concept
Bal-paré
bal-paré
also: бал-парей, бал-маскарад, bal pare
From the French bal paré, a formal 'dress' ball; the local ladies' fondness for the borrowed and garbled French term signals small-town pretensions to fashionable society.
Reading notes
- The Mask §2 bal-paré
From the French bal paré, a formal or 'dress' ball, as opposed to an informal dance; the local ladies' affectation of the French term (further garbled in local speech as 'bal-parei') signals small-town pretensions to fashionable society.