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There was a throwaway sentence in a textbook I was reading: "In 1793, the French actress Olympe de Gouges was guillotined by the Jacobins, after daring to demand political rights for women as well as men." Of course I had to find out who she was, and why I'd never heard of her.
She was an abolitionist, who wanted a tax on capital, the legalisation of divorce and abolition of religious marriage (which she called 'the tomb of love and trust') in favour of a more egalitarian contract, a public health system, full equality between black and white people...
"All is in stasis while the heartless rich stash away their wealth, that vile instrument of their cupidity... can it make them happier? These inactive treasures, what good do they do anyone? They must be offered interest-free to the State in the same way they are placed in safes”
Basically, she was incredible. 'Why have I never heard of her?' you might ask, as I did. The answer is fairly obvious. Men went to great lengths to erase any trace of her from history. After her execution, by order of the authorities, all the papers found in her home were burned.
The prosecutor of Paris, Pierre-Gaspard Chaumette, published an article, weeks after her execution, which said she “abandoned the cares of her household to get involved in politics and commit crimes. She died on the guillotine for having forgotten the virtues that suit her sex.”
She was among the first to grasp that Robespierre was a demagogue, publicly calling him a murderer and a dictator, and was arrested - and eventually executed - for distributing literature calling for a referendum on the most desirable regime that should replace the monarchy.
“Whose blood do you still thirst for? But sacred philosophy will shackle your success, for whatsoever may be your momentary triumph or the disorder of this anarchy, you will never govern enlightened men. Tell me, what, actually, will be your place in the pages of history?”
The historian Olivier Blanc found while publishing his book on de Gouges that her image had been tainted by prejudices among historians. She was rumoured to have been a prostitute, so it was impossible to rely on her as a reference in the struggle for women’s liberation...
A 1900 biography described her as “arrogant,” “sly,” “pampered,” “brazen,” “licentious,” “greedy,” “wicked,” “crazy,” and also said that she had “ceased to be pretty at a young age.”
Olympe de Gouges actually foresaw her own erasure from history. She knew what men would do to her accomplishments, and the accomplishments of other women. From her Political Testament: “And if one day French women are recalled by posterity, maybe then my memory will be held dear”
I've only been reading about her for a few hours, so if anyone knows of any articles or work on her, please send them my way!
This critique of traditional marriage, from one her plays, is absolutely amazing. "(Women) must live with the enemy, at times one’s assassin, (and) must kiss the hand that will do her harm.”
I am so blown away by all of de Gouges's writing and her story, and also so angry thinking about all the women who have been deliberately erased from history because their ideas are too revolutionary for any revolution led by men.
For anyone interested (seems like a lot of you are!), Stephen Black has shared the article 'French Feminists & The Rights of 'Man' without the journal paywall, and shared her ideas in more depth. https://twitter.com/stephenablack/status/1056429880680812545
I muted this around the 100 RTs mark but noticed a couple of people already yelling at me that they all know who de Gouges is, she's a household name, and it's just me that's ignorant. Hey, she clearly wasn't successfully erased, as I managed to find enough info to write this.
Also think it's fair to say attempts to burn all her work, and the aspersions cast on her later, do fall into a 'trying to erase a radical woman from general knowledge' bracket. A lot of radicals aren't well known (let alone celebrated) beyond academia. Because they were radical.
So it's cool that so many people have replied or sent messages saying thanks for the thread. My friends are mostly all feminist leftists and we didn't know her name. I only found out about her because I'm studying this period of history. Ain't history great!? Study more history!
