The Rise of Women's Freedom Part II

https://www.mtholyoke.edu/courses/rschwart/hist255/at/writers.html

In 1832 the Saint Simonians hosted a series of lectures about women's rights that drew the attention of Claire Demar and Suzanne Voliquin who would, later in that year, publish their journal: Tribune des Femmes. All the writers were proletarian women who spoke out about such things as legal reform, the slavery of married women and the frequent rape occurrences. Though they never gained enough funds, they also had plans to set up a women's shelter for unmarried pregnant women and widows. About this time, a famous writer was in the making, George Sand. Her first solo novel,Indiana, came out in 1832 and set the tone of romantic idealism that Sand would soon be known for. Her books, however, were not void of a feminist undertone. In 1833 she publishedLelia, the story of a headstrong intellectual

A Brief History Of Rebellion 1790-- Condorcet's Essay 1791-- Olympe de Gourges' Essay 1802-- Stael's Delphine 1803-- Stael exiled 1804--Napolean's Civil Code 1825--Saint Simonianism forms 1832--Sand's Indiana 1832--Tribune des Femmes first publication 1833--Sand's Lelia 1836--Girardin's Les Lettres Parisiennes first publication 1836--La Gazette des Femmes' first publication 1843-- Tristan's l'Union Ouvriere 1848--d'Agoult's Histoire de la Revolution de 1848

girl, standing up to the restrictions of society. In letters, Sand's friends often addressed her as Lelia and in her own letters and journals she admitted that Lelia was in part an autobiographical tale.   Another rising author in the '30s was Delphine Gay (otherwise known as Mme Girardin.) From 1836-1848, she wrote a column, Les Letters Parisiennes, in her husband's newspaper, La Presse. Following other writers like Aurore Dupin (George Sand) and Marie d'Agoult (Daniel Stern) she wrote under the pen name Victomte de Launay.   1836 also marked the year that Gazette Des Femmesbegan publication. Unlike the women writers ofTribune des Femmes, the Gazette was written by an elite upper class of both male and female bourgeois. Every Thursday the editors and subscribers would get together to discuss the motives and political viewpoints of the paper. Amongst those who attended were Hortense Allart, Flora Tristan and Eugenie Niboyer. What is most puzzling still today about theGazette is that the owner and editor of the journal claimed to be step brother and sister when in fact, they were lovers. Even stranger is that though the man seemed fully in charge of the paper, he kept it under his mistress' name. Though he expressed interest in making the Gazette a daily paper, so long as it was under the name of a woman, it legally could not be produced more than montly. Many historians still

Congres Masculino-Foemino-Literaire Author unknown (Pritchett)  The woman on the right, cigar in hand is most likely George Sand. She was notorious for wearing men's clothing and generally acting in ways considered immoral and inappropriate for women of her time. The text under the photo describes this as a meeting of male-female writers. This caricature represents the common assumptions that women writers were rude, vulgar and masculine women. They all appear well dressed but with rather silly and obnoxious expressions on their faces. The artist was obviously not in favor of the growing number of women writers.

Gazette Des Femmes (Moses)

wonder today why this couple purposely hindered the production of their very own journal. The 1840s proved to be an active time for women writers. In 1843, Flora Tristan produced L'Union Ouvriere, in which she brought women's emancipation to the attention of working men. In 1848, Marie d'Agoult wrote the history of the Revolution of 1848 in the hopes of encouraging social reform. Her depiction of the influential women in the revolution stood out to many readers today as her most powerful part.