Is the study of Enlightenment important today? There could be a variety of reasons why the principles and virtues of Enlightenment, still hold not only a high place in the study of human civilisation but it is our obligations to the principles and values of the basic tenets of the Enlightenment: Liberte, Egalite and Fraternity. This also includes social justice which is the basic birthright of every human being. Human struggle against age old religious authoritarianism and fanaticism, religious intolerance , parochialism, racism, sexism ,unbridled ambition and dominance over others along with ecological and environmental catastrophe have compelled us to look back at the Age of Reason to re- examine the possibility of exploring the ushering of a Real Utopia where all the democratic values can be protected and practised . The possibility of such an examination may lead to re-imagine the humanities’ potential and capacities to ‘perfectibility’ of regaining what has been lost in the course of two centuries of unbridled barbarism ( the two world wars and the Holocaust). After all , the hope is in the nature of human beings, which however it may look unchangeable, yet it is not written on Stone, it still remains HUMAN, Which in all situations , social and political conditions , can transform its errors/hostilities towards fellow humans into something meaningfully beautiful.

DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS OF MAN, 1789

“Only look down on reason and science

The highest faculties of human kind….

And then I have you trapped.”

Goethe- Faust, Part 1 ( translated by Peter Palmer)

The Declaration was adopted by the National Constituent Assembly during the French Revolution. In 1790, Nicolas Condorcet and Etta Palm d’ Alders unsuccessfully called on the National Assembly to extend civil and political rights to women. Condorcet declared that “ he who votes against the right of another ,whatever the religion , colour or sex of the other, henceforth abjured his own.” Condorcet published a plea against the exclusion of women from the public sphere in the journal ‘de la Societe de , in 1789. Here is the text of the plea:

Did (all philosophers and legislators) not violate the principal of equal right to contribute to legislation and when they excluded women from the rights of citizenship? Is there any stronger proof of the power of habit , even among enlightened men , than seeing the principle of equal rights invoked on behalf of three or four hundred men who had been deprived of their rights by some absurd prejudice and yet at the same time forgetting these same rights when it comes to twelve million women ?

For this exclusion not to the act of tyranny , one would need either to prove that the natural rights of women are not absolutely the same as those of men, or show they are not capable of exercising them? Now, the rights of men derive exclusively from the fact that they are sentient beings , capable of acquiring moral ideas and of reasoning about these about these ideas. Either no individual possesses the same ones; and those who vote against the rights of others whatever their religion, colour or sexes, have from that moment abjured their own rights.

It would be difficult to prove that women are incapable of exercising their rights of citizenship. Why should human beings exposed to pregnancies and to passing indispositions not to be able to exercise the same rights that no one has ever imagined taking away from people who contact gout every winter and who easily catch colds? Even if we accept that men enjoy some intellectual superiority beyond the simple difference in their education—- the superiority can consist of only two points. Is said that no woman has ever made any important discovery in the sciences or given any proof of genius in the arts , in writing etc.; but presumably no body would propose to grant the rights of citizenship exclusively to men of genius. Some add that no woman enjoys same breadth of knowledge or the same power of reasoning as certain men; but what does this prove other that, with the if this tiny class of men were set aside , inferiority and superiority would be equally shared between the two sexes . Now, since it would be completely absurd to limit the rights why should women be excluded rather than those men who are inferior to a great number of women?

………………..

It is said that women though better than men, being gentler, more feeling, and less subject to vices that derive from hard –heartedness, do not properly posses the instinct for justice , that they follow their sentiments more than their conscience. This observation is truer, but it proves nothing; it is not nature but rather education and social existence that cause their difference……Removed from public affairs and excluded from every decision that is detrimental with reference justice or fixed laws, they concern themselves with and act upon those things which are, settled by involving natural decency and sentiment. It is therefore unjust to propose ….for continuing to deny women the enjoyment of their natural rights , arguments that only desire from a kind of reality because women do not in fact enjoy their natural rights.

If one were to admit such arguments against women , one would need also to take away the rights of citizenship from that part of the population which given over it is to ceaselessly toil, can neither enlighten itself nor exercise its reason, and soon, little by little the only men permitted to be citizens would be those who had pursued studies in public law………….

One cannot forward the argument that women are dependent on their husbands, for it would be possible at the same time to bring to an end the tyranny created by civil law, and in any case no injustice can justify committing another.

There remain therefore only two objections to discuss. In truth, they can provide arguments against granting women the rights of citizenship that are founded on utility, arguments of a type that cannot be used to outweigh true rights .The contrary maxim has too often provided tyrants with pretexts and excuses , it is in the name of utility that commerce and industry roar in their chairs , and the Africans remain enslaved ; it is in the name of public utility that the Bastille was filled with prisoners , that censors were appointed to limit the publication of books , that trials were held in secret , and that suspects were held and tortured…….

…………

The equality of rights established between men in our constitution has brought upon us eloquent declamations as ceaseless derision ; but until now, nobody has been able to provide a single reason against this equality of rights and their failure has not been for want of talent , nor forwant oftrying. Iam so bold as to believe that the same will be the case when it comes to the equality of rights between the sexes.

Courtesy- Condorcet- “ On the Admission of Women to the Rights of Citizenship, 1790.

http//revolution .chnm.org/d/292

Women revolt –Fight for their rights- Olympe de Gouges, the Butcher’s daughter- the systematic commentary on the Declaration .

In a response to the Declaration , a group of women submitted a petition in the National Assembly appealing for recognition of natural and political rights of women which were never taken up for discussion .In 1789 itself, women marched towards Versailles protesting over the high prices and scarcity of bread. The demonstrators believed in equality among all citizens including women’s rights ,of political minorities and landless citizens. The leaders of the Revolution did not recognise their demands.

Eventually, the French playwright , social and political activist, Olympe de Gouges wrote the manifesto : DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN AND OF THE FEMALE CITIZEN. This was probably the first manifestation of the early feminists. De Gouges was accused of treason, a Counter revolutionary, convicted and put under Guillotine along with her colleagues.

PREAMBLE OF THEIR DECLARATION-Selected articles

Mothers, sisters, daughters female representatives of the nation ask to be constituted as a national assembly. Considering that ignorance ,neglect r contempt for the rights of women are the sole causes of public misfortunes and governmental corruption , they have resolved to set forth a solemn declaration , the natural inalienable and sacred rights of women, so that by being constantly present to all the members of social body, this Declaration may always remind them of their Rights and duties; so that being liable at every moment to comparison with the aim of any and all political institutions the acts of women and men’s powers may be more fully repeated ; and so that by being founded henceforward on simple and in contestable principles the demands of the citizens may always tend toward maintaining the constitution , good morals and the general welfare.

In consequence , the sex that is superior in beauty as in courage, needed in maternal sufferings , recognises and declares , in the presence and under the auspices of the supreme being , the following rights of women and its citizens:

1 Women is born free and remains equal to man in rights. Social distinctions may be based only on common utility.

2.The purpose of all political associations is the preservation of the natural and social and political rights of women and man. These rights are liberty ,property ,security and especially resistance to oppression.

3.The principle of all sovereignty rests essentially in the nation , which is but the reuniting of woman and man .No body and no individual may exercise authority which does not emanate expressly from the nation.

4. Liberty and justice consist in restoring all that belongs another, hence the exercise of the natural rights of woman has no other limits than those that the perpetual tyranny of man opposes to them. These limits must be reformed according to the laws of nature and reason.

5.The laws of nature and reason prohibit all actions which are injurious to society. No hindrance should be put in the way of anything not prohibited by those wise and divine laws, nor anyone be forced to do what they do not require.

6.The law should be thee expression of general. All citizens should take part, in person or by their representations in its formation. It must be the same for everyone. All citizens being equal in its eyes , should be equally admissible to all public dignities , offices and employments , according to their abilities, and with no other distinction than that of their virtues and talents.

7.No woman is exempted , she is indicted, arrested and detained in the cases determined by the law Women like men obey this rigorous law.

8.Only strictly and obviously necessary punishments should be established by law and no one may be punished except by virtue of a law established and promulgated before the time of the offence and legally applied to women.

9.Any women being declared guilty , all rigor is exercised by the law.

10. No one should be disturbed for his fundamental opinions; woman has the right to mount the scaffold , so should have the right equally to mount the rostrum, provided that these manifestations do not trouble public order as established by law.

………….

12. The safeguard of the rights of woman and the citizeness requires public powers . these powers are instituted for the advantage of all and not for the private benefit of those to whom they are entrusted .

……………

15. The mass of women, joining with men in paying taxes, have the right to hold accountable every public agent of the administration.

Finally , in the Postscript , de Gouges appeals to women to wake up, rise for their rights, especially for education, marriage and property rights. In fact echoing Jean Jacques Rousseau, she appeals for a SOCIAL CONTRACT. No one before her in that era wrote with such absolute determination about the democratic principles of woman which clearly related to private and public spheres.

Source- Olympe de Gouges, The Declarations of the rights of women (September, 1791), LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY: Exploring the French Revolution , accessed November, 17, 2023, http://revolution.chnm.org/d/293

The French Revolution generated huge debate on politics , society and culture. The promises of the revolution, liberty, equality and fraternity, could not extend all its fruits to women even though women figured prominently in the revolution. The energy and activism of the women in social and political reforms brought about major changes in social and political organisations. In 1789, French women were largely confined in their private sphere. Domestic duty and family obligations dictated their life-systems yet , the spirit of the revolution caught their imagination. Women from every background voiced their opinions on various matters of life, like scarcity of bread, of education , marriage and individual rights .New ideas were discussed in the Salons mostly run by the city’s aristocratic women, who were known as Salonniers. Thesewomen influenced all decision making in matters of politics and society.

However, women as a group never operated as one, they were at variance with each other. The women’s group were basically divided between two groups, the aristocratic and the working women. Even among the working class women there were contrasting ideological differences, especially , between the more radical republicanines like Pauline Leon and the ordinary market women. Needless to say, their differences were exploited by men and it helped help them to suppress the more radical movements.

THE CERCLE SOCIAL GROUP- a radical women’s group.

The Cercle group of writers and politicians were known for their pioneering works during the revolution about women’s rights and land reform. This circle embodies a radical theory of democracy at the early stage of the revolution. It adapted ideas and rituals to political and social radicalism ;it developed a notion of socialism that presaged Saint-Simon and Karl Marx. Some scholars have opined that the group represented one of the first efforts of small intellectuals to propagate radical social ideas to a mass audience ……it was considered as a secret international movement ….

NOTE:

Women in the 18^th century were faced with a systematic denial of their basic rights. The state of non-entity before the law exposed women to a great deal of exploitation and abuse .It is in this social and political conditions, arose the Salon and Coffee House culture representing the bourgeois humanism.

Bourgeois humanism which arose in 18^th century Europe was the result of the bifurcation of soul and body, mind and matter, humanity and nature. The departure point of such a volatile and robust humanism sparked off by the emergence of Salon culture, Coffee house conversations , literary supplements in public places involved the new rising bourgeoisie. However, such apparent innocent Salon culture was also defined by Man’s alienation from the real issues of women’s exploitation, especially the working class women , hunger and issues of social justice In the context of the declared constitution emphatically voicing ‘equal rights of Man’, was also high on inhuman condition of exploitation of women’s right , even though we see women coming together and marching for bread and asserting the need for a different constitutional rights for women. The women’s march to Versailles in 1789 was the most significant events of the French Revolution. Women were protesting against the high price of bread. They were fearing famine caused by deregulation of the grain market in 1774. Women’s march changed the course of the French Revolution.

References

1. John R.Cole- Olympe de Gouges – Rights of women , 2011
2. Marilyn Yalon- Blood Sisters French Revolution in Women’s Memory, 1993.
3. The Cerele Social, the Girondins and the French Revolution –Gary Kates, 1985.
4. John Bellany Foster, Marx’s critique of Enlightened humanism: A Revolutionary Ecological perspective in Monthly Review, Jan- Feb, 2023.
5. Deborah Bates- The portrayal of women in selected Contes of Voltaire, A theses submitted for M.A degree at McMaster University, 1995.
6. Maria Tamboukou- Exceptional women in Science and Education . Emilie Du Chatelet and Maria Gaetna Agnesi, Review in Pedagogic Historica, 2023.

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