Preventing Women from Exercising Equal Rights as Men in the Political Sphere by Olympe de Gouges - Research Paper Example

 Introduction French Revolution was mainly inspired by new developments in liberal political theory that fostered new conceptions about individual rights, based upon the idea of a social contract which promised equality and freedom for all. It was a new era when all were considered equal with the remarkable exception of women and quite expectedly blacks. Women were roundly blamed for corruption of the old regime and thus by excluding women from enjoying their individual rights, the new Revolutionary ruling class tried to find some justification for its struggle and quest for political power. Many women were charged with both political and sexual crimes during the years immediately after the French monarch was dethroned. The most prominent among such women was Marie Antoinette who was accused of political crimes as well as of sexual perversion and incest and was seen as guilty of having corrupted the physical body of her son, the Dauphin, as well as the body politic. In an attempt to set itself apart from the corrupt old regime, the post-revolution governing class adopted an anti-feminine rhetoric, thereby justifying the creation and the maintenance of an all-male political establishment. This process of segregation of women from political arena gathered a sudden momentum as more and more women had started becoming increasingly visible in the political arena and it became exponentially uncomfortable for all those who offered lip service to the notions of equality and freedom without actually believing them, in accepting the progressively increasing influence of women in society and politics. (Outram, 1989) Who was Olympe de Gouges Olympe de Gouges and some contemporary feminists as Theroigne de Mericourt and Etta Palm d'Aelders expressed their concern about this grossly unfair inequality between men and women and over time the voice of Olympe de Gouges became the most consistent, rational, cogent and quite often strident especially while mercilessly conducting autopsy of laws and customs that prevented women from exercising equal rights as men in the political sphere. However, it was not until 1791 when she published “The Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen” that de Gouges dared to challenge openly the preconceived and ingrained notion among both the ruling class and the scientists that women were not only intellectually but also physically incapable of seriously exercising their intellect or take rational decisions. (Encyclopedia Britannica Online, 2009) But, she was not so strident and rigidly feminist right from the early stages of her life. It was not possible for an unknown, widowed woman born of illiterate parents, raised in the provinces far from Paris, with no formal education and little means, to be able to master the language and also the art of persuasive and forceful argumentative writing. Marie-Olympe de Gouges was born Marie Gouzes in Montauban, in southern France, on December 31, 1748. Though her parentage is somewhat unclear with Olympe de Gouges also contributing to rumors about her mother having an affair with a person of high social rank, Marquis Lefranc de Pompignan that had resulted in her birth, it is commonly accepted that she was born and raised in a modest family, the daughter of Pierre Gouze, a butcher, and Anne Olympe Moisset, a maidservant. There was also another rumor that floated around during her life time that suggested that de Gouges was the illegitimate daughter of King Louis XV. Whatever might have been the actual fact, Pierre Gouze died when she was two years old. Olympe de Gouges was 17 when she married a French officer, Louis Aubrey in 1765 and within a year and half of their marriage she gave birth to a son. Aubrey was much older than de Gouges and he died three years into the marriage. Following his death, and displaying her characteristic rebelliousness, de Gouges refused to accept her position as a widowed mother or the designation of "Widowed Aubrey," a personal stance that was counter to the social convention. Even more, she vowed never to remarry. (Thomson Gale, 2004) Olympe de Gouges went to Paris in 1770 to seek fame as a writer and for her pen name she chose simply Olympe de Gouges, a variation of both her mother and father's names. Poorly educated, her grammar, spelling, and handwriting left something to be desired and her writings tended to be verbose and aimless. Consequently, she was not a very successful author, although she tried very hard to become one. During this period, she furthered her career by meeting and establishing connections with the most famous writers and philosophers of the time, and she worked her way into the highest social circles. Remaining resolute in her desire never to marry again, she reportedly became the mistress of several men of high social rank and she divided herself between her many lovers and her writing. A self-educated woman, de Gouges wrote plays, novels, and socio-political pamphlets and soon became one of the most prolific writers on the topic of social and political equality of women. (Jone, 2008) What kinds of radical changes did she witness in France and Europe that may have affected her ideas? France was then a country in turmoil and on the verge of an influential and inspiring, though bloody, revolution that would attract the attention of the world. Although most of her fellow citizens were exuberantly political, and even fanatically revolutionary, de Gouges suggested reforms in her political materials that were intended to bring about change without sacrificing the social stability. Indeed she often attempted to negatively depict the extremists on both sides of the political spectrum: the royalists, or monarchists, and the revolutionaries. During the initial stages of the Revolution, de Gouges considered herself as a royalist. But she soon became disillusioned by the French monarchy's inaction, and encouraged Louis XVI to abdicate his throne and put in its place a regent government as she felt that would be the only workable solution to such a serious crisis. De Gouges would remain a royalist until Louis XVI escaped from the country and from that point on, her political material become more pointed and she sided more strongly with the revolutionaries. (Scott, 1992) The citizens had armed themselves, the Bastille had been stormed, and blood was literally flowing in the streets. The socio-political works that de Gouge produced during this period focused strongly on the issues of civil rights, particularly the rights of women, which she deemed were "natural" and "inalienable." Her dedication to and advocacy for these issues stemmed from her much broader belief in the complete equality of all human beings. The Revolution created an unprecedented environment of change where new ideas and innovative concepts could be expressed freely and feminism started striking deeper roots in society. One of the feminist organizations created during this period was the Society of Republican and Revolutionary Women. Its members encouraged de Gouges to develop a document that would essentially serve as a declaration of rights for women. She set out to produce the work, which would eventually be published as the Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Citizen in 1791. Essentially, the Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Citizen stated that women were equal to men in every respect and thus were entitled to the same rights. The work would create enemies for de Gouge; she believed that because many women participated in the French Revolution, they would or should automatically receive the new-found rights extended to the male citizenry. In October 1789, the year the French Revolution came to a boil, she proposed a radical reform platform to the French National Assembly, a governing body comprised of the nation's new leaders. Appearing before this board, she advocated for the complete legal equality of the sexes, more job opportunities for women, a legal alternative to the private dowry system, better education for young girls, and the establishment of a national theater that would show only plays written by women. De Gouge's outspokenness would eventually lead to her arrest, conviction, and execution. The government that came to power after the overthrow of the monarchy demonstrated no tolerance for perceived subversion or even criticism. But she felt she had the right to speak out on the behalf of the citizenry and to assert the rights of women. But in doing so, she violated traditional social boundaries that even the revolutionaries held inviolable, thus invoking the ire of the ruling body. Also, she harshly criticized Maximilien Robespierre, the recognized leader of the new government. Her advocacy of women's rights combined with this criticism as well as her previous support of King Louis XVI, led to accusations of sedition. That finally sent her to the guillotine. (Showalter, 1985) Why Olympe de Gouges was so different from other revolutionary thinkers? Olympe de Gouges spoke for not only herself but many of the women of France. As many feminists have done since, de Gouges both asserted woman's capability to reason and make moral decisions, and pointed to the feminine virtues of emotion and feeling. Woman was not simply the same as man, but she was his equal partner. Among the challenges in de Gouges' Declaration was the assertion that women, as citizens, had the right to free speech, and therefore had the right to reveal the identity of the fathers of their children – a right which women of the time were not assumed to have. She assumed a right of children born out of legitimate marriage to full equality to those born in marriage: this called into question the assumption that only men had the freedom to satisfy their sexual desire outside of marriage, and that such freedom on the part of men could be exercised without fear of corresponding responsibility. It also called into question the assumption that only women were agents of reproduction – men, too, de Gouges' proposal implied, were part of the reproduction of society, and not just political, rational citizens. If men were seen sharing the reproduction role, then perhaps, women should be members of the political and public side of society. (Levy, Applewhite and Johnson, 1979) Conclusion In the midst of a Revolution to extend rights to more men, Olympe de Gouges had the audacity to argue that women, too, should benefit. Her contemporaries were clear that her punishment was, in part, for forgetting her proper place and proper role as a woman. The very thing that once made Olympe an object of scorn, namely the seamlessness of her way of living, her dramatic work, and her social convictions, the absence of any contradiction in her between thought and action, is precisely what most impresses us today. Olympe was no co-opter, no compromiser; rather, she was a forerunner, and one endowed with the sort of courage that can smash every form of dictatorship. (Vienet, 2003) References Encyclopedia Britannica Online. "Olympia de Gouges." 2009. Encyclopedia Britannica. 8 October 2009 . Jone, Johnson Lewis. "Olympe de Gouges and the Rights of Woman." 12 December 2008. About.com: Women's History. 8 October 2009 . Levy, Daline, Gay, Harriet Branson Applewhite and Mary Durham Johnson. Women in Revolutionary Paris 1789-1795: Selected Documents Translated with Notes and Commentary. Urbana: University of Illinois, 1979. Outram, Dorinda. "Words and Flesh: Mme Roland, the Female Body and the Search for Power." Outram, Dorinda. The Body and the French Revolution: Sex, Class and Political Culture. New Haven, London: Yale UP, 1989. 124-52. Scott, Joan Wallach. "A Woman Who Has Only Paradoxes to Offer: Olympe de Gouges Claims Rights for Women." Melzer, Sara E. and Leslie W. Rabine (Eds.). Rebel Daughters: Women and the French Revolution. New York: Oxford UP, 1992. 102-20. Showalter, Elaine. "Feminist Criticism in the Wilderness." The New Feminist Criticism: Essays on Women, Literature, and Theory. New York: Pantheon, 1985. 243-70. Thomson Gale. "Marie-Olympe de Gouges." Encyclopedia of World Biography. Famington Hills, Michigan: Gale, 2004. Vienet, Rene. "Olympe de Gouges, a Daughter of Quercy on her Way to the Pantheon." 2003. www.quercy.net. 8 October 2009 . Read More