file was produced from images of public 
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,liberty47                              
,,the ,,first ,,essay                   
,,on                     ,the ,political
 ,rights of ,women4            ,a       
,translation of ,,condorcet',s ,essay   
,sur l'admission             des femmes 
au droit de ,cit 7,on the ,admission    
of ,women to the ,rights of             
,citizenship74                          
--,collected ,writings1 #aghi4          
,,by                       ,,dr4 ,,alice
 ,,drysdale ,,vickery4                  
7,,with ,,preface ,,and ,,remarks47     
,,letchworth3                           
,,garden ,,city ,,press ,,limited4      
,price ,twopence4     ,preface4   ,more 
than one hundred years have passed away 
since1 in #aghi1 the ,marquis de        
,condorcet wrote his ,esquisse sur      
l',admission des ,femmes au ,droit de   
,cit1 and yet the problem of women's    
enfranchisement still awaits an         

equitable solution4 ,those of us who are
 old enough to remember the inauguration
 of the popular movement for the        
extension of the franchise to women     
7which may be dated from the day in     
which our late noble leader1 ,,john     
,,stuart ,,mill1 addressed the ,house of
 ,commons on this subject1 in ,may1     
#ahfg71 feel that our lives are passing 
away while wearily awaiting the dilatory
 educational development of mankind in  
this question4  ,the essential          
principles of our claim have been       
reiterated again and again4 ,we form    
one-half of the human race1 and need    
recognition by the law as much as the   
other half of the race4 ,but1 as long as
 our law-makers are not directly        
responsible to us for their conduct in  
,parliament1 they may1 and do1 safely   
neglect our interests1 and pass laws    
which jeopardise our liberties and      
subordinate our just rights of person1  
property1 and offspring to the supposed 
interests of the men whom they          

represent4  ,the spirit which animates  
,parliament pervades the whole of our   
social life2 and women suffer from lack 
of educational facilities1 and from     
obstacles to success in industrial and  
professional life1 in ways which have no
 parallel in the case of men4 ,all these
 things have been urged again and again 
until we are weary of repeating them2   
and we ask ourselves1 as we mentally    
review our position1 ,where shall we    
find some new argument wherewith to     
arrest the attention1 and compel the    
action1 of those who have the power1 but
 seem to lack the will1 to do justice8  
,it is curious to note that the great   
point on which the mass of men seem     
united is their sex4 ,prejudices of     
race1 of caste1 of colour may be        
overcome2 but the pride of sex remains4 
,rights of citizenship are accorded to  
the small shopkeeper1 artisan1 lodger1  
agricultural labourer1 and to the       
illiterate who knows no difference      
between one party and the other1 either 

as to tendencies or methods of          
government4 ,the ,anglo-,saxon confers  
rights of citizenship upon the          
foreigner1 upon the negro 7as in the    
,united ,states71 upon the ,maori 7as in
 ,new ,zealand7--the last of whom1      
sitting in the ,new ,zealand ,house of  
,representatives1 helped to maintain    
this glorious prerogative of sex by     
giving their casting-votes against a    
measure intended to meet the claims of  
the ,anglo-,saxon women in ,new         
,zealand4#a      #a ,the ,parliamentary 
,franchise was conferred on the women of
     ,new ,zealand in #ahic1 the same   
year in which the above was     printed4
 ,in #aijg the ,hon4 ,r4 ,oliver1 late  
member of the     ,legislative ,council1
 writes3 ,the interest now taken by     
women     in ,new ,zealand in the       
politics of the country is remarkable1  
and is regarded as a decided gain to the
 community4  ,and all this despite the  
admitted fact that the social and       
economic problems1 which are coming more

 and more into the field of             
parliamentary labours1 are all but      
incapable of solution without the help  
of enfranchised women4  ,must women1    
then1 following the example of men1     
learn to put sex in the first place and 
regard all other interests as secondary8
 ,is this really what men wish to force 
women to do8 ,one would think not4 ,at  
present women have not adopted any such 
principle of action4 ,they are divided  
rather than otherwise1 according to the 
relations they occupy with regard to    
men4 ,the married woman1 on the one     
hand1 seems opposed to the claims of the
 widowed and single1 on the other--and  
vice vers2 and both together combine to 
ostracise some of their own sex4 ,it    
seems probable1 however1 that we women  
will have to learn to drop all such     
rivalries1 and determine to form one    
vast organisation1 which shall include  
within its ranks all sorts and          
conditions of women1 and shall extend   
over the whole of the ,united ,kingdom1 

if we would not see this nineteenth     
century completed without ,woman's      
,emancipation becoming an accomplished  
fact4                                   
7,,dr47 ,,alice ,,vickery4     ,on the  
,admission of ,women to the ,rights of  
,citizenship4  ,,by ,,the ,,marquis ,,de
 ,,condorcet4   ,custom may familiarise 
mankind with the violation of their     
natural rights to such an extent1 that  
even among those who have lost or been  
deprived of these rights1 no one thinks 
of reclaiming them1 or is even conscious
 that they have suffered any injustice4 
,certain of these violations 7of natural
 right7 have escaped the notice of      
philosophers and legislators1 even while
 concerning themselves zealously to     
establish the common rights of          
individuals of the human race1 and in   
this way to lay the foundation of       
political institutions4 ,for example1   
have they not all violated the principle
 of the equality of rights in tranquilly
 depriving one-half of the human race of

 the right of taking part in the        
formation of laws by the exclusion of   
women from the rights of citizenship8   
,could there be a stronger proof of the 
power of habit1 even among enlightened  
men1 than to hear invoked the principle 
of equal rights in favour of perhaps    
some #cjj or #djj men1 who had been     
deprived of it by an absurd prejudice1  
and forget it when it concerns some     
#ab1jjj1jjj women8  ,to show that this  
exclusion is not an act of tyranny1 it  
must be proved either that the natural  
rights of women are not absolutely the  
same as those of men1 or that women are 
not capable of exercising these rights4 
,but the rights of men result simply    
from the fact that they are rational1   
sentient beings1 susceptible of         
acquiring ideas of morality1 and of     
reasoning concerning those ideas4 ,women
 having1 then1 the same qualities1 have 
necessarily the same rights4 ,either no 
individual of the human species has any 
true rights1 or all have the same2 and  

he or she who votes against the rights  
of another1 whatever may be his or her  
religion1 colour1 or sex1 has by that   
fact abjured his own4  ,it would be     
difficult to prove that women are       
incapable of exercising the rights of   
citizenship4 ,although liable to become 
mothers of families1 and exposed to     
other passing indispositions1 why may   
they not exercise rights of which it has
 never been proposed to deprive those   
persons who periodically suffer from    
gout1 bronchitis1 etc48 ,admitting for  
the moment that there exists in men a   
superiority of mind1 which is not the   
necessary result of a difference of     
education 7which is by no means proved1 
but which should be1 to permit of women 
being deprived of a natural right       
without injustice71 this inferiority can
 only consist in two points4 ,it is said
 that no woman has made any important   
discovery in science1 or has given any  
proofs of the possession of genius in   
arts1 literature1 etc42 but1 on the     

other hand1 it is not pretended that the
 rights of citizenship should be        
accorded only to men of genius4 ,it is  
added that no woman has the same extent 
of knowledge1 the same power of         
reasoning1 as certain men2 but what     
results from that8 ,only this1 that with
 the exception of a limited number of   
exceptionally enlightened men1 equality 
is absolute between women and the       
remainder of the men2 that this small   
class apart1 inferiority and superiority
 are equally divided between the two    
sexes4 ,but since it would be completely
 absurd to restrict to this superior    
class the rights of citizenship and the 
power of being entrusted with public    
functions1 why should women be excluded 
any more than those men who are inferior
 to a great number of women8 ,lastly1   
shall it be said that there exists in   
the minds and hearts of women certain   
qualities which ought to exclude them   
from the enjoyment of their natural     
rights8 ,let us interrogate the facts4  

,elizabeth of ,england1 ,maria ,theresa1
 the two ,catherines of ,russia--have   
they not shown that neither in courage  
nor in strength of mind are women       
wanting8  ,elizabeth possessed all the  
failings of women4 ,did these failings  
work more harm during her reign than    
resulted from the failings of men during
 the reign of her father1 ,henry        
,,viii41 or her successor1 ,james ,i48  
,have the lovers of certain empresses   
exercised a more dangerous influence    
than the mistresses of ,louis ,,xiv41 of
 ,louis ,,xv41 or even of ,henry ,,iv48 
,will it be maintained that ,mistress   
,macaulay would not have expressed her  
opinions in the ,house of ,commons      
better than many representatives of the 
,british nation8 ,in dealing with the   
question of liberty of conscience1 would
 she not have expressed more elevated   
principles than those of ,pitt1 as well 
as more powerful reasoning8 ,although as
 great an enthusiast on behalf of       
liberty as ,mr4 ,burke could be on      

behalf of its opposite1 would she1 while
 defending the ,french ,constitution1   
have made use of such absurd and        
offensive nonsense as that which this   
celebrated rhetorician made use of in   
attacking it8 ,would not the adopted    
daughter of ,montaigne have better      
defended the rights of citizens in      
,france1 in #afad1 than the ,councillor 
,courtin1 who was a believer in magic   
and occult powers8 ,was not the         
,princesse des ,ursins superior to      
,chamillard8 ,could not the ,marquise de
 ,chatelet have written equally as well 
as ,m4 ,rouill8 ,would ,mme4 de ,lambert
 have made laws as absurd and as        
barbarous as those of the garde des     
,sceaux1 of ,armenouville1 against      
,protestants1 invaders of domestic      
privacy1 robbers and negroes8 ,in       
looking back over the list of those who 
have governed the world1 men have       
scarcely the right to be so very        
uplifted4  ,women are superior to men in
 the gentle and domestic virtues2 they1 

as well as men1 know how to love        
liberty1 although they do not           
participate in all its advantages2 and  
in republics they have been known to    
sacrifice themselves for it4 ,they have 
shown that they possess the virtues of  
citizens whenever chance or civil       
disasters have brought them upon a scene
 from which they have been shut out by  
the pride and the tyranny of men in all 
nations4  ,it has been said that women1 
in spite of much ability1 of much       
sagacity1 and of a power of reasoning   
carried to a degree equalling that of   
subtle dialecticians1 yet are never     
governed by what is called reason4      
,this observation is not correct4 ,women
 are not governed1 it is true1 by the   
reason 7and experience7 of men2 they are
 governed by their own reason 7and      
experience74  ,their interests not being
 the same 7as those of men7 by the fault
 of the law1 the same things not having 
the same importance for them as for men1
 they may1 without failing in rational  

conduct1 govern themselves by different 
principles1 and tend towards a different
 result4 ,it is as reasonable for a     
woman to concern herself respecting her 
personal attractions as it was for      
,demosthenes to cultivate his voice and 
his gestures4  ,it is said that women1  
although superior in some respects to   
man--more gentle1 more sensitive1 less  
subject to those vices which proceed    
from egotism and hardness of heart--yet 
do not really possess the sentiment of  
justice2 that they obey rather their    
feelings than their conscience4 ,this   
observation is more correct1 but it     
proves nothing2 it is not nature1 it is 
education1 it is social existence which 
produces this difference4  ,neither the 
one nor the other has habituated women  
to the idea of what is just1 but only to
 the idea of what is honnte1 or         
respectable4 ,excluded from public      
affairs1 from all those things which are
 judged of according to rigorous ideas  
of justice1 or according to positive    

laws1 the things with which they are    
occupied and which are affected by them 
are precisely those which are regulated 
by natural feelings of honesty 7or1     
rather1 propriety7 and of sentiment4 ,it
 is1 then1 unjust to allege as an excuse
 for continuing to refuse to women the  
enjoyment of all their natural rights   
motives which have only a kind of       
reality because women lack the          
experience which comes from the exercise
 of these rights4  ,if reasons such as  
these are to be admitted against women1 
it will become necessary to deprive of  
the rights of citizenship that portion  
of the people who1 devoted to constant  
labour1 can neither acquire knowledge   
nor exercise their reason2 and thus1    
little by little1 only those persons    
would be permitted to be citizens who   
had completed a course of legal study4  
,if such principles are admitted1 we    
must1 as a natural consequence1 renounce
 the idea of a liberal constitution4    
,the various aristocracies have only had

 such principles as these for foundation
 or excuse4 ,the etymology of the word  
is a sufficient proof of this4  ,neither
 can the subjection of wives to their   
husbands be alleged against their       
claims1 since it would be possible in   
the same statute to destroy this tyranny
 of the civil law4 ,the existence of one
 injustice can never be accepted as a   
reason for committing another4  ,there  
remain1 then1 only two objections to    
discuss4 ,and1 in truth1 these can only 
oppose motives of expediency against the
 admission of women to the right of     
voting2 which motives can never be      
upheld as a bar to the exercise of true 
justice4 ,the contrary maxim has only   
too often served as the pretext and     
excuse of tyrants2 it is in the name of 
expediency that commerce and industry   
groan in chains2 and that ,africa       
remains afflicted with slavery3 it was  
in the name of public expediency that   
the ,bastille was crowded2 that the     
censorship of the press was instituted2 

that accused persons were not allowed to
 communicate with their advisers2 that  
torture was resorted to4 ,nevertheless1 
we will discuss these objections1 so as 
to leave nothing without reply4  ,it is 
necessary1 we are warned1 to be on guard
 against the influence exercised by     
women over men4 ,we reply at once that  
this1 like any other influence1 is much 
more to be feared when not exercised    
openly2 and that1 whatever influence may
 be peculiar to women1 if exercised upon
 more than one individual at a time1    
will in so far become proportionately   
lessened4 ,that since1 up to this time1 
women have not been admitted in any     
country to absolute equality2 since     
their empire has none the less existed  
everywhere2 and since the more women    
have been degraded by the laws1 the more
 dangerous has their influence been2 it 
does not appear that this remedy of     
subjection ought to inspire us with much
 confidence4 ,is it not probable1 on the
 contrary1 that their special empire    

would diminish if women had less        
interest in its preservation2 if it     
ceased to be for them their sole means  
of defence1 and of escape from          
persecution8  ,if politeness does not   
permit to men to maintain their opinions
 against women in society1 this         
politeness1 it may be said1 is near akin
 to pride2 we yield a victory of no     
importance2 defeat does not humiliate   
when it is regarded as voluntary4 ,is it
 seriously believed that it would be the
 same in a public discussion on an      
important topic8 ,does politeness forbid
 the bringing of an action at law       
against a woman8  ,but1 it will be said1
 this change will be contrary to general
 expediency1 because it will take women 
away from those duties which nature has 
reserved for them4 ,this objection      
scarcely appears to me well founded4    
,whatever form of constitution may be   
established1 it is certain that in the  
present state of civilisation among     
,european nations there will never be   

more than a limited number of citizens  
required to occupy themselves with      
public affairs4 ,women will no more be  
torn from their homes than agricultural 
labourers from their ploughs1 or        
artisans from their workshops4 ,and1    
among the richer classes1 we nowhere see
 women giving themselves up so          
persistently to domestic affairs that we
 should fear to distract their          
attention2 and a really serious         
occupation or interest would take them  
less away than the frivolous pleasures  
to which idleness1 a want of object in  
life1 and an inferior education have    
condemned them4  ,the principal source  
of this fear is the idea that every     
person admitted to exercise the rights  
of citizenship immediately aspires to   
govern others4 ,this may be true to a   
certain extent1 at a time when the      
constitution is being established1 but  
the feeling can scarcely prove durable4 
,and so it is scarcely necessary to     
believe that because women may become   

members of national assemblies1 they    
would immediately abandon their         
children1 their homes1 and their        
needles4 ,they would only be the better 
fitted to educate their children and to 
rear men4 ,it is natural that a woman   
should suckle her infant2 that she      
should watch over its early childhood4  
,detained in her home by these cares1   
and less muscular than the man1 it is   
also natural that she should lead a more
 retired1 a more domestic life4 ,the    
woman1 therefore1 as well as the man in 
a corresponding class of life1 would be 
under the necessity of performing       
certain duties at certain times         
according to circumstances4 ,this may be
 a motive for not giving her the        
preference in an election1 but it cannot
 be a reason for legal exclusion4       
,gallantry would doubtless lose by the  
change1 but domestic customs would be   
improved by equality in this as in other
 things4  ,up to this time the manners  
of all nations have been more or less   

brutal and corrupt4 ,i only know of one 
exception1 and that is in favour of the 
,americans of the ,united ,states1 who  
are spread1 few in number1 over a wide  
territory4 ,up to this time1 among all  
nations1 legal inequality has existed   
between men and women2 and it would not 
be difficult to show that1 in these two 
phenomena1 the second is one of the     
causes of the first1 because inequality 
necessarily introduces corruption1 and  
is the most common cause of it1 if even 
it be not the sole cause4  ,i now demand
 that opponents should condescend to    
refute these propositions by other      
methods than by pleasantries and        
declamations2 above all1 that they      
should show me any natural difference   
between men and women which may         
legitimately serve as foundation for the
 deprivation of a right4  ,the equality 
of rights established between men by our
 new constitution has brought down upon 
us eloquent declamations and            
never-ending pleasantries2 but up till  

now no one has been able to oppose to it
 one single reason1 and this is         
certainly neither from lack of talent   
nor lack of zeal4 ,i venture to believe 
that it will be the same with regard to 
equality of rights between the two      
sexes4 ,it is sufficiently curious that1
 in a great number of countries1 women  
have been judged incapable of all public
 functions yet worthy of royalty2 that  
in ,france a woman has been able to be  
regent1 and yet that up to #aggf she    
could not be a milliner or dressmaker   
7marchande des modes7 in ,paris1 except 
under cover of her husband's name2#b and
 that1 lastly1 in our elective          
assemblies they have accorded to rights 
of property what they have refused to   
natural right4 ,many of our noble       
deputies owe to ladies the honour of    
sitting among the representatives of the
 nation4 ,why1 instead of depriving of  
this right women who were owners of     
landed estates1 was it not extended to  
all those who possessed property or were

 heads of households8 ,why1 if it be    
found absurd to exercise the right of   
citizenship by proxy1 deprive women of  
this right1 rather than leave them the  
liberty of exercising it in person8     
#b ,before the suppression of jurandes1 
in #aggf1 women     could neither carry 
on a business of a marchande des modes  
7milliner and dressmaker7 nor of any    
other profession     exercised by them1 
unless they were married1 or unless some
     man lent or sold them his name for 
that purpose4--,see     preamble of the 
,edict of #aggf4     ,,remarks4         
,although ,i am not aware of any        
previous translation of the foregoing   
essay1 and do not remember to have seen 
anywhere any allusion to this first     
publication on the subject of woman's   
emancipation1 yet ,i have been struck by
 the close similarity of the arguments  
used by ,j4 ,s4 ,mill and by those who  
have succeeded him in the advocacy of   
women's electoral freedom to those used 
by the ,marquis de ,condorcet in this   

essay4 ,it could not1 indeed1 well be   
otherwise1 since the fundamental        
principle of equal rights1 and equal    
claim to protection in the exercise of  
these rights1 must present itself in the
 same forcible light to any really      
intelligent person who is truly anxious 
to lay down just and fair principles of 
government4 ,that it should be within   
the reach of every individual of the    
human race to attain to the power of    
influencing the ,government under which 
he or she lives1 follows inevitably to  
logical minds1 and the only exceptions  
which can fairly be made are those of   
the immature and the failures4  ,the    
immature1 indeed1 can scarcely be called
 exceptions1 since maturity succeeds    
immaturity--the child becomes the adult2
 and as physical1 moral1 and            
intellectual powers are acquired1 civil 
rights must be accorded4  ,the failures1
 then1 include all those who can with   
due regard to just principles be        
entirely excluded2 and these are the    

idiot1 who never reaches maturity2 the  
lunatic1 who1 becoming diseased1 loses  
the mental and moral characteristics of 
maturity2 and the criminal1 who is      
coming more and more to be looked upon  
as partaking of the character of the    
idiot and the lunatic4 ,i venture to    
think1 then1 that the real issue is     
narrowing itself down to this3 that the 
opponents of women's emancipation really
 regard all women either as perpetually 
immature 7to whom they will accord more 
or less protection1 privilege1 or even  
adoration1 just as they admire the      
innocence of childhood71 or as the      
perpetual failures of the race4  ,if    
women continue to be excluded from      
electoral functions1 it will be because 
a majority of men in their secret hearts
 relegate them to one or other of these 
classes4 ,but there are1 happily1       
increasing numbers of men who are       
perfectly aware of1 and sympathise with 
the indignation of women at the affront 
thus put upon them4 ,these men cannot   

but feel that the insult thus publicly  
affixed to all women affects them also4 
,they say3 ,we are the sons of women1   
and may in our turn also become fathers 
of women4 ,are we1 then1 sons of slaves1
 and shall we in turn create slaves to  
hinder the development and lower the    
morality of our sons8 ,no6 we believe   
that women ought to be free and equal   
before the law1 so that they may become 
mothers of free and equal sons and      
daughters1 helping in each other's      
development1 ennobling and no longer    
enslaving each other4  ,if the issue    
narrows down1 looked at from first      
principles1 it broadens out indefinitely
 as the details of its applications and 
effects come before us4 ,these are wide 
and far-reaching1 and space fails for   
entering upon them here4 ,but in the    
struggles of the labouring classes1 in  
the societies for reform of evils1 for  
the spread of improvements1 in the work 
of the ,county ,council1 etc41 we find  
that women's help is needed1 and that it

 either cannot be given at all1 or is   
miserably curtailed in its power for    
good and useful work1 because it is not 
accompanied by the electoral powers     
which back up men's endeavours4 ,so it  
must remain till the power of the vote  
is granted1 and so does the ,nemesis of 
injustice and inequality before the law 
daily work out its revenge4             
,,transcriber',s ,,note3  ,original     
spelling and punctuation have been      
preserved4 ,two printer's errors have   
been fixed3 on page #c1 the year #ahgi  
has been changed to #aghi4 ,on page #e1 
the second and third lines were         
reversed4 ,the proper word order has    
been restored4