Olympe de Gouges

E’ sul finire del diciottesimo secolo, in un’Europa costretta a prendere posizione rispetto alla cesura del 1789, che fanno la loro comparsa le due opere a cui si fa risalire la nascita di un pensiero proto-femminista di emancipazionismo come strategia politica scientemente perseguita: si tratta della 'Declaration des droits de la femme et de la citoyenne' firmata nel 1791 dalla sfortunata Olympe de Gouges e della 'Vindication of the Right of Women: with Structures on Political and Moral Subjects' data alle (...) stampe da Mary Wollstonecraft nel 1792. Nello stesso anno, la Costituzione di Settembre definisce «in modo identico per uomini e donne l’accesso alla maggiore età civile», ma si tratta di un’affermazione paradossale, poiché le “cittadine”, a dispetto di tale denominazione, sono di fatto escluse dall’esercizio dei diritti civili e politici. Un paradosso e una contraddizione bruciante avvertita come una sperequazione dalle antiche compagne di lotta dei cittadini ora riuniti in un’Assemblea, che le rappresenta in absentia. Di un malcontento diffuso fra le donne, nuovamente ridotte a spettatrici delle altrui deliberazioni, sono espressione le iniziative di personaggi come Pauline Léon - che si fa portavoce delle trecento firmatarie di una petizione in cui si reclama il diritto naturale delle donne ad organizzarsi in Guardia Nazionale - e l’attività di un club femminile, Société Patriotique et de Bienfaisance des amies de la verité, fondato da Etta Palm d’Aelders, che, fra le altre sue iniziative, patrocina una scuola elementare destinate alle bambine e si batte per l’introduzione del divorzio. Se tali provvedimenti si potrebbero interpretare come un segno forte da parte della Convenzione, l’illusione che vi sia un’unanimità attorno ad un modello di cittadinanza inclusiva per le donne viene presto spezzata dall’imperversare della violenza; le rivendicazioni portate dai gruppi femminili sono delegittimate da un susseguirsi di scelte che colpiscono le esponenti di spicco dei gruppi femminili e dei salons emancipazionisti: la condanna della “Ninfa Egeria” Manon Roland e di Olympe De Gouges mostrano chiaramente come l’ispirazione liberale e libertaria della Rivoluzione abbia lasciato il passo all’insurrezionalismo sanguinario del Terrore. (shrink)

Traduzione di Déclaration des droits de la femme et de la citoyenne. Il testo fu pubblicato per la prima volta nel 1791.

Olympe de Gouges (Montauban 1748 – Parigi 1793) è generalmente nota come autrice della Dichiarazione dei diritti della donna e della cittadina. Il documento, scritto nel 1791 in risposta alla Dichiarazione dei diritti dell’uomo e del cittadino, mette in luce la parzialità di quest’ultima, che, nonostante le rivendicazioni formalmente universalistiche, fu proclamata esclusivamente “da” e “per” esseri umani di sesso maschile. Nella sua dichiarazione, de Gouges rivendica il riconoscimento dei diritti civili e politici delle donne e anticipa così alcune delle (...) istanze centrali del femminismo. L’approccio di de Gouges, inoltre, pur aderendo al paradigma teorico del giusnaturalismo, si distingue all’interno di quest’ultimo per modernità e coerenza. L’impegno politico e intellettuale di de Gouges non rimase confinato alla rivendicazione dei diritti delle donne. Ella si espresse infatti su molti dei temi centrali del dibattito pubblico francese negli anni della Rivoluzione, tra cui la sanità pubblica e le politiche sociali, la questione del voto per testa o per ordine, l’esecuzione di Luigi Capeto, il divorzio, la schiavitù e la tratta degli schiavi. De Gouges denunciò inoltre le ingiustizie che caratterizzavano la situazione delle donne, degli schiavi, dei meno abbienti, dei malati, delle partorienti, dei figli illegittimi, mostrando le cause strutturali e sociali della loro vulnerabilità. Alcune delle sue proposte furono fatte proprie e realizzate dal governo rivoluzionario, come quella riguardante l’introduzione di una tassa volontaria per risanare le casse statali. La produzione intellettuale di de Gouges include romanzi e racconti, opere teatrali, saggi filosofici, pamphlet, lettere aperte e altri scritti brevi, e consta di circa 150 opere. Il suo impegno politico, che in lei si saldò sempre strettamente al lavoro intellettuale, le costò infine la vita. Nell’estate del 1793 fu arrestata mentre cercava di affiggere un manifesto dal titolo Le Tre Urne, in cui suggeriva di far decidere al popolo francese quale fosse la forma migliore di governo per la Francia. Dopo alcuni mesi di prigionia e un processo sommario, fu condannata a morte. La sentenza fu eseguita il 3 novembre del 1793. (shrink)

Olympe de Gouges, though a well-known historical figure, has not been investigated as a philosopher until quite recently. Yet, many of her writings have philosophical import, whether they are written in the genre of the philosophical treatise, drama or political pamphlets. In the three main sections, the author gives an overview of some of her arguments, showing their originality and their relevance to debates contemporary to her and to us. In the introduction, the author addresses the question of genre and (...) argue that Gouges should be read as a philosopher, as well as a playwright and political writer. In the conclusion, the author draws out the relevance of her work for contemporary philosophers. (shrink)

Telling the story of three overlooked revolutionary thinkers, Liberty in Their Names explores the lives and works of Olympe de Gouges, Sophie de Grouchy and Manon Roland. All three were thinking and writing about political philosophy, especially equality and social justice, before the French Revolution. As they became engaged in its efforts, their political writing became more urgent. At a time when women could neither vote nor speak at the Assembly, they became influential through their writings. Yet instead of Gouges, (...) Grouchy and Roland, we speak of Voltaire, Rousseau and Diderot. -/- Sandrine Bergès examines the lives and writings of these trailblazing women philosophers, and their impact on philosophical thought during the French Revolution. Featuring pictures, a timeline and a bibliography of their works, this book offers exciting new insights into the history of political philosophy and of the French Revolution. (shrink)

While many historians and philosophers have sought to understand the ‘failure’ of the French Revolution to thrive and to avoid senseless violence, very few have referred to the works of two women philosophers who diagnosed the problems as they were happening. This essay looks at how Mary Wollstonecraft and Olympe de Gouges theorised the new tyranny that grew out of the French Revolution, that of ‘petty tyrants’ who found themselves like ‘cocks on a dunghill’ able to wield a new power (...) over those less fortunate than themselves. Both offer diagnoses and prognoses that revolve around education. Wollstonecraft argues that a revolution that is not backed by a previous education of the people is bound to result in chaos and violence. Such education, however, must be slow, and it necessitates the reform of the institutions that most shape the public’s character. A revolution, perforce, is fast, and it often takes several years, or even generations before the spirit of the reforms finds itself implemented into new institutions. Olympe de Gouges shares Wollstonecraft’s worry and she observes that the men who were once dominated quickly become tyrants themselves unless their moral character is already virtuous. But the state of being dominated leaves little room for virtue; hence, newly minted citizens need to be educated in order not to replicate the reign of tyranny onto other. Gouges suggests that the answer to the difficulty she and Wollstonecraft highlighted was to educate the people where they could be found: on the streets, or, where they could easily and willingly be gathered: in theatres. By helping organise revolutionary festivals, highlighting the ways in which citizens could be virtuous, and writing plays to awaken their virtue, and proposing a reform of the theatre, so that the production of such plays would be possible, Gouges offered a plan for the civic education of French citizens in the immediate aftermaths of the Revolution. Unfortunately, the chaos she and Wollstonecraft had sought to remedy, led by the cocks or petty tyrants, ensured that they were unable to see through their plans, with Wollstonecraft having to leave Paris and Gouges being sent to the guillotine. (shrink)

The importance of French revolutionary and philosopher Olympe de Gouges as a pioneer of the women’s rights movement is generally recognised today. In contrast, the significance of her thought for practical philosophy has not yet been fully appreciated. This article aims to bring out the relevance of de Gouges’ writings for practical philosophy both historically and systematically. Drawing on her 1791 text The Rights of Women, this article compares de Gouges’ depiction of gender relationships in the private and public spheres (...) with depictions by such classical social contract theorists as Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Immanuel Kant. From a historical perspective, de Gouges’ key contribution consists in pointing to and overcoming the theoretical assumptions that hamper the universality of individual rights. From a systematic perspective, de Gouges provides an account of the relationship between abstract universalism and concrete experiences of inequality that is now more topical than ever. (shrink)

In addition to authoring the Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of Citizen (1791), for which she is generally known today, Olympe de Gouges devoted several writings to denouncing slavery. In this article, I present the contents of these works by placing them in the context of both the Parisian debate and the situation in the colonies. Furthermore, I highlight the theoretical contribution of these writings with respect to the specific situation of slavery and, more generally, with respect to (...) the question of the universality of human rights. For this purpose, I analyse de Gouges’ reflection on women’s rights and compare her position with that of classical social contract theorists. I conclude by highlighting how de Gouges’ position still provides an effective critique of the pitfalls of a self-proclaimed objective and universal Reason. (shrink)

Olympe de Gouges publica as Réflexions sur les hommes nègres no ano de 1788. Com ideias abolicionistas, a autora aborda a condição dos escravos negros no Século das Luzes, em um contexto de profusão do ideário dos progressos da razão em todos os campos do saber. Ela evidencia, porém, que os ideais de liberdade, igualdade e fraternidade ainda estavam bastante aquém de serem praticados ao pé da letra.

In this article, I present the arguments of three republican women philosophers of eighteenth-century France, focusing especially on two themes: equality (of class, gender, and race) and the family. I argue that these philosophers, Olympe de Gouges, Marie-Jeanne Phlipon Roland, and Sophie de Grouchy, who are interesting and original in their own right, belong to the neo-republican tradition and that re-discovering their texts is an opportunity to reflect on women’s perspectives on the ideas that shaped our current political thought.

ABSTRACT This article examines Olympe de Gouges’ demands for the rights of woman in her famous but still understudied work Les droits de la femme. A La Reine [1791]. Particular emphasis is put on analysing how she combines her demand for equality with her conception of sexual difference. The article consists of three parts. The first part gives a brief overview of the demands for the equality of the sexes as they were presented in seventeenth-century France and critically reacted upon (...) in eighteenth-century France, not least by Jean-Jacques Rousseau in his defence of sexual difference. The second and third parts focus on Gouges’ argumentation. First, by analysing how she argues for women’s active citizenship by criticising the exclusion of women from the public sphere, but without questioning sexual difference as such; and second, by discussing how she redefines the famous slogan of the French Revolution; liberty, equality, fraternity. The conclusion argues that rather than being caught in a paradox of equality and difference, as has been claimed by Joan W. Scott, Gouges did successfully combine the two concepts, even if her interpretation of their relation was excluded from the canon of political theory. (shrink)

InLe Bonheur Primitif, Olympe de Gouges takes on Rousseau's account of the evolution of human society in his first twoDiscourses, and she argues that primitive human beings were not only happy, but also capable of virtue. I argue that in that text, Gouges offers a contribution to the eighteenth-century debate on human progress that is distinct from Rousseau's in that it takes seriously the contribution of women and families to human happiness and progress. I show how the concept of emulation (...) plays an important role in Gouges's analysis, both in her account of primitive societies and of the theater, and argue that she uses it to bridge the gap between primitive happiness and future progress. (shrink)

What can a woman from 18th Century in France do to get published? That is a question which women philosophers who were involved in politics in the revolutionary era were obliged to ask themselves. Contributing to political debates might have a beneficial effect on the status of women in the society of the future. But who would want to invest money to promulgate the work of those who could not defend it in the Assembly, because, as women, they were not (...) citizens? I propose three models : that of Madame Roland, who represented herself for many years as the companion and secretary of her husband, and who nonetheless wrote his most important discourses ; that of Sophie de Grouchy, who collaborated with her husband, Condorcet, but was only able to publish her own writing after the revolution ; finally, that of Olympe de Gouges, who paid herself for the printing and distribution of her numerous works. Despite their efforts, these women were put in their place more or less violently by a revolutionary society that did not accept that they could participate in its reforms. (shrink)

Olympe de Gouges is known primarily for La Déclaration des droits de la femme et de la citoyenne (1791), which is her response to the Declaration of the Rights of Man, adopted in 1789 by the National Assembly. Carol Sherman's book, Reading Olympe de Gouges, turns our attention away from normative principles of La Déclaration and directs it toward the ways that de Gouges's other texts challenge the normativity of the dominant social imaginaries of the time. Sherman’s book is required (...) reading for anyone wanting to participate in the debates about whether de Gouges deserves a place the Panthéon, but also in broader discussions about the history of feminism and the French Revolution. (shrink)

Olympe de Gouges “Woman has the right to mount the scaffold; she must equally have the right to mount the rostrum” wrote Olympe de Gouges in 1791 in the best known of her writings The Rights of Woman, two years … Continue reading Gouges, Olympe de →.

L’ouvrage comprend une annexe qui présente un document inédit relatif à la fête du 23 mai 1792, en l’honneur du maire d’Étampes, rédigé par Olympe de Gouges et communiqué aux acteurs et actrices de la Comédie française afin d’ordonner le cortège des femmes. Il propose un panorama très complet des éditions des œuvres de madame de Gouges, à laquelle succède une bibliographie critique sur cette auteure ainsi que la liste de ses œuvres présentées par ordre chronologique, avec des commentaires, un...

Paper prepared for the XVIII World Congress of Philosophy, Brighton, U.K.

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