Louisiane des Femmes

Cléoma Breaux Falcon
b. May 27, 1906
d. April 4, 1941

"Many.. were not only unconventional in their tendency toward single status but also in their 'assertive' or 'prickly' personalities. They did not live up to, or refused to remain confined by, the standards of decorous behavior defined for women of their day. In short, they were not 'ladylike.' They were described by their contemporaries as like 'vinegar' or  'fussy', gruff, indecorous, intimidating (for a woman). For those for whom there are no extant personal descriptions, their behavior indicates that they were willing to challenge accepted notions of propriety."

"It is hard not to admire their ingenuity and fortitude as they made a better place in the world for themselves, for their children, and very often for other women as well. Given the relative lack of power and opportunity for women, their actions were nothing short of astonishing. Faced with adversity or opportunity, they reinvented themselves, shedding convention and creating new roles for themselves and... for other women. In so doing, they stretched the definition of what it meant to be a Louisiana woman and also... the very concept of 'southern womanhood.'"

Louisiana Women Their Lives and Times. 
Edited by Janet Allured and Judith F. Gentry