Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-hc48f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T19:04:54.742Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Olympe de Gouges

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 July 2022

Sandrine Bergès
Affiliation:
Bilkent University, Ankara

Summary

Olympe de Gouges, though a well-known historical figure, has not been investigated as a philosopher until quite recently. Yet, many of her writings have philosophical import, whether they are written in the genre of the philosophical treatise, drama or political pamphlets. In the three main sections, the author gives an overview of some of her arguments, showing their originality and their relevance to debates contemporary to her and to us. In the introduction, the author addresses the question of genre and argue that Gouges should be read as a philosopher, as well as a playwright and political writer. In the conclusion, the author draws out the relevance of her work for contemporary philosophers.
Get access
Type
Element
Information
Online ISBN: 9781009023702
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication: 28 July 2022

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Akkerman, T., and Stuurman, S. (1998). Perspectives on Feminist Political Thought in European History: From the Middle Ages to the Present. London; New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Antraigues, E.-H.-L. (1789). Observations sur le divorce. Paris: Imprimerie nationale.Google Scholar
Bergès, S. (2015). Sophie de Grouchy and the Cost of Domination in The Letters on Sympathy and Two Anonymous Articles in Le Républicain. The Monist, 98 (1), 102–12.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bergès, S. (2018). Olympe de Gouges versus Rousseau: Happiness, Primitive Societies, and the Theater. Journal of the American Philosophical Association 4 (4), 433–51.Google Scholar
Bergès, S. (2019a). Revolution and Republicanism: Women Political Philosophers of Late Eighteenth-Century France and Why They Matter. Australasian Philosophical Review 3 (4), 351–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bergès, S. (2019b). Wollstonecraft. In , G., ed., A Companion to Atheism and Philosophy. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, pp. 5870.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blanc, O. (2014). Olympe de Gouges: Des droits de la femme à la guillotine. Paris: Tallandier.Google Scholar
Brissot, J.-P. (1791). Nouveau voyage dans les Etats-Unis de l’Amérique Septemtrionale, fait en 1788, par J.P. Brissot (Warville) Citoyen François 1791. Paris: Chez Buisson.Google Scholar
Burke, E. (1986). Reflections on the Revolution in France. Harmondsworth: Penguin.Google Scholar
Coffee, A. (2014). Freedom As Independence: Mary Wollstonecraft and the Grand Blessing of Life. Hypatia 29 (4), 908–24.Google Scholar
Cole, J. R. (2011). Between the Queen and the Cabby. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press.Google Scholar
Condorcet, N. (1822). Esquisse d’un tableau des progrès de l’esprit humain; suivi de réflexions sur l’esclavage des nègres, par Condorcet. Paris: Masson et Fils.Google Scholar
Condorcet, N. (2012). Political Writings. Edited by Steven Lukes and Nadia Urbinati. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Condorcet, N., and Paine, T. (1991). Aux origines de la république 1789–1792, Vol. 3: Le républicain par Condorcet et Thomas Paine, 1791. Paris: EDHIS.Google Scholar
D’Alembert, J. R. (1757). Genève. In Diderot, D., ed., Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire Raisonné des Sciences, des Arts et des Métiers, Vol. 7. Paris: André le Breton, 1751–66, pp. 578–578D.Google Scholar
Desan, S. (2004). The Family on Trial in Revolutionary France. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Develey, A. (2017). Éliane Viennot: ‘Olympe de Gouges a lancé les prémices de l’écriture inclusive’. Le Figaro, 5 November. https://bit.ly/3sc6wHf.Google Scholar
Dumont, E. (1832). Souvenirs sur Mirabeau et sur les deux premières assemblées législatives. Paris: Librairie de Charles Gosselin.Google Scholar
Edmonds, B. (1983). ‘Federalism’ and Urban Revolt in France in 1793. The Journal of Modern History 55 (1), 2253.Google Scholar
Fleury, . (1857). Mémoires de Fleury de la comédie française, Vol. 2: 1789–1820. Paris: Lafitte.Google Scholar
Fricker, M. (2007). Epistemic Injustice: Power and the Ethics of Knowing. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Garrard, M. D. (2020). Artemisia Gentileschi and Feminism in Early Modern Europe. London: Reaktion Books.Google Scholar
Gouges, O. (1786). L’homme généreux [The Generous Man]. Translated by Clarissa Palmer. www.olympedegouges.eu/homme_gen.php.Google Scholar
Gouges, O. (1788a). Madame de Valmont, preface pour les dames. In Oeuvres de Madame de Gouges, dediées à Monseigneur Le Duc D’Orleans. Paris: L’Autheur. http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6546469r.r=gouges.Google Scholar
Gouges, O. (1788b). Lettre au people ou projet d’une caisse patriotique [Letter to the People, or Patriotic Purse Project]. Translated by Clarissa Palmer. www.olympedegouges.eu/patriotic_purse.php.Google Scholar
Gouges, O. (1788c). Remarques patriotiques. Patriotic Observations. Translated by Clarissa Palmer. www.olympedegouges.eu/patriotic_observations.php.Google Scholar
Gouges, O. (1788d). Réflexions sur les hommes nègres, Zamore et Mirza ou l’heureux naufrage, drame Indien [Reflections concerning Black Men, Zamore and Mirza, or the Fortunate Shipwreck, an Indian drama]. Translated by Clarissa Palmer. www.olympedegouges.eu/zamore_et_mirza.php.Google Scholar
Gouges, O. (1789). Le bonheur primitif, ou rêveries patriotiques. Amsterdam and Paris: Royer. https://bit.ly/34thjEJ.Google Scholar
Gouges, O. (1790a). Depart De M. Necker Et De Madame De Gouges, ou les adieux de Madame De Gouges aux Français et A M. Necker [M. Necker and Madame de Gouges’s Departure or Madame de Gouges’s Farewells to the French and to M. Necker]. Translated by Clarissa Palmer. www.olympedegouges.eu/departdenecker.php.Google Scholar
Gouges, O. (1790b). La nécéssité du divorce [The Necessity of Divorce]. Translated by Clarissa Palmer. www.olympedegouges.eu/le_divorce.php.Google Scholar
Gouges, O. (1791). Les droits de la femme, A la reine [The Rights of Woman, to the Queen]. www.olympedegouges.eu/rights_of_women.php.Google Scholar
Gouges, O. (1792a). Le bons sens Français ou l’apologie des vrais nobles, dédiée aux Jacobins [French Commonsense or the Vindication of True Nobles, Dedicated to the Jacobins]. Translated by Clarissa Palmer. www.olympedegouges.eu/french_commonsense_nobles.php.Google Scholar
Gouges, O. (1792b). Les fantomes de l’opinion publique [The Ghosts of Public Opinion]. www.olympedegouges.eu/ghost.php.Google Scholar
Gouges, O. (1792c). Réponse à la justification de Maximilien Robespierre, adressée à Jérôme Pétion, par Olympe de Gouges [Response to Maximilien Robespierre’s Justification, Addressed to Jérôme Pétion, by Olympe de Gouges]. Translated by Clarissa Palmer. www.olympedegouges.eu/response_max.php.Google Scholar
Gouges, O. (1792d). Olympe de Gouges, défenseur officieux de Louis Capet [Olympe de Gouges, Louis Capet’s Unofficial Advocate]. Translated by Clarissa Palmer. www.olympedegouges.eu/defenseur_officieux.php.Google Scholar
Gouges, O. (1792e). L’esclavage des noirs ou l’heureux naufrage, drame en trois actes. Représenté à la comédie française en Décembre 1789. Paris. http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k566870.Google Scholar
Gouges, O. (1793a). Arrêt de mort que présente Olympe de Gouges contre Louis Capet [Decree of Death against Louis Capet, presented by Olympe de Gouges]. Translated by Clarissa Palmer. www.olympedegouges.eu/decree_of_death.php.Google Scholar
Gouges, O. (1793b). Testament politique d’Olympe de Gouges [Olympe de Gouges’s Political Statement]. Translated by Clarissa Palmer. www.olympedegouges.eu/political_testament.php.Google Scholar
Gouges, O. (1793c). Les trois urnes [The Three Urns]. Translated by Clarissa Palmer. www.olympedegouges.eu/three_urns.php.Google Scholar
Gouges, O. (1993). Olympe de Gouges: Écrits politiques (1789–1791). Vol. 1, Réponse au champion américain, préface d’Olivier Blanc. Coll. ‘Des femmes dans l’histoire’. Paris: Côté-femmes Éditions.Google Scholar
Gouges, O. (2014). Projet utile et salutaire. In Femme reveille-toi! Déclaration des droits de la femme et de la citoyenne et autres écrits. Edited by , Martine. Paris: Gallimard, pp. 1829.Google Scholar
Green, K. (2014). A History of Women’s Political Thought in Europe, 1700–1800. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Grouchy, S. (2019). Sophie de Grouchy’s Letters on Sympathy. Translated by Sandrine Bergès. Edited by Sandrine Bergès and Eric Schliesser. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Guillois, A. (1904). Thesis presented and passed on 12 December 1904 on Olympe de Gouges, considerations generals sur la mentalité des femmes pendant la revolution. Lyon: Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy. Lyon: A.Rey, Imprimeur-Editeur de l’Université.Google Scholar
Halldenius, L. (2015). Mary Wollstonecraft and Feminist Republicanism. London: Pickering & Chatto.Google Scholar
Harth, E. (1992). Cartesian Women. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Hobbes, T. (1986). Leviathan. Edited by MacPherson, C. B.. London: Penguin.Google Scholar
Hont, I. (2005). Jealousy of Trade. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Israel, J. (2014) Revolutionary Ideas: An Intellectual History of the French Revolution from The Rights of Man to Robespierre. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Kant, I. (1991). An Answer to the Question What Is Enlightenment. In Political Writings. Edited by Reiss, H. S.. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Kéralio, L. (1789). Article in Le Mercure National ou Journal d’État et du citoyen, 20 August. Par Mademoiselle de Keralio & MM. Carra, Masclet et Hugou de Bassville.Google Scholar
Linton, M. (2013). Choosing Terror: Virtue, Friendship, and Authenticity in the French Revolution. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Macaulay, C. (1790) Letters on Education: With Observations on Religious and Metaphysical Subjects. London: C. Dilly.Google Scholar
Momsen, T., Krueger, P., and Watson, A. (1985). The Digest of Justinian, 4 Vols. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.Google Scholar
Monnier, R. (1999). Démocratie et révolution française. In: Mots, 59, juin 1999, 4768.Google Scholar
Mousset, S. (2007). Women’s Rights and the French Revolution: A Biography of Olympe de Gouges. Translated by Joy Poirel. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers.Google Scholar
Offen, K. (2000). European Feminisms, 1700-1950: A Political History. Stanford, CA: Stanford University PressGoogle Scholar
Pateman, C. (1980). ‘The Disorder of Women’: Women, Love and the Sense of Justice. Ethics, 91 (1), 2034.Google Scholar
Pettit, P. (2012). On the People’s Terms. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Pettit, P. (2015). Three Mistakes about Democracy. Kilikya Felsefe Dergisi, 2 (2), 115.Google Scholar
Phillips, R. (1980). Family Breakdown in Late Eighteenth-Century France. Oxford: Clarendon Press.Google Scholar
Prince, M. (2006). The History of Mary Prince, a West Indian Slave, Related by Herself. In Broadview Anthology of British Literature, The Concise Edition, Vol. B. Peterborough: Broadview Press, pp. 263–90.Google Scholar
Ramgotra, M. (2014). Conservative Roots of Republicanism. Theoria: A Journal of Social and Political Theory, 61 (139), 2249.Google Scholar
Reuter, M. (2019). Equality and Difference in Olympe de Gouges’ Les droits de la femme. A La Reine. Australasian Philosophical Review, 3 (4), 403–12.Google Scholar
Robespierre, M. (1792). Speech reported in Gazette Nationale ou Moniteur Universel, 6 November 1792, Convention Nationale, Séance du 5 Novembre.Google Scholar
Roland, M.-J. (1791). Letter to Brissot, 28 April 1791, edited by Brissot and published in the Patriote Français on 30 April 1791.Google Scholar
Roland, M.-J. (1799–1800). Œuvres de J. M. Ph. Roland, femme de l’ex ministre de l’intérieur. Vol. III. Edited by Champagneux, L. A.. Paris: Bidault.Google Scholar
Roland, M.-J. (1827). Mémoires de Madame Roland, avec une notice sur sa vie, des notes et des éclaircissements historiques, Vol. I, 3rd ed. Edited by Berville, Saint-Aubin and Barrière, Jean-François. Paris: Baudoin Frères.Google Scholar
Roland, M.-J. (1864). Mémoires de Madame Roland. New edition, Vol. II. Edited by Faugères, François Alphonse. Paris: Hachette.Google Scholar
Roland, M.-J. (1902). Mémoires de Madame Roland. Perroud, Vol 1. Paris: Plon.Google Scholar
Roubaud, Abbé. (1786). Nouveaux synonymes françois. Vol. 2. Liège: Plomteux.Google Scholar
Rousseau, J.-J. (1997) The Discourses and Other Early Political Writings. Edited by Gourevitch, Victor. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Rousseau, J.-J (1968). Letter to D’Alembert on the Theatre. In Politics and the Arts. Translated by Allan Bloom. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Rousseau, J.-J (1979). Emile, or on Education. Translated by Allan Bloom. New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Saint-Pierre, J.-H.-B. (1836). Vœux pour une éducation nationale. In Oeuvres de Jacques-Henri-Bernardin de Saint-Pierre, Vol. 11. Edited by Aimé-Martin, L.. Paris: chez Méquignon-Marvis, libraire.Google Scholar
Scott, J. (1997). Only Paradoxes to Offer: French Feminists and the Rights of Man. Boston, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Scurr, R. (2013). Varieties of Democracy in the French Revolution. In Joanna Innes and Mark Philp, eds., Re-imagining Democracy in the Age of Revolutions: America, France, Britain, Ireland 1750–1850. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 5768.Google Scholar
Sherman, C. L. (2013). Reading Olympe de Gouges. New York: Palgrave Macmillan US.Google Scholar
Sieyès, E. J. (1789). Préliminaire de la Constitution. Versailles: Imprimerie Pierre.Google Scholar
Sieyès, E. J. (2003). What is the Third Estate? In Political Writings, including the Debate between Sieyès and Tom Paine 1791. Translated and edited by Sonenscher, Michael. Indianapolis: Hackett.Google Scholar
Skinner, Q. (1998). Liberty before Liberalism., Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Smart, A. (2011). Citoyennes: Women and the Ideal of Citizenship in Eighteenth-Century France. Newark: University of Delaware Press.Google Scholar
Theriot, N. M. (1993). Women’s Voices in Nineteenth-Century Medical Discourse: A Step toward Deconstructing Science. Signs 19 (1), 131.Google Scholar
Trouille, M. S. (1997). Sexual Politics in the Enlightenment. Albany, NY: SUNY Press.Google Scholar
Wollstonecraft, M. (2014). A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. Edited by Botting, Eileen Hunt. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar

Save element to Kindle

To save this element to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Olympe de Gouges
Available formats
×

Save element to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Olympe de Gouges
Available formats
×

Save element to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Olympe de Gouges
Available formats
×