Flâneur / Flâneuse
is an ambulatory figure, a passionate spectator, who strolls the city in constant pursuit of knowledge and appreciation of beauty, alone among a crowd.
I certainly know the solitary joy of what I call “walking down a city.” When I arrive in a foreign place, the first thing I want to do is put my feet on the ground, experience it, observe, learn, get an idea of how the people live, look for beauty, hear the whispers of its stories.
I am so much of a flâneuse that were you to look it up in the dictionary, it would not be inaccurate to find my picture next to the word.
Flâneur comes from the Old Norse “fana” meaning “to wander with no purpose.”
The accompanying word is “la flânerie,” which means “the stroll.”
In the 16th and 17th centuries, it had a negative connotation; a “flâneur” was a person who idled and wasted time. In the 19thcentury, a distinction was made between mindless wandering and intelligent, philosophical strolling.
Charles Baudelaire made “flâneur” famous in his 1863 essay “The Painter of Modern Life.” Honoré de Balzac wrote that “flânerie” was “the gastronomy of the eye.”
In the 19th century, the “flâneur” became a symbol for the artist/poet savoring life in the city of Paris that contributed to its emergence as the artist/writer mecca of the 20th century.
With the coming of hand-held cameras, the “flâneur” concept developed into street photography.
Strolling is a cultural pre-dinner pastime in many European cities and towns, an unhurried walking enjoyment of the beauty of the evening.
A French synonym for “flâneur” is “passant,” which means “passerby.” Strolling Paris, a walking observer can find a poem on an outer wall of one of its streets written by Yves Bonnefoy who wrote a number of poems to the “Passant.” Click on Yves Bonnefoy to find out more.