Women, War and Freakshows in Interwar France: The Case of Violetta, “la Femme-Tronc”

In 1929, the Parisian Luna-Park hosted a freakshow whose star performer, “Violetta”, had been born without limbs. Violetta’s condition, together with her beauty, talent and charisma, attracted large crowds. This article asks whether the public’s interest in Violetta was also driven by an unspoken need to come to terms with the injuries sustained by soldiers during the Great War as well as by a desire to control or punish women at a time of widespread anxiety about shifting gender roles.