Abubakr Saeed
The Iron Lady
The Iron Lady is the most common nickname for the Eiffel Tower.
While the name, the “Eiffel Tower”, entered the common language at the time of its inauguration, its female nature appeared more gradually over the 20th century. Of course, it can be traced back to the fact that the noun “tour” or tower in French is feminine. And if we add a bit of anthropomorphism, we can see that the monument’s four pillars, also known as legs or feet, are covered with a lacy “skirt”, from the mesh structure enhanced with fine decorative arches between the pillars.
As a symbol of the arrival of iron, industry and science, the Eiffel Tower can also be seen to be in an atypical conversation with another lady of Paris, her Gothic older sister and symbol of religion, Notre-Dame.
In the 1930s, when the Tower was nearing 50 years old, various nicknames flourished in the press and publications: “the Tall Lady”, “the Tall Beautiful Lady”, then “the Tall Iron Lady”, sometimes, remarking on her age, it was “the Old Iron Lady”... However, it was simply “the Iron Lady” which stuck and was picked up particularly by the press.
Text source: Tower’s official website.
The Iron Lady
The Iron Lady is the most common nickname for the Eiffel Tower.
While the name, the “Eiffel Tower”, entered the common language at the time of its inauguration, its female nature appeared more gradually over the 20th century. Of course, it can be traced back to the fact that the noun “tour” or tower in French is feminine. And if we add a bit of anthropomorphism, we can see that the monument’s four pillars, also known as legs or feet, are covered with a lacy “skirt”, from the mesh structure enhanced with fine decorative arches between the pillars.
As a symbol of the arrival of iron, industry and science, the Eiffel Tower can also be seen to be in an atypical conversation with another lady of Paris, her Gothic older sister and symbol of religion, Notre-Dame.
In the 1930s, when the Tower was nearing 50 years old, various nicknames flourished in the press and publications: “the Tall Lady”, “the Tall Beautiful Lady”, then “the Tall Iron Lady”, sometimes, remarking on her age, it was “the Old Iron Lady”... However, it was simply “the Iron Lady” which stuck and was picked up particularly by the press.
Text source: Tower’s official website.