Women on a Cafe Terrace in the Evening 1877

"Women on a Cafe Terrace in the Evening" was made by Edgar Degas in the late 19th century, a period of significant social change in France. Through his choice of subject, Degas invites us to consider the role of women in Parisian society. Cafes were public spaces, and the presence of women there speaks to emerging, but always fraught, female identities. We are offered a glimpse into the lives of these women. Look at the woman in the center, self-possessed as she smokes a cigarette. Is this an act of rebellion, an assertion of independence in a patriarchal society? Or, is there a sense of melancholy and alienation? Degas doesn't present a clear narrative, instead he leaves us to ponder the complexities of gender, class, and visibility in the rapidly changing urban landscape of Paris. What does it mean to be a woman in public?