Rare Book Monthly

Articles - March - 2017 Issue

It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World

 

 

Men shall always comply with women’s desires...

The power women have over men is not a negative thing;

it’s a gift from Nature, it was meant for the happiness of mankind.

 

Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

 

 

It is a modest booklet of 54 pages entitled De l’influence des femmes dans l’ordre civil et politique / Of the Influence of Women in Politics and Civil Order. But the topic and the date of publication, 1789, make it worthy of attention. As a matter of fact, it happens to be at the root of feminism—well, in a slightly macho way. The first paragraph of the famous Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen of 1789 reads: “Men were born and remain free and equal in rights...” Suddenly, a bold and female voice rose: “What about women?

 

Taking the lead of the liberation struggle of “too weak a sex, which has been oppressed for too long” (Rêveries patriotiques), Olympe de Gouges (1748-1793) became the ultimate figure of French “feminism” during the Revolution. An educated woman very much involved in the “philosophical” ideas of the time, she was of all the good fights, from the abolition of slavery to the abolition of privileges. But her most remembered exploit is the Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Female Citizen (1791), a sharp reply to the Declaration of the rights of Man... And it is no lukewarm manifest: “Considering that ignoring, forgetting or despising women caused all public grievances, (women) have decided to expose their natural, holy and inalienable rights in this solemn declaration.” The term of “feminism” is an anachronism, but it best describes this fiery woman, who was eventually beheaded on the guillotine.

 

Other revolutionaries evoked the rights of women. In 1790, Nicolas de Condorcet (1743-1794) wrote, in The Admission of Women to the Right of Vote: “Whether no human being has true rights, or they all have the same ones; and he who votes against the rights of others on the ground of religion, colour or sex, is denying his own rights.” But not everybody regarded the rights of women as crucial. In Trois femmes de la Révolution (BNF Collection), the modern historian Léopold Lacour writes: “During the first months of 1789, appeared a sort of “feminist” agitation. Mocked in most pamphlets, the matter of the vote of women also gave birth to serious writings such as Requête des femmes pour leur admission aux Etats Généraux, Protestation des dames françaises contre la tenue des Etats prétendus généraux, De l’influence des femmes dans l’ordre civil et politique, etc...” Thus, our little booklet is quoted among a handful of serious writings!

 

 

Who’s that boy?

 

According to the National Library of France, our booklet is anonymous. But in his book Théologie et politique au siècle des Lumières (1770-1820) published in 1973, Bernard Plongeron attributes it to “a deputy of the Etats Généraux (the revolutionary assembly—editor’s note), the honourable lawyer Antoine Sevran from Grenoble (1737-1807).” Plongeron even says that his booklet did inspire Abbot Grégoire’s Of the Influence of Christianity Over the Condition of Women (Paris, 2nd edition, 1826, 132 p. in-8°). One thing is for sure, our booklet was written by a man; and he couldn’t hide it, even while advocating that “in order to break asunder the chains that hold us captive, we must make women a part of our fight: they must stand by the freedom fighters!” The first 28 pages draw up a sort of historical catalogue; the author lists various female deeds of importance. Esther, denouncing the plot of Aman and “saving her brothers, and freeing the empire from a monster”; Semiramis, the Queen of Babylon, who “conquered the whole of Asia and ruled the largest empire that had ever existed”; in more recent times, he talks about Anne Boleyn, whose misfortune “destroyed the Popish authority, and soon Catholicism, in England”; of Elisabeth 1st, who “humiliated Spain” and “built the maritime glory of England.” Our author did not hold courtesans in high esteem—he acknowledges the tremendous influence la Du Barry or la Pompadour had on French politics, but magnanimously adds: “let’s not blame French women for the crimes committed by a handful of them only”—a manly piece of advice, indeed.

 

A paternalistic benevolence

 

The revolution was a period of great social progress. But while slavery was abolished—though later reinstated for a while by Napoleon—, women still had a long way to go. Emphatically evoking “the power and the holy duty women owe their country”, the author of our pamphlet confines them to a domestic role. As a matter of fact, he sounds paternalistic: “I will now tell you what women must do against the peril facing our country.” First, he recommends them to be good mothers. “Today, you must create citizens, and blow patriotism into the minds of your children (...). The mother must turn her household into a patriotic university.” Far from the revolutionary assembly, household was their kingdom: “Our freedom must be rooted in the bosom of the peaceful occupation of domestic life.” But they were also urged to fight on another battlefield, the hearts of men: “It is against despotism that you must arm your charms; against it that you must exalt the courage of your admirers.” Our author even suggests that a man should swear to defend his country against despotism before making love to a woman. “Whose man would dare breaking such a promise?” he asks, before adding: “Such is the privilege of women, to command both the mind and the heart.” Ite missa est.

 

Our author added several notes to his text; one of them reminds us of a paragraph written by Guillaume-Thomas Raynal—it is believed that Diderot himself wrote this part of A philosophical and political history of the settlements and trade of Europeans in the East and West Indies (1786)—about slave owners! It deals with the way the males of various countries treat their women: “The English love more than they respect them; the Northern peoples are interested in reproduction only; could the Ottomans love them? To them, they are only machines to satisfy their pleasures. Esteem and confidence—the charms of life—, are banned from their relationship. (...) The Italians only love them by outburst; and they often offend them—and nature—out of an unworthy and shameful preference. To end up, the Spaniards tyrannize them with adoration.” And guess what? “Only the French know how to love, esteem and respect women.” Á votre service, mesdames!

 

Dreams and things

 

No doubt a woman like Olympe de Gouges couldn’t be satisfied with this paternalistic vision of the role of women in the state affairs. But she was conscious of the hardship ahead. Wasn’t one of her famous writings entitled “patriotic daydream”? And the dream turned to nightmare when, following the inevitable political shifts of these troubled times, she was eventually executed in 1793. Her Déclaration des Droits de la femme et de la Citoyenne remains, though. And our surprising booklet, though supposedly siding with women in their struggle towards emancipation, was yet another obstacle in their way. Let’s bear in mind that the right to vote wasn’t granted to French women before 1944—one hundred and fifty five years after the Revolution. Meanwhile, “all males remained equal...” Females were required to patiently wait at home. It takes time for some dreams to come true.

 

 

Thibault Ehrengardt

 

Rare Book Monthly

  • Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: [Langland (William)]. The vision of Pierce Plowman, nowe the seconde time imprinted..., Roberte Crowley, 1550. £8,000 to £10,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: [Shakespeare (William)]. [Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies], second folio edition, [by Tho.Cotes, for Robert Allot], [1632]. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Bible, Czech Biblia Bohemica, first complete Bible printed in the Czech vernacular, Prague, August 1488. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: Shabthai Tzvi.- Collection of four printed and illustrated broadsides detailing the appearance, rise and fall of the false messiah, Shabthai Tzvi, Augsburg, 1666-67. £40,000 to £60,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Leaf from the Beauvais Missal, in Latin, illuminated manuscript on parchment, [Northern France (perhaps Beauvais or Amiens)], [fourteenth century (c.1310)]. £4,000 to £6,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Aubrey (John). [Remaines of Gentilisme and Judaisme], manuscript in English, Latin and Greek, [c. 1693]. £30,000 to £50,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: Byron (George Gordon Noel, Lord). Poems on Various Occasions, first edition, Harriet Maltby's copy, Newark, Printed by S. & J. Ridge, 1807. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Tolkien (J.R.R.) The Hobbit, first edition, second impression with dust-jacket, 1937 [but 1938]. £7,000 to £10,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Blake (William).- Thornton (Robert John). The Pastorals of Virgil, 2 vol., engraved plates by William Blake, 1821. £8,000 to £12,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: America.- Mount (William J.) & Thomas Page. The English Pilot…, [bound with] The Fourth Book, describing The West Indies Navigation from Hudson's-Bay to the River Amazones, 1721. £20,000 to £30,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Oldfield (Henry Ambrose), Rajman Singh Chitrakar & others. An album of 160 photographs and 13 original artworks, (1833-1919), [c. 1850s-1880s]. £20,000 to £30,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Audubon (John James) [and William MacGillivray]. Ornithological Biography…, 5 vol., first edition, presentation copy inscribed by Audubon, Edinburgh, 1831-49 [i.e. 1831-39]. £10,000 to £15,000.
  • Sotheby’s
    Modern First Editions
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Winston Churchill. The Second World War. Set of First-Edition Volumes. 6,000 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: A.A. Milne, Ernest H. Shepard. A Collection of The Pooh Books. Set of First-Editions. 18,600 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Salvador Dalí, Lewis Carroll. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Finely Bound and Signed Limited Edition. 15,000 USD
    Sotheby’s
    Modern First Editions
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Ian Fleming. Live and Let Die. First Edition. 9,500 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter Series. Finely Bound First Printing Set of Complete Series. 5,650 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Ernest Hemingway. A Farewell to Arms. First Edition, First Printing. 4,200 USD
  • Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A RUTH BADER GINSBURG BEADED JUDICIAL COLLAR. $80,000 - $120,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: ONLY KNOWN COPY OF THE ONLY BOOK BY THE REMARKABLE EVE ADAMS. $8,000 - $12,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A COMPLETE RUN OF VISIONAIRE MAGAZINE THROUGH 2010. $6,000 - $9,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: LAW REVIEW OFFPRINT SIGNED AND INSCRIBED BY RUTH BADER GINSBURG. $3,000 - $5,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: META REBNER'S WORKING SCRIPT OF THE LOVED ONE. $1,500 - $2,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A KATHY GROVE PORTRAIT OF CYNDI LAUPER FOR THE FEBRUARY 1989 DETAILS COVER. $800 - $1,200
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A PLASTIC COAT BY MILLIE DAVID FEATURED IN SOHO NEWS STYLE SECTION, FROM THE COLLECTION OF ANNIE FLANDERS. $500 - $700
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A RUTH BADER GINSBURG JEWELRY BOX. $600 - $900
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A SET OF JONI MITCHELL LYRICS FOR "IF I HAD A HEART." $2,000 - $3,000
  • 19th Century Shop
    Catalogue 198 just published
    19th Century Shop. Darwin and Wallace, first printing of the first paper on natural selection
    19th Century Shop. Shakespeare’s Poems, first collected edition
    19th Century Shop. Walt Whitman portrait inscribed with a Leaves of Grass poem
    19th Century Shop. Major Elizabeth Barrett Browning manuscript notebook
    19th Century Shop. Spock's Baby Book, original MS
    19th Century Shop. Cellarius, Harmonia Macrocosmica, the great celestial atlas
  • Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [RUTH, George Herman “Babe” (1895-1948)]. Signed photograph. Circa 1930s. 191 x 248 mm. $1,500 to $2,500.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: HARRISON, Benjamin. Document signed (“Benj Harrison”) as governor of Virginia, certifying the service of Daniel Cumbo, a Black Revolutionary soldier. $6,000 to $9,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: ONE OF THE FIRST PRINTED ANNOUNCEMENTS OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. $4,000 to $6,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: FIRST PRINTING OF LINCOLN’S IMMORTAL GETTYSBURG ADDRESS. $4,000 to $6,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: HIGHLY IMPORTANT MORMON ARCHIVE. ALLEY, George. Archive of 23 Autograph Letters Signed by Mormon Convert George Alley to His Brother Joseph Alley. $10,000 to $20,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [AVIATION]. [ARMSTRONG, Neil A.] Aviation Hall of Fame Gold Medal MS64 NGC, Awarded to Neil Armstrong in 1979. $2,000 to $3,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: NEWLY DISCOVERED FIRST PRINTING OF "WITH MALICE TOWARDS NONE... " FROM THE ONLY NEWSPAPER ACTUALLY ALLOWED TO PARTICIPATE IN LINCOLN’S SECOND INAUGURAL PROCESSION. $4,000 to $8,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: THE MOST IMPORTANT GEORGE WASHINGTON DOCUMENT IN PRIVATE HANDS; GEORGE WASHINGTON’S COMMISSION AS COMMANDER IN CHIEF, 1775, ONE OF ONLY TWO ORIGINALS. $150,000 to $250,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: A VERY RARE ACCOUNT OF BLACKBEARD’S DEATH AND ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PIRATE ITEMS EXTANT. $3,000 to $5,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: EDISON, Thomas. Patent for Edison’s Improvements on the Electric-Light, No. 219,628. [Washington, D.C.: U.S. Patent Office], 16 September 1879. $2,000 to $3,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [VIETNAM WAR]. The original pen used by Secretary of State William P. Rogers to sign the Vietnam Peace Agreement, Paris, 27 January 1973. $10,000 to $15,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: SONS OF LIBERTY FOUNDER COLONEL BARRÉ ANNOTATED TITLE-PAGE, “WHICH OUGHT TO ROUSE UP BRITISH ATTENTION”. $4,000 to $6,000.

Article Search

Archived Articles

Ask Questions