Le Spectre de Lillian Moller Gilbreth: Les images parlent

Résumé En

Often referred to as the “Little Woman” of taylorist Frank B. Gilbreth, Dr. Lillian Moller Gilbreth has long worked for her husband’s professional success. This article constructed in three parts, analyses first their fruitful collaboration before showing how, in a second part how, after the sudden death of her husband, Moller Gilbreth took over in 1924 the helm of the enterprise Gilbreth, Inc. on her own. In the third part, the essay focuses on Moller Gilbreth as the first woman who transferred cinematographic shooting techniques from the factory to the home. She reverses the domestic gaze with the integration of a real – or metaphorical- eye of the camera in the household, Therefore, she transforms the role, power, and identity of the woman/housewife who becomes as well a film director as an actress. This shift, through the cinematic apparatus, reveals both the political importance of the gaze and the gestures at work. Eventually, Moller Gilbreth creates an innovative situation in which her fellow female citizens can build from within the household –and even through simulation– a specifically powerful feminine gaze.