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Most Parisan salons were organized by women
Would use their social and political connections to keep the philosophes out of censorship
Marquise de Pompadour, Louis XV’s mistress, critical in helping Diderot avoid censorship
Women and the Enlightenment
Madame Marie Geoffrin ran the most celebrated salon in Paris◦ Attended by Montesquieu,
Jefferson, Diderot, and Smith
The Enlightenment made people reexamine their notions of gender roles and women’s rights made some progress
The salon of Madame Marie Thérèse Geoffrin (1699–1777) was one of the most important Parisian gathering spots for Enlightenment writers during the middle of the eighteenth century. Well-connected women such as Madame Geoffrin were instrumental in helping the philosophes they patronized to bring their ideas to the attention of influential people in French society and politics.Chateaux de Malmaison et Bois-Preau, Rueil-Malmaison. Bridgeman-Giraudon/Art Resource, NY
Montesquieu on Women believed in equality of the sexes and
had a traditional view of family and marriage◦ Males still dominated marriage and family
Valued role of women in society Opposed legal restrictions placed on
women’s rights
The Education of Women (669-671)Rousseau’s Emile
Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Woman
Read each selection. Prepare a point-of-view summary on Rousseau and Wollstonecraft.
felt women should be submissive to men
Advocated the idea of men and women occupying separate spheres◦ Men had ability to think at a
higher level◦ Women were better with
practical problems Women should be
educated to require skills to inhabit the household
Rousseau’s Emile (1762)
defended equality of women with men based on human reason
argues that women are not naturally inferior to men, but appear to be only because they lack education.
suggests that both men and women should be treated as rational beings and imagines a social order founded on reason.
Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication for the Rights of Woman (1792)
The Encyclopedia suggested ways to improve women’s lives, but did not suggest reform
Summary: Women made marginal gains during the Enlightenment◦ Focus on religious fanaticism and reason, not
gender inequality◦ Only wealthy noblewomen had access to the
salon life◦ Works of feminists set agenda for next
century
Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Women
P. 670 Read your section, outline, detail, and provide a
main idea sentence on the view of Wollstonecraft Be prepared to share
What are the “rights of women” in today’s society?
If they differ from those enjoyed by men, which rights are the most important?