Political Challenges Of Olympe De Gouges

A Vindication of the Rights of Women: One of the earliest books on women’s philosophy.

G.D. Anderson stated it perfectly when she said, “Feminism isn't about making women strong. Women are already strong. It's about changing the way the world perceives that strength”. Olympe de Gouges and Mary Wollstonecraft both believed in the strength of women, and would definitely have agreed with this statement made by Anderson. De Gouges and Wollstonecraft also believed that it was time for the world to see women as strong, individual people, rather than reproducing puppets that can be passed from man to man and disposed of when they were no longer needed. De Gouges and Wollstonecraft wanted women to have more rights than they already did. Was this radical thinking? Yes. Was this the kind of thinking that needed to be told to the public? Absolutely. Change is inevitable, but with passionate and courageous women like De Gouges and Wollstonecraft, the conversation on the rights for women in Europe gained more attention and was able to continue on the path that lead us to where we are now. On top of this, de Gouges and Wollstonecraft were similar in their ways of approaching the sensitive topic that was society and gender order in Europe. In both of their writings on European society, gender roles, and rights of women, Olympe de Gouges and Mary Wollstonecraft were the same level of radicalness.

Olympe de Gouges wrote this document. She was a butcher’s daughter who directly challenged women’s inferiority to men. This woman was charged with treason and then hanged on November 3, 1793 for fighting for women’s rights. The document states ten articles that give good examples of why women should have equal rights as men and should also be considered a citizen. The ten articles listed are Article 2, Article 3, Article 4, Article 6, Article 7, Article 11, Article 13, Article 14, and Article 17. Some important articles are Article 1, which states how women are born free and their lives should matter just as much as a mans. It also says that you should only look at their common utility when it comes to social distinctions. Also, Article 6 stating that men and women are both equal in the eyes of the law and that both may be employed and hold high positions based on their virtues and talents.

The first source that will be evaluated is Marie Gouze also known as Olympe de Gouges’s, Declaration of the Rights of Woman and The Female Citizen written in 1791. The origin of this source is valuable because Marie Gouze was a self educated women

There is no denying that women have been great leaders in history – from Helen of Troy and Celopatra to Queen Elizabeth and

The revolution of women rights politicized millions of French men by transforming their statues from subjects to citizens, but revolutionaries of all political stripes displayed an extreme reluctance to incorporate women into the political body. She also wrote Pamphlets and plays that described a variety of issues, like slavery and in which she attacked as being founded on greed and blinded of the biases that surrounded her. In one of her most famous pamphlets, she describes the declaration of the women’s rights to the parallel of the one for men thus, criticizes the deputies for haven forgotten women. She also pointed out the pamphlet to the Queen, Marie Antoinette, though she also warned the Queen that she has to work with the Revolution or risk destroying the monarchy. In the postscript, she denounced the customary treatment of women as objects are easily abandoned and in which women should be treated equally because they are both people. Gouges appended to the declaration as a sample of a form of the marriage contract that called for communal sharing of

The “Declaration of the Rights of Women”, written by Olympe De Gouges, is a document that proves how in the 1790’ s women were trying to break-free from the belief that men have all the rights. This document was published in 1791 and it was made in comparison to the “Declaration of the Rights of Man” which was published in 1789. Olympe De Gouges wrote this document because she felt that despite having the French Revolution women were not receiving the rights they deserve. In the “Declaration of the Rights of Women” Olympe De Gouges often times mentions that women have the right to property, employment, and divorce. All of these principles relate to the Enlightenment idea because she is arguing for natural rights that many women back then were not given. De Gouges emphasizes that women deserve the right to have jobs and that they can equally fulfill the responsibilities that once belonged to a man. In the end of the “Declaration of the Rights of Women” De Gouges’ mentions a marriage contract which gives proof of Enlightenment thought because she argues that women should not have to stay married to their husbands if they don’ t respect them. Olympe De Gouges document, the “Declaration of the Rights of Women”, reflects the ideas of Enlightenment because throughout the document she often times mentions how women have every right to own property because it is a right that all “men” are given. She explains that women deserve to have employment and that by doing so they can go out

After the Declaration of the Rights of Man the first woman to publish a statement titled, “Declaration of the Rights of Woman” should have been expected. Only two years after the original declaration Olympe de Gouges published her statement. That woman greatly inspired Mary Wollstonecraft and she published a statement titled, “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman” in 1792. Mary was a career woman and made her living by writing and is known for her protests against subjugation of women. Mary believed that everyone would be better off having a woman that is well-educated, independent, strong and capable in the world. She fought against the education system and how men treated women. She strongly opposed how women were only taught about beauty

Olympe de Gouges (1748-93) lived in the French revolution, she was a writer, she cared for women and mostly about women rights, in her domain of writing she wrote many plays and published them, not forgetting that the woman role in those periods was very neglected and didn’t have a role in politics and social matters. Her story is interesting, her real name is Marie Gauzes, a daughter of a butcher and a farmer, she got married by the age of 16, after a while her husband died and she was gifted a baby, she refused to take her husband’s name, yet she took her maiden name in resignation, crafted herself a new name, using her mother’s middle name, added “de” and changed her father’s to Gouges. She helped applying equality for women in the era of

Many of the contributions and achievements women have made in the past have been lost from the history books. However, women have played an important part in the development of human civilization. From leading armies to raising families, women have made countless contributions to human history. In the late 18th century, women finally started receiving recognition for their achievements, and life slowly began to change for them.

As I was examining the potential documents to research, Olympe de Gouges’ “Declaration of the Rights of Woman” was immediately striking to me. Personally, I was familiar with the original document: “Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen.” Therefore, I was interested in learning more about de Gouges’ version. Also, this particular document was striking because of the time period it was written in. The French Revolution is a fascinating period to study because of the implementation of Enlightenment ideals, and then the collapse of a lot of those ideas with the Jacobins and even later with Napoleon Bonaparte. I was interested in learning more about an influential woman of the French Revolution. Specifically, how her works and opinions

In this era, women were also becoming more influential and prevalent in society. Many women, like Amelia Earhart, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Jane Addams, were becoming more and more revolutionary and exceptional in the world. This was very different from the past, because national or global impact in culture had been largely male-dominated. Women were making history, and were becoming exemplary in their fields.

Many women were involved in the uncertainty of women's rights during the French Revolution between the years of 1789 and 1804. Exploration of the unfolding struggles of France managed to turn my head in the direction of woman's rights more than once in my discovery. Perhaps because of the persistence of the women during this time period and their straight forwardness in their mission, was I so determined to see a positive progression in the fulfillment of their needs. "Even during a revolutionary time like this, equal rights for women seemed out of reach. Women had to struggle for a position in the revolution" (Ajaibu 2001, 1).

De Gouges expressed that women were born free and equal to men in their rights and that property belonged to both sexes. She felt it necessary for the nobility to realize the injustice of refusing to sit with the Third Estate, later writing a letter to the convention asking that the king's life be spared. De Gouges claimed the present king, Louis XVI, should not have to pay for the mistakes of his ancestors. Viewing France's situation from both sides she presented them with a compromising attitude and a level head, which was greatly needed in a country full of radicals. With these contributions she paved the way for other women idealists. Marie-Jean Roland was another visionary who combined political action with respect for gender norms. Her three main roles were "inciting revolutionary action, formulating policy, and informing other of revolutionary events." She believed that due to the restrictions placed by the male society, leading to a lack of education, women were frivolous and vain. Men, therefore inhibited women from achieving their intellectual potential, who in turn limited the contributions women could have made to society. Roland also declared what she felt was necessary conditions for the success of the revolution. These conditions were for the national assembly to be returned to Paris, the importance of

The French Revolution led to reconsidering women’s place in society because the idea of the French Revolution was to find new ways to govern a society. Pre-revolutionary, the social norms for women was to stay home, take care of the children, and be dependent on their husband. Although women had some form of political rights, they were insignificant compared to men. During the French Revolution, women hoped that there would be social, political and economic change away from social norms, but it is seen that women were still experiencing inequality. Feminists like de Olympe de Gouges and Marquis de Condorcet had such difficulty persuading men to recognize women as equals. Even with the influence of ideas of the Enlightenment period, women’s rights were still ignored due to the perception of women being unfit in politics and being more fit in the role of a mother and a wife. The Declaration Rights of Women (1791), published by Olympe de Gouges, challenged the social norms and countered the declaration for men. Soon after, women again were backlashed for trying to obtain rights after Napoleon came into power.