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Essay on Women In 18th Century France
| Date: |
11-15-00 4:22am |
| Subject: |
History |
| Word Count: |
1583 |
| Page Count: |
6.33 |
Women in 18th Century France
Women in 18th
Century France
Many changes occurred during the Enlightenment
period of the eighteenth century. For instance, more and more emphasis
was placed on the family as the eighteenth century passed. There
were three groups of urban women in eighteenth century, lower-class, middle-class,
and upper-class. This essay will discuss the experiences of the lower
and middle class urban women. It will also cover Olympe de Gouges’,
The Declaration of the Rights of Woman.
The changes were different for lower-class
women as opposed to middle class women. "Only those wealthy enough
to afford to dispense with women’s work could partake of the new domesticity."
Our textbook, does not spend as much time talking about the lower class
as it does the middle class. None the less, it seems that in the
cities, the condition of the poor was as desperate as it ever had been.
Mothers abandoned their children to foundling hospitals because they could
not raise them properly themselves. It was thought that they would
live a better life at the hospitals, but hospital death rates were close
to 80 percent. Women who had a job could not afford the material
needed to educate their own children, nor did they even have time to educate
them if it were possible. Working women now used wet nurses, which
in the past had only been used by the wealthy. Lower-class women
had no privacy whatsoever as large families often lived in one room.
Wives were still beaten by their husbands. Having a large amount of suffering
was nothing new, however, the urban poor blamed the government for all
of the economic hardships.
Women fought alongside men in urban revolutionary
activities. In October 1789, a group of women, acting on their own,
forced the king to leave Versailles for Paris. It was the job of
women to buy food for the family, and when they became unable to do this,
the situation became intolerable. They wanted the king to deal with
these problems himself.
For Bourgeois women there were many changes.
Marriages that had been arranged in the past, became more of a romantic
relationship as well as economic. Mothers stayed at home and cared
for their children more. "The image of the doting mother replaced
that of the domestic drudge." Female education and the intellectual
pursuits of females became more accepted and common. Although Men
were more likely to be literate than women were, over one quarter of French
women could read at the beginning of the eighteenth century, and towards
the end of the century that number had doubled. With the increase
of female literacy, the overall rates also increased as women began to
teach children. The leisure time of bourgeois women increased greatly
and more entertainment and literature was available to them. Women
began to read more and a vast number of books were available to them; a
teach-yourself book, fanciful romances, and books of moral instruction.
Domestic life also began to change.
In the past, marriages had based on economic partnership and "a means to
carry on lineage" . Husbands ruled over their wives and made all
of the family decisions. Even in the middle of the eighteenth century,
the "rule of thumb" was passed; it said that a husband could legally beat
his wife as long as the stick was no thicker than his thumb. During
the second half of the eighteenth century, all of this began to change.
Although economic elements of marriage were still very much a factor, many
other elements came into play. "A new desire for individual happiness,
romantic and sexual attraction developed into a factor in marriage" .Courting
became a more common occurrence as "prospective partners could dance, dine,
and converse with each other to determine compatibility". Young people
were now able to search for their own marriage partners and could turn
down unsuitable ones. Married couples began to spend more time together
and personal lives changed dramatically. Houses were built so that
husbands and wives could have privacy from their children and anyone else
who may bother them. Sexual activity outside the marriage and premarital
pregnancy rates were on the rise as well. Village festivals still
shamed husbands whose wives were unfaithful or women with bad reputations.
Furthermore, Women began to bear fewer
children, which had a great impact of the lives of women. Few children
reduced the danger of death and gave them more leisure time to use at their
discretion. The early part of a woman’s marriage was devoted to her
children. People had a new attitude towards raising children.
Mothers began spending more of her time to raising her own children.
The use of wet-nurses steadily declined, as mothers wanted to nurture their
own infants. Women also began to teach their own children.
Childbirth also changed dramatically. In the past, midwives had been
predominately female, but as time passed, more and more males became involved.
Childbirth had been a completely female encounter, as it was experienced
by and with other females. However, it became a private event experience
only by the woman giving birth and her doctor, which was usually male.
Women also demanded their place in politics,
but they continued to be excluded even "though the importance of their
participation in the revolution was indisputable". The Declaration
of the Rights of Man and Citizen was released on August 26, 1789.
No references to women or their rights appeared in this document.
Women were not thought of as being fit for participation in politics because
of their "biological functions of reproduction and child-rearing".
Wives were not independent or equal to their husbands in owning property,
access to divorce, and the custody of their children. When a woman
by the name of Madame Germaine de Stael asked Napoleon whom he considered
the greatest woman, dead or alive, he responded "The one who has had the
most children."
Dissatisfied to how women were treated
and in response to The Declaration of the Rights of Man, Olympe de Gouges
wrote The Declaration of the Rights of Woman. In her first two paragraphs,
she asks men, as a whole, what gives them the right to oppress women.
"Your strength? Your talent?" She then asks men to observe all of nature
and find another example of how the female sex is treated the same way.
De Gouges then states that it will never be found, everywhere males and
females cooperate in "harmonious togetherness". In the next paragraph
it is stated that man alone is this way. She basically states that
man, blind with science, wants to control and command the woman and he
claims rights to equality only so nothing else has to be said about it.
Article IV of her document declares that
liberty and justice consist of giving back to people everything that belongs
to them. The only limit on women’s rights is male tyranny and this
limit is to be reformed by the laws of nature and reason. Article
VI states that the law must be the same for everyone, regardless of gender.
Both males and females must contribute to the law some way, whether it
is personally or by someone who represents them. Just as both men
and women are equal in the eyes of the law, both must be "equally admitted
to all honors positions, and public employment" without and other distinction
except virtue and talent. Article VII further goes into law and declares
that no woman is an exception and all are subject to the law equally.
Women should be accused, arrested, and detained just the same as males.
Article XI pertains to children. It states that communication of
thoughts and opinions are one of women’s most precious rights. Fathers
can declare their children, and so women should be able to do the same
without barbaric prejudice for hiding the truth. Article XIII declares
that the contributions of women are equal to those of men. Females
share all of the painful tasks and duties and therefore should share the
same "distribution of positions, employment, offices, honors, and jobs".
Article XII says that guaranteeing rights
to women implies a major benefit and that this guarantee should be instituted
for everyone’s sake, not just for those who it helps. Article XVII
pronounces that property can belong to both sexes, whether they are married
or single because it is a sacred right and no one can be deprived of this
right. The only way one can be deprived of this right is if public
need obviously prescribes it, and then it can only be done with just reimbursement.
In her postscript, de Gouges begs women
to wake up and discover their rights. She states that men have become
much stronger and needs women’s strength to be complete. She declares
that when men became free, they became unjust to women. De Gouges
also asks what advantage for women have come from the revolution?
Only more pronounced scorn. She wants women to reclaim their
estate based on nature. In de Gouges’ final statement, she asks women
what the have to lose?
I believe that in the beginning of the
eighteenth century, women were treated very unfairly. In no case
should there be a law passed that a man can beat his wife as long as the
stick he used is smaller than his thumb. Perhaps I have this belief
because of the time period I live in, but I can’t help to think that all
men in eighteenth century felt this way. I also learned that the
middle-class progressed much faster than the lower-class. The obvious
reason for this is the extra income that a middle-class family would have.
I am happy to learn that more emphasis was placed on the family over the
period of Enlightenment. As far as de Gouges document, I can see
why she would be so upset over the lack of women’s rights. I think
that today, some women take the rights that they have for granted.
I agree with de Gouges in some parts, yet disagree elsewhere. I agree
with the fact that women were discriminated against. I somewhat disagree
with the extent that de Gouges’ documents depicts. However, if the
document had not been as powerful as it was, women’s rights may have taken
longer to achieve. I really learned a lot about the rights of women
during this time period and surprisingly, enjoyed doing it.
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