BADASS WOMEN: JEANNE JOUVE

 BADASS WOMEN: JEANNE JOUVE

The tough girl of today's collective imagination is often described as a provocative and seductive female, who is always in full control of everything and everyone, economically independent but still open to the man who wants to pay for his vices, queen of the party with an enviable lifestyle, apparently sure of herself and what she wants. Too bad that, very often, these same female figures hide states of anxiety, fear and dependence masterfully hidden behind the rosy facade of self-esteem. Being tough goes beyond social patterns and, as happens with the different facets of human intelligence, even courage and insight can show themselves in many different guises. The woman I would like to talk about today is Jeanne Jouve, who lived in the second half of the eighteenth century in Gévaudan, present-day Occitania. Not many know why Jeanne became famous and remembered in French history, but the courage and tenacity of this woman deserved the recognition of King Louis XV.

Starting in 1764, the Gévaudan region in southern France became the scene of events that shocked the local population for about four years. Children and women are attacked, injured and in some cases killed by a ferocious beast that hunts in broad daylight and early evening. The survivors describe the animal as a large wolf-like beast but, due to the dynamics of the different attacks and the particular preference for human flesh, it is initially excluded that it was one of the wolves that inhabited the surrounding woods. Some organized hunts to kill the beast do nothing but lead the animal to seek refuge elsewhere and simply disappear from the sight of the locals only for a short time. In March 1765, Jeanne Jouve was near her home on the Vessière farm with three of her children: a 9-year-old girl, a 14-month-old baby and 6-year-old Jean-Pierre. Suddenly Jeanne hears a noise coming from the surrounding wall which is followed by the screams of her little girl. The beast managed to enter the property and capture the little girl who was holding her little brother in her arms. Jeanne Jouve lashes out on the beast and frees her children, and fights until the animal retreats. The beast spots little Jean-Pierre and throws itself on the child, but Jeanne promptly grabs him by the arm and frees him from the monster's clutches. A fight ensues between the beast and Jeanne who is bitten, scratched and thrown to the ground over and over again. Jean-Pierre, seriously injured, is again besieged by the animal which will then be put to flight by Jeanne's eldest children. Little Jean-Pierre will die five days later. 

The episode was followed by several patrols of the territory all aimed at capturing and killing the animal. Despite the various conflicting descriptions dictated by mass hysteria caused by the tragic events, scholars confirm that the beast was nothing more than a small group of wolves or wild canids that became anthropophagous, that is, with an instinct aimed at eating human flesh. With Jeanne's story, of which I hoped to find more details, I greet you and thank you for taking the time to read this blog. Martina.