Olympe De Gouges
Olympe De Gouges (1748-1793)
Declaration of the Rights of Woman
French
Romanticism
Olympe de Gouges was born Marie Gouze, and later became Marie Aubry upon her marriage. After her husband’s death, she adopted the name Olympe de Gouges and began her career as a social reformer and intellectual radical. She was a prolific pamphlet and play write. She used these works to advocate for her political causes, such as rights for orphans, legal privileges for unwed mothers, and the abolishment of slavery. One of her most notable works is Declaration of the Rights of Woman also known as The Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen. During the French Revolution, De Gouges supported the Girondins (often referred to as Brissotins), which played a large role in the Legislative Assembly from 1791 to 1792. In 1791 she published her Declaration of the Rights of Woman as a response to the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen, which had adopted by the National Assembly. In her work, De Gouges suggests the women should have the same rights as men under the new French government. Additionally, she suggests that children born outside of marriage should have right to an inheritance as children born within the marriage. After the Girondins fell from power, the leaders of the French Revolution deemed her too radical and had her put to death by the guillotine.
Consider while reading:
- What rhetorical strategy is De Gouges using, and how do these rhetorical choices reflect her awareness of her audience and the social upheaval of that time?
- How did De Gouges’s conception of gender equality differ from past ideas of gender roles in her culture?
- De Gouges’s assertions are very bold. How do they fit/not fit with the Enlightenment presumption of “natural” rights?
- Thomas Jefferson’s ideas influenced the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. How does De Gouges’s work engage with the ideas put forth in America’s Declaration of Independence?
Written by Laura Ng