Liberty in Their Names : The Women Philosophers of the French Revolution

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. Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Contents Figures Foreword Timeline of the French Revolution Note on the revolutionary calendar Glossary of people and places Chapter 1: Women in the Revolution 1 The French Revolution 2 Revolution and philosophers 3 Becoming authors 4 Becoming revolutionaries 5 Dying for their ideas 6 A note on sources and how to find them Chapter 2: The women and the prisons: A walk through eighteenth-century Paris 1 The Left Bank: Prison de l’Abbaye 2 Rue de la Huchette 3 Ile de la Cité: La Conciergerie 4 The Right Bank: Place de la Revolution 5 Rue St Honoré Chapter 3: Awakening to injustice: The formative years of Gouges, Roland and Grouchy 1 Introduction 2 The mirror of history 2.1 Historians and women 2.2 What the mirror reflected 3 Beginnings 3.1 Olympe 3.2 Marie-Jeanne 3.3 Sophie 4 Olympe, Marie-Jeanne and Sophie at the eve of the Revolution Chapter 4: Making her own way: Olympe de Gouges 1 Education, literacy and a famous playwright as a father 2 Learning the theatre and becoming a writer 3 Resistance: ‘Le Bon Sens Français’, Beaumarchais and the actors 4 Impact: ‘Zamore and Mirza’ and le Club des Amis des Noirs 5 Impact: The Patriotic tax and early political writings 6 Impact: Louis’s trial and the real threat to the republic Chapter 5: Speaking for herself: Marie-Jeanne Roland 1 To write or not to write 1.1 A woman of action 1.2 Silence and the women 2 Philosophical writings – Essays and competition 3 Peace writings: The encyclopedia of textile and other writings 3.1 Textile, botany and tactful editing: Writing the academic career of Jean-Marie Roland 3.2 Productivity eighteenth-century style 4 Political writings – The letters, the memoirs, the ministry’s business 4.1 Women and politics 4.2 Letters to Brissot and Le Patriote François 4.3 ‘They are going to ruin our constitution’: On drafting the Rights of Man 4.4 Ghost writing and coming out of anonymity Chapter 6: Working together: Sophie de Grouchy 1 Translator 2 Editor 3 Political journalist 4 Moral philosopher 5 ‘An inflamed head’ 6 ‘No time for emotion’: Philosophical reflections on the guillotine 7 Lost papertrail Chapter 7: The women on the other side of the channel 1 England’s influence 2 Travelling in the Republic of Letters 3 Marie-Jeanne Roland travels to England 4 Macaulay 5 Wollstonecraft in Paris Chapter 8: The American dream: From republican model to asylum of freedom 1 Republican morals 1.1 Virtue and the republic 1.2 A revolution in manners 2 The asylum of freedom 2.1 Republican living 2.2 ‘Philosophy and agriculture’ 3 An American in Paris: Thomas Paine and the Girondins women 3.1 A new era of ideas and principles 3.2 Running headlong into atheism 4 Conclusion Chapter 9: The abolitionist movement and the revolution 1 Slavery, abolitionism and the women 2 Citizenship and freedom 2.1 France and the colonies 2.2 Amis des Noirs and Massiac: Clubs fighting at the Assembly 3 Marie-Jeanne Roland: Slavery as a republican trope 3.1 Marie-Jeanne and the Spartan 3.2 Equiano 4 Sophie de Grouchy and Condorcet’s political arguments 4.1 Condorcet’s texts 4.2 Raimond 5 Olympe de Gouges : Polemic and educating the public Chapter 10: Women in the city 1 The state of things in 1789 – Caution and prejudice 2 Joining hands – Le Cercle Social, La Société Fraternelle des Deux Sexes and the Condorcet marriage 3 Speaking out: Women in the city 4 When the private is political 5 Amphibious creatures Epilogue: Writing out the women: Sophie de Grouchy after the Terror 1 Sophie’s writing career 2 The salon in Meulan 3 Napoleonic laws, women and divorce 4 Posterity – where they are buried, fame, pantheon A revolutionary bookshelf 1 Childhood books 1.1 Olympe 1.2 Marie-Jeanne 1.3 Sophie 2 Young adulthood 2.1 Olympe 2.2 Marie-Jeanne 2.3 Sophie 3 Maturity Notes Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Epilogue References Index "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."-- Publisher's description "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 works were widely distributed. At a time when women could neither vote nor speak at the Assembly, they became vocal, public figures. Yet instead of Gouges, Grouch and Roland, we speak of Voltaire, Rousseau and Diderot. Sandrine Berges examines the lives and writings of these groundbreaking female activists, and their impact on philosophical thought during the French Revolution. Featuring maps, a timeline and complete bibliography of their works, this book is an exciting expansion on revolutionary philosophy."-- Provided by publisher