Creole: a distinguished woman always in the shadow of her husband
An elegant and well-groomed woman
The Black Creole woman wanted to be someone distinguished and refined by her clothing, in particular when the Creole woman is adorned with a costume and showy jewelry. She most often wore a tight dress of a special cut, and a kerchief thrown on the shoulders and crossed on the chest emphasized the flexible waist and the curves of the body. But it is especially in the hairstyle that the Creole women put the most coquetry.
The girls also had a particular outfit, a silk scarf stretched over the forehead and raised behind the head. Still, at 18, she "takes the lead", that is to say, she exchanges this scarf for the madras, a large handkerchief in cotton, with large checks, to which the special workers add with the brush, lines and bands of yellow color. The madras was then arranged on the head according to the physiognomy.
These are the points which affect the most varied forms: sometimes they are drawn up in proud and provocative crest, apart like the wings of a bird ready to envelop you, sometimes turned towards the ground like modest violets. It is quite an art to properly adjust the madras.
The headdress with the madras has existed since slavery. Free women of color who did not have the right to wear hats took a scarf, which they tied to have a headdress. Only White women were allowed to wear a hat, a symbol of coquetry and decorum at the time. This headdress had significance on the status of the woman who wore it. Initially, it referred to the level of wealth and the circumstances of life. Later, she became a message to men.
Indeed, the number of knots and the way to tie it indicated the amorous availability of the woman who wore it:
- A point means "heart to take",
- Two points, "already taken, but luck can smile on the daring",
- Three points, "married woman, heart definitively bound by marriage",
- Four points "heart likely to welcome more lovers",
- The modern, fan-shaped headdress,
- The ceremonial headdress.
The outfits worn by Creole women date back to the 17th century. At the time, it was forbidden for slave and free women of color to wear the same outfits as White women. However, these women, wanting to show their beauty and their taste for coquetry, took care to create clothes that would fit them in their best light. This is how the traditional Martinique outfits were born.
Rich in color, each dress had its meaning. Thus, the Grand'Robe, designed in a colored or shiny fabric, was worn over a petticoat and matched with a cape of the same shade. The Douillette is an everyday dress, tight at the waist in flowery cotton, also worn over a petticoat.
The Titanium is worn by the courtesans of Martinique, it consists of a white lace shirt, largely indented and revealing the shoulders. Its name, used since 1900, came from the name of the ball given on Sundays between 4 and 6 p.m., attended by these young women.
The calendered Madras Cotonnade could be in velvet or satin for holidays.
The Ti'Collet in plain or gingham fabric is worn by young girls, often decorated with a parasol. The Martinican women of the time were very attentive to their outfits, their outward appearance and whether they were married or not.
It is quite an art to have a presence, to be flirtatious. Their dress broke with those they wore while being servants in the houses of the masters and represented to them a status of free women and completely breaking with slavery. They took great care to sew their outfits themselves or had them made by seamstresses. These dresses were worn on feast days, to go to mass, to the ball, or just daily.
The shadow of her husband
The woman at the turn of the century is a woman completely devoted to her husband and her children. Once married, she must maintain the house, carry out all the domestic tasks, and be the one who sees to the well-being of her husband and his development.
Once the children have arrived in the family, she provides them with all the necessary care (breastfeeding, hygienic care) until they are weaned and able to go to school. The arrival of the children coincided with the increase in domestic chores for the mother. In addition to her husband, they had to take care of their children, help them with their school education, and accompany them to school.
In addition, at that time, families were large (5 to 6 children per woman). Contraception was almost non-existent.
During meals, the largest pieces of meat were reserved for the father, who was served first; the one who brought the money to the family needed to be in good health. Then the mother served the boys of the family, then her daughters, and herself. When boys were born into a family, a party was organized, while the birth of a girl was a source of disappointment.
Note that the Martinican families were very pious; the women ensured the religious education of their children and made for them outfits based on madras to go to mass every Sunday. They also provided a religious education service, catechism, which took place every Thursday (a day without school). Martinican women lived in the total shadow of their husbands, where they were called, for example, "Man Gaston" (Man means Madame in Martinican Creole) to constantly link them to the man who "owned" them. The term "possessed" was not exaggerated, although it was the mores of the time.
Men had complete control over their wives' actions. Any decision concerning the wife had to be made and signed by her husband. She was therefore extremely dependent on her husband, who, if he did not earn a good living, required his wife to work to provide additional income for the functioning of the household.
This is how we find the woman who accompanies her husband in the work of the fields as a moorer (see above) or in the ports in the work of loading and unloading goods as dockers or coal miners (cf. see above). It is in this context that the notion of “poto mitan” woman was born (see below). Many women at the time had children and were not married.
At the head of a single-parent family, the latter had to combine the education of her children with an often poorly paid job, barely sufficient to meet the basic needs of her family. In this case, the children dropped out earlier in the course to help their mother. These women were frowned upon by the population, who saw them as the lovers of a fickle married man.
The difference between a family where both parents are present and married and single-parent families was strong, whether it was in the education of the children, their schooling, or the standard of living of this one.