
influence was mainly in the direction of politics. Thus, in every
period in French history, a group of women effectively moulds French
thought and language, and directs intellectual activity