Download What are the *rights of women* in today*s society?

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Most Parisan salons were
organized by women
Would use their social and
political connections to
keep the philosophes out
of censorship
Marquise de Pompadour,
Louis XV’s mistress, critical
in helping Diderot avoid
censorship
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Madame Marie Geoffrin
ran the most celebrated
salon in Paris
◦ Attended by Montesquieu,
Jefferson, Diderot, and
Smith
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The Enlightenment made
people reexamine their
notions of gender roles
and women’s rights
made some progress
The salon of Madame Marie Thérèse Geoffrin (1699–1777) was one of the most
important Parisian gathering spots for Enlightenment writers during the middle
of the eighteenth century. Well-connected women such as Madame Geoffrin were
instrumental in helping the philosophes they patronized to bring their ideas to
the attention of influential people in French society and politics.
Chateaux de Malmaison et Bois-Preau, Rueil-Malmaison. Bridgeman-Giraudon/Art Resource, NY
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believed in equality of the sexes and
had a traditional view of family and
marriage
◦ Males still dominated marriage and family
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Valued role of women in society
Opposed legal restrictions placed on
women’s rights
Rousseau’s Emile
Wollstonecraft’s A
Vindication of the Rights
of Woman
Read each selection. Prepare a point-of-view summary
on Rousseau and Wollstonecraft.
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felt women should be
submissive to men
Advocated the idea of men
and women occupying
separate spheres
◦ Men had ability to think at a
higher level
◦ Women were better with
practical problems
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Women should be educated
to require skills to inhabit
the household
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defended equality of women
with men based on human
reason
argues that women are not
naturally inferior to men, but
appear to be only because they
lack education.
suggests that both men and
women should be treated as
rational beings and imagines a
social order founded on reason.
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The Encyclopedia suggested ways to
improve women’s lives, but did not
suggest reform
Summary: Women made marginal gains
during the Enlightenment
◦ Focus on religious fanaticism and reason, not
gender inequality
◦ Only wealthy noblewomen had access to the
salon life
◦ Works of feminists set agenda for next century
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P. 670
Read your section, outline, detail, and provide a
main idea sentence on the view of Wollstonecraft
Be prepared to share
If they differ from those enjoyed by men,
which rights are the most important?