,obvious printer errors have been repaired1 but spelling has not been standardized4 ,a ,,woman',s ,,philosophy ,,of ,,woman2 ,,or ,,woman ,,affranchised4 ,,an ,,answer ,,to ,,michelet1 ,,proudhon1 ,,girardin1 ,,legouv1 ,,comte1 ,,and ,,other ,,modern ,,innovators4 ,,by ,,madame ,d',h,,ricourt4 ,translated from the last ,paris ,edition ,illustration ,,new ,,york3 ,,carleton1 ,,publisher1 #dac ,,broadway4 ,m ,,dccc ,,lxiv4 ,entered according to ,act of ,congress1 in the year #ahfd1 by ,g4 ,w4 ,,carleton1 ,in the ,clerk's ,office of the ,district ,court of the ,southern ,district of ,new ,york4 ,r4 ,,craighead1 ,printer1 ,stereotyper1 and ,electrotyper1 ,carton ,building1 #ha1 #hc1 and #he ,centre ,street4 ,,contents ,,introduction #g ,,preface #i ,,chap4 ,i4 ,,michelet #ag ,,ii4 ,,proudhon #cc ,,iii4 ,,comte #aai ,,iv4 ,,legouve #acd ,v4 ,,de ,,girardin #aee ,,vi4 ,,modern ,,communists #afg ,,vii4 ,,summary #bja ,,part ,,ii4 ,,objections ,,to ,,the ,,emancipation ,,of ,,woman #baa ,,nature ,,and ,,functions ,,of ,,woman #bbd ,,love2 ,,its ,,functions ,,in ,,humanity #bdh ,,marriage #bgj ,,summary ,,of ,,proposed ,,reforms #bid ,,appeal ,,to ,,women #cad ,,introduction ,,to ,,the ,,american ,,edition4 ,the general interest evinced in the theories of ,michelet and other philosophers concerning the functions and province of woman1 and the lively opposition to these theories manifested in many quarters1 have called forth an ,american translation of the present work4 ,this remarkable book of ,madame d',hricourt on woman is conceded to be the best reply to these philosophers extant4 ,the work1 intended by the author as a refutation of the coarse indecency of ,proudhon1 and of the perfumed pruriency of ,michelet1 and the other false friends and would-be champions of woman1 has had a remarkable history4 ,published first at ,brussels1 it was interdicted in ,france1 and notice was given that all copies found would be seized4 ,madame d',hricourt appealed to the censorship to know the reason of this interdiction1 and was informed in reply that the reason for such proceedings never was given4 ,not content with this1 she wrote to ,napoleon ,,iii1 enclosing a copy of the work1 and called his attention to the fact that a book by a ,french author could be suppressed in ,france without any reason being given for it1 and without any chance being offered to the author to clear herself of the implied charge of immorality4 ,immediately upon the reception of the letter1 the ,emperor withdrew the interdiction4 ,madame d',hricourt is well known in ,france as an able contributor to various philosophic journals1 and also as a member of the medical profession1 in which she holds a high and respected position4 ,her opinions are entitled to great weight1 and will be welcomed as throwing much light on the practical question of the sphere of woman1 which is becoming one of increasing interest4 ,the better to adapt the book to the ,american public1 it has been slightly abbreviated in portions of local interest1 referring chiefly to ,french legislation4 ,it has been well received in ,england1 as is testified by the following extract from the ,london ,critic1 one of the ablest of the ,english critical journals3 ,the work is calculated to do an immense service to ,french society at the present time--just when the literature of the country is on the verge of decay from the rottenness which is eating to its very core4 ',la ,femme ,affranchie' points out the remedy to the social cancer which has gnawed away the vital principle of domestic life in ,france1 and caused that antagonism between the sexes which foreigners behold with the most profound amazement4 ,madame d',hricourt's bold and nervous arguments completely destroy the brutal commonplaces of ,proudhon as regards the moral and intellectual capacity of women4 ,she takes him on his own ground1 and to his medical propositions returns medical objections of far greater weight and power1 being more competent to judge the question1 as she has passed examinations as ',maitresse sage femme' of ',la ,clinique1' and received her diploma as medical practitioner many years ago4 ,,author',s ,,preface4 ,,to ,,my ,,readers4 ,readers1 male and female1 ,i am about to tell you the end of this book1 and the motives which caused me to undertake it1 that you may not waste your time in reading it1 if its contents are not suited to your intellectual and moral temperament4 ,my end is to prove that woman has the same rights as man4 ,to claim1 in consequence1 her emancipation2 ,lastly1 to point out to the women who share my views1 the principal measures that they must take to obtain justice4 ,the word emancipation giving room for equivocation1 let us in the first place establish its meaning4 ,to emancipate woman is not to acknowledge her right to use and abuse love2 such an emancipation is only the slavery of the passions2 the use of the beauty and youth of woman by man2 the use of man by woman for his fortune or credit4 ,to emancipate woman is to acknowledge and declare her free1 the equal of man in the social and the moral law1 and in labor4 ,at present1 over the whole surface of the globe1 woman1 in certain respects1 is not subjected to the same moral law as man2 her chastity is given over almost without restriction to the brutal passions of the other sex1 and she often endures alone the consequences of a fault committed by both4 ,in marriage1 woman is a serf4 ,in public instruction1 she is sacrificed4 ,in labor1 she is made inferior4 ,civilly1 she is a minor4 ,politically1 she has no existence4 ,she is the equal of man only when punishment and the payment of taxes are in question4 ,i claim the rights of woman1 because it is time to make the nineteenth century ashamed of its culpable denial of justice to half the human species2 ,because the state of inferiority in which we are held corrupts morals1 dissolves society1 deteriorates and enfeebles the race2 ,because the progress of enlightenment1 in which woman participates1 has transformed her in social power1 and because this new power produces evil in default of the good which it is not permitted to do2 ,because the time for according reforms has come1 since women are protesting against the order which oppresses them2 some by disdain of laws and prejudices2 others by taking possession of contested positions1 and by organizing themselves into societies to claim their share of human rights1 as is done in ,america2 ,lastly1 because it seems to me useful to reply1 no longer with sentimentality1 but with vigor1 to those men who1 terrified by the emancipating movement1 call to their aid false science to prove that woman is outside the pale of right2 and carry indecorum and the opposite of courage1 even to insult1 even to the most revolting outrages4 ,readers1 male and female1 several of the adversaries of the cause which ,i defend1 have carried the discussion into the domain of science1 and have not shrunk before the nudity of biological laws and anatomical details4 ,i praise them for it2 the body being respectable1 there is no indecency in speaking of the laws which govern it2 but as it would be an inconsistency on my part to believe that blamable in myself which ,i approve in them1 you will not be surprised that ,i follow them on the ground which they have chosen1 persuaded that ,science1 the chaste daughter of ,thought1 can no more lose her chastity under the pen of a pure woman than under that of a pure man4 ,readers1 male and female1 ,i have but one request to make2 namely1 that you will pardon my simplicity of style4 ,it would have cost me too much pains to write in the approved fashion2 it is probable1 besides1 that ,i should not have succeeded4 ,my work is one of conscience4 ,if ,i enlighten some1 if ,i make others reflect2 if ,i awaken in the heart of men the sentiment of justice1 in that of women the sentiment of their dignity2 if ,i am clear to all1 fully comprehended by all1 useful to all1 even to my adversaries1 it will satisfy me and will console me for displeasing those who love ideas only as they love women3 in full dress4 ,,to ,,my ,,adversaries4 ,many among you1 gentlemen1 adversaries of the great and holy cause which ,i defend1 have cited me1 evidently without having read me1 without even knowing how to write my name4 ,to such as these ,i have nothing to say1 unless that their opinion matters little to me4 ,others1 who have taken the trouble to read my preceding works in the ,revue ,philosophique and the ,ragione1 accuse me of not writing like a woman1 of being harsh1 unsparing to my adversaries1 nothing but a reasoning machine1 lacking heart4 ,gentlemen1 ,i cannot write otherwise than as a woman1 since ,i have the honor to be a woman4 ,if am ,i harsh and unsparing to my adversaries1 it is because they appear to me to be those of reason and of justice2 it is because they1 the strong and well armed1 attack harshly and unsparingly a sex which they have taken care to render timid and to disarm2 it is1 in short1 because ,i believe it perfectly lawful to defend weakness against tyranny which has the audacity and insolence to erect itself into right4 ,if ,i appear to you in the unattractive aspect of a reasoning machine1 is1 in the first place1 because ,nature has made me so1 and ,i see no good reason for modifying her work2 secondly1 because it is not amiss for a woman that has attained majority to prove to you that her sex1 when not fearing your judgment1 reasons as well1 and1 often1 better than you4 ,i have no heart1 you say4 ,i am lacking in it1 perhaps1 towards tyrants1 but the conflict that ,i undertake proves that ,i am not lacking in it towards their victims2 ,i have therefore a sufficient quantity of it1 the more1 inasmuch as ,i neither desire to please you1 nor care to be loved by any among you4 ,be advised by me1 gentlemen2 break yourselves of the habit of confounding heart with nerves2 cease to create an imaginary type of woman to make it the standard of your judgment of real women2 it is thus that you pervert your reason and become1 without wishing it1 the thing of all others the most hateful and least estimable--tyrants4 ,,to ,,my ,,friends4 ,now to you1 my friends1 known and unknown1 a few lines of thanks4 ,you all comprehend that woman1 as a human being1 has the right to develop herself1 and to manifest1 like man1 her spontaneity2 ,that she has the right1 like man1 to employ her activity2 that she has the right1 like man1 to be respected in her dignity and in the use which she sees fit to make of her free will4 ,that as half in the social order1 a producer1 a tax-payer1 amenable to the laws1 she has the right to count as half in society4 ,you all comprehend that it is in the enjoyment of these various rights that her emancipation consists2 not in the faculty of making use of love outside a moral law based on justice and self respect4 ,thanks first to you1 ,ausonio ,franchi1 the representative of ,critical ,philosophy in ,italy1 a man as eminent for the profundity of your ideas as for the impartiality and elevation of your character2 and who so generously and so long lent the columns of your ,ragione to my first labors4 ,thanks to you1 my beloved co-laborers of the ,revue ,philosophique of ,paris1 ,charles ,lemonnier1 ,massol1 ,guepin1 ,brothier1 etc41 who have not hesitated to bring to light the question of the emancipation of my sex2 who have welcomed the works of a woman to your columns with so much impartiality1 and have on all occasions expressed for me interest and sympathy4 ,thanks to you1 in particular1 my oldest friend1 ,charles ,fauvety1 the indefatigable searcher after truth1 whose elegant1 refined and limpid style is solely and constantly at the service of progressive ideas and generous aspirations1 as your rich library and your counsels are at the service of those who are seeking to enlighten humanity4 ,why1 alas6 do you join to so many talents and noble qualities the fault of always remaining in the background to give place to others6 ,thanks to you1 ,charles ,renouvier1 the most learned representative of ,critical ,philosophy in ,france1 who join to such profound doctrine1 such acute perception and such sureness of judgment2 ,i would add1 such modesty and unpretending virtue1 did ,i not know that it displeases you to bring you before the public4 ,it is from your encouragement and approbation1 my friends and former co-laborers1 that ,i have drawn the strength necessary to the work ,i am undertaking2 it is just1 therefore1 that ,i should thank you in the presence of all4 ,it is equally just that ,i should publicly express my gratitude to the ,italian1 ,english1 ,dutch1 ,american and ,german journals that have translated many of my articles2 and to the men and women of these different countries as well as of ,france1 who have kindly expressed sympathy for me1 and encouraged me in the struggle which ,i have undertaken against the adversaries of the rights of my sex4 ,to you all1 my friends1 both ,frenchmen and foreigners1 ,i dedicate this work4 ,may it be useful everywhere in the triumph of the liberty of woman1 and of the equality of all before the law2 this is the sole wish that a ,frenchwoman can make who believes in the unity of the human family1 as well as in the legitimacy of national autonomies1 and who loves all nations1 since all are the organs of a single great body1--,humanity4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,,michelet4 ,several women have sharply criticised ,michelet's ,love4 ,why are intelligent women thus dissatisfied with so upright a man as ,michelet8 ,because to him woman is a perpetual invalid1 who should be shut up in a gynceum in company with a dairy maid1 as fit company only for chickens and turkeys4 ,now we1 women of the west1 have the audacity to contend that we are not invalids1 and that we have a holy horror of the harem and the gynceum4 ,woman1 according to ,michelet1 is a being of a nature opposite to that of man2 a creature weak1 always wounded1 exceedingly barometrical1 and1 consequently1 unfit for labor4 ,she is incapable of abstracting1 of generalizing1 of comprehending conscientious labors4 ,she does not like to occupy herself with business1 and she is destitute1 in part1 of judicial sense4 ,but1 in return1 she is revealed all gentleness1 all love1 all grace1 all devotion4 ,created for man1 she is the altar of his heart1 his refreshment1 his consolation4 ,in her presence he gains new vigor1 becomes inspirited1 draws the strength necessary to the accomplishment of his high mission as worker1 creator1 organizer4 ,he should love her1 watch over her1 maintain her2 be at once her father1 her lover1 her instructor1 her priest1 her physician1 her nurse1 and her waiting-maid4 ,when1 at eighteen1 a virgin in reason1 heart and body1 she is given to this husband1 who should be twenty-eight1 neither more nor less1 he confines her in the country in a charming cottage1 at a distance from her parents and friends1 with the rustic maid that we just mentioned4 ,why this sequestration in the midst of the nineteenth century1 do you ask8 ,because the husband can have no power over his wife in society1 and can have full power over her in solitude4 ,now1 it is necessary that he should have this full power over her1 since it belongs to him to form her heart1 to give her ideas1 to sketch within her the incarnation of himself4 ,for know1 readers1 that woman is destined to reflect her husband1 more and more1 until the last shade of difference1 namely1 that which is maintained by the separation of the sexes1 shall be at last effaced by death1 and unity in love be thus effected4 ,at the end of half a score years of housekeeping1 the wife is permitted to cross the threshold of the gynceum1 and to enter the world1 or the great ,battle of ,life4 ,here she will meet more than one danger2 but she will escape them all if she keeps the oath she has taken to make her husband her confessor4444 ,it is evident that ,michelet respects the rights of the soul4 ,the husband1 who at this epoch has become absorbed in his profession1 has necessarily degenerated1 hence there is danger that the wife may love another2 may become enamored1 for instance1 of her young nephew4 ,in the book1 she does not succumb1 because she confesses everything to her husband2 still it may happen that she succumbs1 then repents1 and solicits correction from her lord and master4 ,the latter should at first refuse1 but1 if she insists1 rather than drive her to despair1 ,michelet--who would on no account drive a woman to despair--counsels the husband to administer to his wife the chastisement that mothers infliction inflict on their darlings4 ,there must be no separation between the husband and wife2 when the latter has given herself away1 she is no longer her own property4 ,she becomes more and more the incarnation of the man who has espoused her2 fecundation transforms her into him1 so that the children of the lover or of the second husband resemble the first impregnator4 ,the husband1 being ten years older than the wife1 dies first2 the woman must preserve her widowhood2 her rle henceforth until death is to fructify within her and about her the ideas which her husband has bequeathed1 to remain the center of his friendships1 to raise up to him posthumous disciples1 and thus remain his property until she rejoins him in death4 ,in case the husband survives1 which may happen1 the author does not tell us whether he should re-marry4 ,probably not1 since love exists only between two2 unless ,michelet1 who reproves polygamy in this world1 admits it as morality in the life to come4 ,you see1 my readers1 that in ,michelet's book1 woman is created for man2 without him she would be nothing2 he it is who pronounces the fiat lux in her intellect2 he it is who makes her in his image1 as ,god made man in his own4 ,accepting the ,biblical ,genesis1 we women can appeal from ,adam to ,god2 for it was not ,adam1 but ,god1 who created ,eve4 ,admitting the ,genesis of ,michelet1 there is no pretext1 no excuse for disobedience2 woman must be subordinate to man and must yield to him1 for she belongs to him as the work to the workman1 as the vessel to the potter4 ,the book of ,michelet and the two studies of ,proudhon on woman1 are but two forms of the same thought4 ,the sole difference that exists between these gentlemen is1 that the first is as sweet as honey1 and the second as bitter as wormwood4 ,nevertheless1 ,i prefer the rude assailant to the poet2 for insults and blows rouse us to rebel and to clamor for liberty1 while compliments lull us to sleep and make us weakly endure our chains4 ,it would be somewhat cruel to be harsh to ,michelet1 who piques himself on love and poetry1 and1 consequently1 is thin skinned2 we will therefore castigate him only over the shoulders of ,m4 ,proudhon1 who may be cannonaded with red-hot shot2 and we will content ourselves with criticising in his book what is not found in that of ,proudhon4 ,the two chief pillars of the book on ,love are1 ,first1 that woman is a wounded1 weak1 barometrical1 constantly diseased being2 ,second1 that the woman belongs to the man who has fructified and incarnated himself in her2 a proposition proved by the resemblance of the children of the wife to the husband1 whoever may be the father4 ,michelet and his admirers and disciples do not dispute that the only good method of proving the truth of a principle1 or the legitimateness of a generalization1 is verification by facts2 neither do they dispute that to make general rules of exceptions1 to create imaginary laws1 and to take these pretended laws for the basis of argument1 belongs only to the aberrations of the ,middle ,age1 profoundly disdained by men of earnest thought and severe reason4 ,let us apply these data unsparingly to the two principal affirmations of ,m4 ,michelet4 ,it is a principle in biology that no physiological condition is a morbid condition2 consequently1 the monthly crisis peculiar to woman is not a disease1 but a normal phenomenon1 the derangement of which causes disturbance in the general health4 ,woman1 therefore1 is not an invalid because her sex is subject to a peculiar law4 ,can it be said that woman is wounded because she is subjected to a periodical fracture1 the cicatrice of which is almost imperceptible8 ,by no means4 ,it would be absurd to call a man perpetually wounded who should take a fancy to scratch the end of his finger every month4 ,michelet is too well informed to render it necessary for me to tell him that the normal hemorrhage does not proceed from this wound of the ovary1 about which he makes so much ado1 but from a congestion of the gestative organ4 ,are women ill on the recurrence of the law peculiar to their sex8 ,very exceptionally1 yes2 but in the indolent classes1 in which transgressions in diet1 the lack of an intelligent physical education1 and a thousand causes which ,i need not point out here1 render women valetudinarians4 ,generally1 no4 ,all our vigorous peasant women1 our robust laundresses1 who stand the whole time with their feet in water1 our workwomen1 our tradeswomen1 our teachers1 our servant-maids1 who attend with alacrity to their business and pleasures1 experience no uncomfortableness1 or at most1 very little4 ,michelet1 therefore1 has not only erred in erecting a physiological law into a morbid condition1 but he has also sinned against rational method by making general rules of a few exceptions1 and by proceeding from this generalization1 contradicted by the great majority of facts1 to construct a system of subjection4 ,if it is of the faculty of abstracting and generalizing that ,michelet1 as he employs it1 robs woman1 we can only congratulate her on the deprivation4 ,not only is woman diseased1 says ,michelet1 in consequence of a biological law1 but she is always diseased2 she has uterine affections1 hereditary tendencies1 which may assume a terrible form in her sex1 etc4 ,we would ask ,michelet whether he considers his own sex as always diseased because it is corroded by cancer1 disfigured by eruptions1 tortured as much as ours by hereditary tendencies2 for hereditary tendencies torture it as much as ours1 and it is decimated and enfeebled far more fearfully by shameful diseases1 the fruits of its excesses4 ,of what1 then1 is ,michelet thinking1 in laying such stress on the diseases of women in the face of the quite as numerous diseases of men8 ,the wife should never be divorced or re-marry1 because she has become the property of the husband4 ,this is proved by the fact that the children of the lover or of the second husband resemble the first husband4 ,if this is true1 there are no children that resemble their mother4 ,there are no children that resemble the progenitors or collateral relatives of their parents4 ,every child resembles the first that knew his mother4 ,can you explain1 then1 why it is that so often he does not resemble him8 ,why he resembles a grandfather1 an uncle1 an aunt1 a brother1 a sister of one of the parents8 ,why1 in certain cities in the south of ,france1 the inhabitants have preserved the ,greek type1 ascribed to the women1 instead of that of their barbaric fathers8 ,why negresses who conceive from a white1 bring into the world a mulatto1 oftenest with thick lips1 a flat nose1 and woolly hair8 ,why many children resemble portraits which had attracted the attention of the mother8 ,why1 in fine1 physiologists1 impressed by numerous facts1 have thought themselves justified in declaring woman the preserver of the type8 ,in the face of these undeniable facts1 ,i ask you1 yourself1 what becomes of your theory8 ,it returns to the domain of chimeras4 ,some think that woman possesses a plastic force1 which makes her mould her fruit after the model which love1 hate1 or fear has impressed within her brain2 so that the child thus becomes merely a sort of photograph of a cerebral image of the mother4 ,by the aid of this theory1 we might explain the resemblance of the child to the father1 to the first husband1 to beloved relatives or to friends1 either living or dead2 but it would be impossible1 thereby1 to explain how a woman can reproduce in her child the features of a progenitor of her husband or of herself1 whose portrait1 even1 she has never seen2 or how1 in spite of her wishes1 the child resembles no one that she loves1 etc4 ,let us keep a discreet silence2 the laws of generation and of resemblance are unknown4 ,if we succeed in discovering them1 it will be only by long and patient observation1 with the aid of judicious criticism1 and an honorable determination to be impartial4 ,laws are not created1 but discovered2 ignorance is more healthful for the mind than error2 to make general rules of a few facts1 without taking into account facts more numerous by thousands which contradict them1 is not to form a science1 but a system of poetical metaphysics2 and these metaphysics1 however gracefully draped they may be1 are opposed to reason1 to science1 and to truth4 ,michelet will pardon me this short lesson in method4 ,i should not presume to give it to him1 were not men repeating1 like well-trained parrots1 after him and ,proudhon1 that woman is destitute of high intellectual faculties1 that she is unsuited to science1 that she has no comprehension of method1 and other absurdities of like weight4 ,allegations such as these place women in a wholly exceptional position1 with respect to courtesy and reserve3 they owe no consideration to those who deny them these2 their most important business at the present time is to prove to men that they deceive themselves1 and that they are deceived2 that a woman is fully capable of teaching the chief among them how a law is discovered1 how its reality is verified1 how1 and on what conditions we have a right to believe1 and to style ourselves1 rational1 and rationalists4 ,before concluding1 let us dwell on a few passages of the book on ,love4 ,i am curious to know what woman ,michelet addresses when he says3 ,spare me your elaborate discussions on the equality of the sexes4 ,woman is not only our equal1 but in many points our superior4 ,sooner or later she will know everything4 ,the question to decide here is1 whether she should know all in her first season of love4 ,oh1 how much she would lose by it6 ,youth1 freshness1 poetry--does she wish1 at the first blow1 to abandon all these8 ,is she in such haste to grow old8 ,pardon me1 sir2 you have already decreed that there are no longer any old women2 nothing1 therefore1 can make woman grow old4 ,there is knowledge of all kinds1 you say2 likewise1 at all ages1 the knowledge of woman should be different from that of man4 ,it is less science that she needs1 than the essence of science1 and its living elixir4 ,what is this essence1 and this living elixir of science8 ,poetry aside1 can you1 in exact and definite terms1 explain to me what they mean8 ,can you prove to me1 a woman1 that ,i desire to possess knowledge differently from you8 ,take care6 disciple of liberty1 you have not the right to think and to wish in my place4 ,i have1 like you1 an intellect and a free will1 to which you are bound1 by your principles1 to pay sovereign respect4 ,now ,i forbid you to speak for any woman2 ,i forbid you in the name of what you call the rights of the soul4 ,you by no means deny1 you say1 that1 strictly speaking1 a young woman can read everything1 and inform herself of everything2 can pass through all the ordeals to which the mind of man is subjected1 and still remain pure4 ,you only maintain1 you add1 that her soul1 withered by reading1 palled by novels1 living habitually on the stimulus of play-houses1 on the aqua-fortis of criminal courts1 will become1 not corrupted1 perhaps1 but vulgar1 common1 trivial1 like the curb-stone in the street4 ,this curb-stone is a good stone2 you have only to break it to see that it is white within4 ,this does not hinder it from being sadly soiled outside1 in every respect as dirty as the street gutter from which it has been splashed4 ,is this1 madam1 the ideal to which you lay claim for her who should remain the temple of man1 the altar of his heart1 whence he daily rekindles the flame of pure love8 ,a truce to imagery and oratorical outbursts2 none of us demand for woman any degradation whatever4 ,there would be no need for us to demand what you censure1 since it is thoroughly authorized and practised4 ,i by no means wish to accuse you of bad faith1 of want of reflection1 and of too much moral tolerance2 yet let us strip off your poetic mantle1 and translate your thought into prose2 the drapery will no longer make us forget the idea4 ,when instruction has been demanded for the people1 has any one ever taken it into his head to fancy that the point in question was to make them read novels1 to swell the attendance on criminal courts1 and to multiply theatres8 ,no1 you will say4 ,what authorizes you1 then1 to believe that those who demand a solid education for woman1 are seeking that of of which you1 on your part1 do not dream for the people8 ,on the other hand1 do you cultivate the intellect of man by novels1 theatres1 and spectacles of criminal courts8 ,is it in these things that his knowledge consists8 ,no1 you will say4 ,what is there1 then1 in common between that which you censure1 and the knowledge that we desire for woman2 and why attribute to us absurd ideas1 that you may have the pleasure of wrangling with phantoms8 ,all your fine ladies are nurtured on novels1 plays1 and judicial excitements2 yet they are neither vulgar1 nor trivial1 nor comparable to curb-stones sullied by the mud of the streets2 what you tell them1 therefore1 is no more true than kind4 ,but if you pay them doubtful compliments1 which they do not deserve1 you absolve them too easily1 in turn4 ,listen to our principles1 that you may not run the risk of appearing unjust with respect to us4 ,corruption in our eyes1 is not merely the want of chastity1 or the shameful suit of gallantry1 but all habitual improper sentiment1 all weakening of the moral sense1 and we absolutely condemn everything which has power to lessen the sensibility of the soul1 and to turn it aside from the practice of justice1 of virtue1 and of self-respect4 ,in consequence1 we profess that the spectacles of criminal courts habituate the heart to insensibility1 and should be avoided as much as executions4 ,we profess that the modern drama is generally evil1 because it excites interest for adulterers1 robbers1 seducers and prostitutes2 that the intellect is subjected in theatres to an unhealthy and enervating atmosphere4 ,we profess1 lastly1 that novels should be read with great moderation1 because1 in general1 when they do not corrupt the morals1 they pervert the judgment and waste precious time4 ,though we love and esteem ,art1 we are indignant at the bad use which is made of it1 and we have little esteem for those who avail themselves of it to lead the heart astray1 and to pervert the moral sense4 ,we say to woman3 ,educate yourselves1 be worthy and chaste2 life is earnest1 employ it earnestly4 ,you see that woman in the image of the stained curb-stone1 is by no means the ideal of which we dream4 ,can you1 a man of heart1 can you treat women as wretched and corrupt because they are willing no longer to be slaves8 ,and besides1 do you think that liberty1 which in man engenders individuality and virtue1 would produce in woman moral degradation8 ,ah6 leave these calumnies to those who have no heart2 they ill befit you1 who may deceive yourself through the lofty poetry of your soul1 but who can wish for evil only because you believe it to be good4 ,the women who ask to be free1 great1 mistaken poet1 are those who are conscious of their dignity1 of the true rle of their sex in humanity2 those who desire that the women who follow them in the career of labor should no longer be obliged to live by man1 because to live by him is at least to prostitute their dignity1 and almost always1 their whole person4 ,they wish that woman should be the equal of man1 in order to love him holily1 to devote herself without calculation1 to cease to deceive him or to rule him by artifice1 and to become to him a useful auxiliary1 instead of a servant or a toy4 ,they know our influence over you2 slaves1 we can only debase you2 at present1 we render you cowardly1 selfish1 and dishonest2 we send you out every morning1 like vultures1 upon society1 to provide for our foolish expenses or to endow our children2 we1 women of emancipation1 are unwilling that our sex should longer play this odious rle1 and be1 through its slavery1 an instrument of demoralization and of social degradation1--and this you impute to us as a crime6 ,ah6 ,i do not believe it2 you yourself will say that ,i ought not to believe it4 ,looking from a deplorably narrow stand point1 you fancied that you saw all woman-kind in a few valetudinarians1 your kind heart was moved for them1 and you sought to protect them4 ,had you looked far and high1 you would have seen the workers of thought and muscle2 you would have comprehended that inequality is to them a source of corruption and suffering4 ,then1 in your lofty and glowing style1 you would have written1 not this book of ,love which repels all intelligent and reflective women1 but a great and beautiful work to demand the right of half the human race4 ,the misfortune1 the irreparable misfortune1 is that instead of climbing to the mountain top to look at every moving thing under the vast horizon1 you have shut yourself up in a narrow valley1 where1 seeing nothing but pale violets1 you have concluded that every flower must be also a pale violet2 whilst ,nature has created a thousand other species1 on the contrary1 strong and vigorous1 with a right1 like you1 to earth1 air1 water and sunshine4 ,whatever may be your love1 your kindness and your good intentions towards woman1 your book would be immensely dangerous to the cause of her liberty1 if men were in a mood to relish your ethics3 but they will remain as they are2 and the dignity of woman1 kept waking by their brutality1 their despotism1 their desertion1 their foul morals1 will not be lulled to sleep under the fresh1 verdant1 alluring and treacherously perfumed foliage of this manchineel tree1 called the book of ,love4 ,in ,michelet's later work1 ,woman1 by the side of many beautiful pages full of heart and poetry are found things that we regret to point out1 for the sake of the author4 ,m4 ,michelet has evidently amended1 as we shall press on him2 but as a spice of vengeance1 he pretends that their language has been dictated by directors1 philosophers and others4 ,we know some of these ladies personally1 and can assure him that they have had no director of any kind--quite the contrary4 ,is it also in consequence of rancor that the author pretends that woman loves man1 not for his real worth1 but because he pleases her1 and that she makes ,god in her own image1 a ,god of partiality and caprice1 who saves those who please him8 ,in feminine theology1 adds ,michelet1 ,god would say3 ,i love thee because thou art a sinner1 because thou hast no merit2 ,i have no reason to love thee1 but it is sweet to me to forgive4 ,very well1 your sex loves woman for her real worth2 we never hear a man1 enamored of some unworthy creature1 say3 ,what matters it1 ,i love her6 ,your love is always wise1 and given reasonably2 none but deserving women can please you4 ,i ask why so many honest women are abandoned and unhappy1 while so many that are impure and vicious1 yet sought and adored1 are in possession of the art of charming1 of ruining and of perverting men8 ,michelet deplores the state of divorce which is established between the sexes2 we deplore it likewise2 but our complaints do not remedy it4 ,men shun marriage from motives that do them no credit3 they have at their pleasure the poor girls whom want places at their mercy2 they shun marriage because they do not wish a real1 that is1 an autonomous wife at their side2 for themselves1 they wish liberty1 for their wife1 slavery4 ,on their side1 women tend to enfranchisement1 which is well for them as it is for men3 they should not suffer themselves to be turned aside from their pursuit2 on the other hand1 as men are attracted by a costly toilette1 and neglect plainly dressed women1 if the latter1 in the wish to please and retain them1 imitate public women1 whose is the fault8 ,is it ours1 who desire to please you and to be loved by you1 or yours1 who can only be attracted by dress8 ,if you loved us for our real worth1 and not because our dresses and jewels please your eye1 we would not ruin you4 ,let us point out in a few lines the contradictions and differences that are found between ,michelet's first and second works4 ,in both1 woman is the flame of love and of the fireside religion1 harmony1 poetry1 the guardian of the domestic hearth1 a housewife whose cares are ennobled by love3 civilization is due to her grace1 she should be the representative of grace if not of beauty4 ,in both books1 the household must be isolated2 the wife must have no intimate friendship2 mother1 brothers and sisters prevent her from becoming absorbed as she ought to be in her husband4 ,what we think of this absorption is already known2 we will only say here that if the friends and relatives of the wife should be expelled1 those of the husband should be none the less so2 the mother and friends of the husband have more power to injure the wife than those of the wife to injure the husband2 numerous sad facts prove this4 ,in ,love1 woman is a receptive power1 incapable of comprehending conscientious works2 she must receive everything from her husband in the intellectual and moral point of view4 ,in ,woman1 she is half of the couple1 in the same ratio as man is capable of the most lofty speculations1 and thoroughly understands administration4 ,she gives the child the education that before all else will influence the rest of his life4 ,so long as woman is not the partner of labor and of action1 says the author1 we are serfs1 we can do nothing--she may even be the equal of man in medical science2 she is a school1 she is sole educatress1 etc4 ,very well1 thus far2 and doubtless ,michelet would have been consistent1 had he not got into his head a masculine and a feminine ideal which spoils everything2 he reasoned to himself3 ,man is a creator1 woman a harmony whose end and destination is love2 and1 consequently1 he marks out for the latter a plan of education different from that by which man should be developed2 the natural sciences are suited to woman1 history should only be taught her to form in her a firm moral and religious faith4 ,as love is her vocation1 to each season of the life of woman should correspond an object of love2 flowers1 the doll1 poor children1 next the lover1 then the husband and children1 then the care of young orphans1 prisoners1 etc4 ,in ,love1 the wife alone seems bound to confess to the husband4 ,in ,woman1 the obligation is mutual4 ,the widow1 in ,love1 should not marry again1 in ,woman1 she may espouse a friend of the husband1 or still better1 the one whom he may choose on his deathbed2 if she is too old1 she may watch over a young man2 but she will do better to protect young girls1 to make peace in families1 to facilitate marriages1 to superintend prisons1 etc4 ,we will carry the analysis no further2 our objections to the author's doctrine will be found in the article on ,proudhon1 and in the sequel of the work4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,proudhon4 ,the tenth and eleventh studies of the last work of ,m4 ,proudhon1 ,justice in the ,revolution and in the ,church1 comprise the author's whole doctrine concerning ,woman1 ,love1 and ,marriage4 ,before analyzing it and criticising its chief points1 ,i must acquaint my readers with the polemical commencement which appears to have given rise to the publication of the strange doctrines of our great critic4 ,in the ,revue ,philosophique of ,december1 #ahef1 the following article by me was published under the title1 ,proudhon and the ,woman ,question3-- ,women have a weakness for soldiers1 it is said4 ,it is true1 but they should not be reproached for it2 they love even the show of courage1 which is a glorious and holy thing4 ,i am a woman1 ,proudhon is a great soldier of thought4 ,i cannot therefore prevent myself from regarding him with esteem and sympathy2 sentiments to which he will owe the moderation of my attack on his opinions concerning the rle of woman in humanity4 ,in his first ,memoir on ,property1 note on page #bfe1 edition of #ahda1 we read the following paradox in the style of the ,koran3 ,between man and woman may exist love1 passion1 the bond of habit1 whatever you like2 there is not true society4 ,man and woman are not companions4 ,the difference of sex gives rise between them to a separation of the same nature as that which the difference of races places between animals4 ,thus1 far from applauding what is now called the emancipation of woman1 ,i should be much more inclined1 were it necessary to go to this extremity1 to put woman in seclusion4 ,in the third ,memoir on ,property1 we read3 ,this signifies that woman1 by nature and by destination1 is neither associate1 nor citizen1 nor public functionary4 ,i open the ,creation of ,order in ,humanity1 and read there3 ,it is in treating of education that we must determine the part of woman in society4 ,woman1 until she becomes a wife1 is apprentice1 at most under-superintendent1 in the work-shop1 as in the family1 she remains a minor1 and does not form a part of the commonwealth4 ,woman is not1 as is commonly affirmed1 the half nor the equal of man1 but the living and sympathetic complement that is lacking to make him an individual4 ,in the ,economical ,contradictions1 we read3 ,for my part1 the more ,i reflect on the destiny of woman outside of the family and the household1 the less ,i can account for it3 courtesan or housewife1 7housewife1 ,i say1 not servant17 ,i see no medium4 ,i had always laughed at these paradoxes2 they had no more doctrinal value in my eyes than the thousand other freaks so common to this celebrated critic4 ,a short time since1 an obscure journal pretended that ,proudhon1 in private conversations1 had drawn up a formula of an entire system based on masculine omnipotence1 and published this system in its columns4 ,one of two things is certain1 said ,i to myself2 either the journalist speaks falsely1 or he tells the truth2 if he speaks falsely1 his evident aim is to destroy ,proudhon in the confidence of the friends of progress1 and to make him lose his lawful share of influence1 in which case1 he must be warned of it2 if he tells the truth1 ,proudhon must still be warned of the fact1 since it is impossible that1 being the father of several daughters1 paternal feeling should not have set him on the road to reason4 ,at all events1 ,i must know about it4 ,i wrote to ,proudhon1 who1 the next day1 returned me an answer which ,i transcribe verbatim3 ,,madam3 ,i know nothing of the article published by ,m4 ,charles ,robin in the ,telegraphe of yesterday4 ,in order to inform myself with regard to this paraphrase1 as you entitle the article of ,m4 ,robin1 ,i examined my first ,memoir on ,property1 page #bfe1 ,garnier edition1 7,i have no other17 and found no note there4 ,i examined the same page in my other pamphlet1 and discovered no note anywhere4 ,it is therefore impossible for me to reply to your first question4 ,i do not exactly know what you call my opinions on woman1 marriage and the family2 for ,i believe ,i have given no one a right to speak of my opinions on these subjects1 any more than on that of property4 ,i have written economical and social criticisms2 in making these criticisms 7,i take the word in its highest signification71 ,i may have indeed expressed judgments to a greater or less degree relative1 concerning a truth4 ,i have no where that ,i know of1 framed a dogma1 a theory1 a collection of principles2 in a word1 a system4 ,all that ,i can tell you is1 in the first place1 as far as concerns myself1 that my opinions have been formed progressively and in an unvarying direction2 that1 at the time at which ,i write1 ,i have not deviated from this direction2 and that1 with this reserve1 my existing opinions accord perfectly with what they were seventeen years ago when ,i published my first memoirs4 ,in the second place1 with regard to you1 ,madam1 who1 in interrogating me do not leave me in ignorance of your sentiments1 ,i will tell you with all the frankness which your letter exacts1 and which you expect from a compatriot1 that ,i do not regard the question of marriage1 of woman1 and of the family in the same light as yourself1 or any of the innovating authors whose ideas have come to my knowledge2 that ,i do not admit1 for instance1 that woman has the right at the present time to separate her cause from that of man1 and to demand for herself special legislation1 as though her chief tyrant and enemy were man2 that further1 ,i do not admit that1 whatever reparation may be due to woman1 of joint thirds with her husband 7or father7 and her children1 the most rigorous justice can ever make her the ,,equal of man2 that neither do ,i admit that this inferiority of the female sex constitutes for it either servitude1 or humiliation1 or a diminution of dignity1 liberty1 or happiness4 ,i maintain that the contrary is true4 ,i consider1 therefore1 the sort of crusade that is being carried on at this time by a few estimable ladies in both hemispheres in behalf of the prerogatives of their sex1 as a symptom of the general renovation that is being wrought2 but nevertheless1 as an exaggerated symptom1 an infatuation that proceeds precisely from the infirmity of the sex and its incapacity to understand and to govern itself4 ,i have read1 ,madam1 a few of your articles4 ,i find that your wit1 capacity and knowledge place you certainly above an infinity of males who have nothing of their sex but the proletary faculty4 ,in this respect1 were it necessary to decide on your thesis by comparisons of this kind1 you would doubtless gain the cause4 ,but you have too much good sense not to comprehend that the question here is by no means to compare individual with individual1 but the whole feminine sex in its aggregate with the whole masculine sex1 in order to know whether these two halves1 the complements of each other1 are or are not equals in the human androgynus4 ,in accordance with this principle1 ,i do not believe that your system1 which is1 ,i think1 that of equality or equivalence1 can be sustained1 and ,i regard it as a weakness of our epoch4 ,you have interrogated me1 ,madam1 with ,franche-,comtois abruptness4 ,i wish you to take my words in good part1 and1 since ,i doubtless do not agree at all with you1 not to see in me an enemy of woman1 a detractor of your sex1 worthy of the animadversions of maidens1 wives and mothers4 ,the rules of fair discussion oblige you to admit at least that you may be deceived1 that ,i may be right1 that in such case it is ,i who am truly the defender and friend of woman2 ,i ask nothing more4 ,you and your companions have raised a very great question1 which ,i think that you have hitherto treated quite superficially4 ,but the indifferent manner in which this subject has been treated should not be considered as conclusive reason for not receiving it2 on the contrary1 ,i regard it as another reason for the advocates of the equality of the two sexes to make greater efforts4 ,in this respect1 ,madam1 ,i doubt not that you will signalize yourself anew1 and await with impatience the volume that you announce1 which ,i promise to read with all the attention of which ,i am capable4 ,on reading this letter1 ,i transcribed the note which ,m4 ,proudhon had not succeeded in finding1 and sent it to him1 with the article of ,m4 ,charles ,robin4 ,as he did not reply1 his silence authorizes me to believe the journalist4 ,ah6 you persist in maintaining that woman is inferior1 minor6 you believe that women will bow devoutly before the high decree of your autocracy6 ,no1 no2 it will not1 it cannot be so4 ,to battle1 ,m4 ,proudhon6 ,but let us first dispose of the question of my personality4 ,you consider me as an exception1 by telling me that1 if it were necessary to decide on my thesis by comparison between a host of men and myself1 the decision would be1 doubtless1 in favor of my opinions4 ,mark my reply3 ,every true law is absolute4 ,the ignorance or folly of grammarians1 moralists1 jurisconsults1 and other philosophers1 alone invented the proverb3 ,there is no rule without an exception4 ,the mania of imposing laws on ,nature1 instead of studying ,nature's own laws1 afterwards confirmed this aphorism of ignorance4 ,who said this8 ,you1 in the ,creation of ,order in ,humanity4 ,why is your letter in contradiction with this doctrine8 ,have you changed your opinion8 ,then ,i entreat you to tell me whether men of worth are not quite as exceptional in their sex1 as women of merit in theirs4 ,you have said3 ,whatever may be the differences existing between men1 they are equal1 because they are human beings4 ,under penalty of inconsistency1 you must add3 ,whatever may be the differences existing between the sexes1 they are equal1 because they form a part of the human species--unless you prove that women are not a part of humanity4 ,individual worth1 not being the basis of right between men1 cannot become so between the sexes4 ,your compliment is1 therefore1 a contradiction4 ,i add1 lastly1 that ,i feel myself linked with my sex by too close a solidarity ever to be content to see myself abstracted from it by an illogical process4 ,i am a woman--,i glory in it2 ,i rejoice if any value is set upon me1 not for myself1 indeed1 but because this contributes to modify the opinion of men with respect to my sex4 ,a woman who is happy in hearing it said3 ,you are a man1 is1 in my eyes1 a simpleton1 an unworthy creature1 avowing the superiority of the masculine sex2 and the men who think that they compliment her in this manner1 are vainglorious and impertinent boasters4 ,if ,i acquire any desert1 ,i thus pay honor to women1 ,i reveal their aptitudes1 ,i do not pass into the other sex any more than ,proudhon abandons his own1 because he is elevated by his intellect above the level of foolish and ignorant men2 and if the ignorance of the mass of men prejudges nothing against their right1 no more does the ignorance of the mass of women prejudge anything against theirs4 ,you affirm that man and woman do not form true society4 ,tell us1 then1 what is marriage1 what is society4 ,you affirm that the difference of sex places between man and woman a separation of the same nature as that which the difference of races places between animals4 ,then prove3 ,that the race is not essentially formed of two sexes2 ,that man and woman can be reproduced separately2 ,that their common product is a mixed breed1 or a mule2 ,that their characteristics are dissimilar1 apart from sexuality4 ,and if you come off with honor from this great feat of strength1 you will still have to prove3 ,that to difference of race corresponds difference of right2 ,that the black1 the yellow1 the copper-colored persons belonging to races inferior to the ,caucasian cannot truly associate with the latter2 that they are minors4 ,come1 sir1 study anthropology1 physiology1 and phrenology1 and employ your serial dialectics to prove all this to us4 ,you are inclined to seclude woman1 instead of emancipating her8 ,prove to men that they have the right to do so2 to women1 that it is their duty to suffer themselves to be placed under lock and key4 ,i declare1 for my part1 that ,i would not submit to it4 ,does ,proudhon remember how he threatens the priest who shall lay his hand on his children8 ,well1 the majority of women would not confine themselves to threats against those who might have the ,mussulmanic inclination of ,proudhon4 ,you affirm that by nature1 and by destination1 woman is neither associate1 nor citizen1 nor functionary4 ,tell us1 in the first place1 what nature it is necessary to have to be all these4 ,reveal to us the nature of woman1 since you claim to know it better than she does herself4 ,reveal to us her destination1 which apparently is not that which we see1 nor which she believes to be such4 ,you affirm that woman1 until her marriage1 is nothing more than apprentice1 at most1 under-superintendent in the social workshop2 that she is minor in the family1 and does not form a part of the commonwealth4 ,prove1 then1 that she does not execute in the social workshop and in the family works equivalent1 or equal1 to those of man4 ,prove that she is less useful than man4 ,prove that the qualities that give to man the right of citizenship1 do not exist in woman4 ,i shall be severe with you on this head4 ,to subordinate woman in a social order in which she must work in order to live is to desire prostitution2 for disdain of the producer extends to the value of the product2 and when such a doctrine is contrary to science1 good sense1 and progress1 to sustain it is cruelty1 is moral monstrosity4 ,the woman who cannot live by working1 can only do so by prostituting herself2 the equal of man or a courtesan1 such is the alternative4 ,he is blind who does not see it4 ,you see no other fate for woman than to be courtesan or housewife4 ,open your eyes wider1 and dream less1 and tell me whether all those useful and courageous women are only housewives or courtesans1 who support themselves honorably by arts1 literature1 instruction2 ,who found numerous and prosperous manufactures2 ,who superintend commercial establishments2 ,who are such good managers1 that many among them conceal or repair the faults resulting from the carelessness or dissipation of their husbands4 ,prove to us1 therefore1 that all this is wrong2 ,prove to us that it is not the result of human progress2 ,prove to us that labor1 the stamp of the human species--that labor1 which you consider as the great emancipator--that labor1 which makes men equal and free1 has not virtue to make women equal and free4 ,if you prove this to us1 we shall have to register one contradiction more4 ,you do not admit that woman should have the right of claiming for herself special legislation1 as though man were her chief enemy and tyrant4 ,you1 sir1 are the one that legislates specially for woman2 she herself desires nothing but the common law4 ,yes2 until now1 man1 in subordinating woman1 has been her tyrant and enemy4 ,i am of your opinion when1 in your first ,memoir on ,property1 you say that1 so long as the strong and the weak are not equals1 they are strangers1 they cannot form an alliance1 they are enemies4 ,yes1 thrice yes1 so long as man and woman are not equals1 woman is in the right in considering man as her tyrant and enemy4 ,the most rigorous justice cannot make woman the ,,equal of man4 ,and it is to a woman whom you set in your opinion above a host of men1 that you affirm such a thing6 ,what a contradiction6 ,it is an infatuation for women to demand their right6 ,an infatuation like that of slaves1 pretending that they were created freemen2 of the citizens of '#hi1 proving that men are equal before the law4 ,do you know who were1 who are the infatuated8 ,the masters1 the nobles1 the whites1 the men who have denied1 who do deny1 and who will deny1 that slaves1 citizens1 blacks1 and women1 are born for liberty and equality4 ,the sex to which ,i belong is incapable of understanding and governing itself1 say you6 ,prove that it is destitute of intellect2 ,prove that great empresses and great queens have not governed as well as great emperors and great kings2 ,prove against all the facts patent that women are not in general good observers and good managers2 ,then prove that all men understand themselves perfectly and govern themselves admirably1 and that progress moves as if on wheels4 ,woman is neither the half nor the equal of man2 she is the complement that finally makes him an individual2 the two sexes form the human androgynus4 ,come2 seriously1 what means this jingle of empty words8 ,they are metaphors1 unworthy to figure in scientific language1 when our own and the other higher zological species are in question4 ,the lioness1 the she-wolf and the tigress are no more the halves or the complement of their species than woman is the complement of man4 ,or ,nature has established two exteriorities1 two wills1 she affirms two unities1 two entireties not one1 or two halves2 the arithmetic of ,nature cannot be destroyed by the freaks of the imagination4 ,is equality before the law based upon individual qualities8 ,proudhon replies in the ,creation of ,order in ,humanity3 ,neither birth1 nor figure1 nor faculties1 nor fortune1 nor rank1 nor profession1 nor talent1 nor anything that distinguishes individuals establishes between them a difference of species2 all being men1 and the law regulating only human relations1 it is the same for all2 so that to establish exceptions1 it would be necessary to prove that the individuals excepted are above or beneath the human species4 ,prove to us that women are above or beneath the human species1 that they do not form a part of it1 or1 under penalty of contradiction1 submit to the consequences of your doctrine4 ,you say in the ,social ,revolution2 ,neither conscience1 nor reason1 nor liberty1 nor labor1 pure forces1 primary and creative faculties1 can be made mechanical without being destroyed4 ,their reason of existence is in themselves2 in their works they should find their reason of action4 ,in this consists the human person1 a sacred person1 etc4 ,prove that women have neither conscience1 nor reason1 nor moral liberty1 and that they do not labor4 ,if it is demonstrated that they possess the primary and creative faculties1 respect their human person1 for it is sacred4 ,in the ,creation of ,order in ,humanity1 you say3 ,specifically1 labor satisfies the desire of our personality1 which tends invincibly to make a difference between itself and others1 to render itself independent1 to conquer its liberty and its character4 ,prove then that women have no special work1 and1 if facts contradict you1 acknowledge that1 it inevitably tends to independence1 to liberty4 ,do you deny that they are your equals because they are less intelligent as a whole than men8 ,in the first place1 ,i contest it2 but ,i need not do so1 you yourself resolve this difficulty in the ,creation of ,order in ,humanity3 ,the inequality of capacities1 when not caused by constitutional vices1 mutilation or want1 results from general ignorance1 insufficient method1 lack or falsity of education1 and divergence of intuition through lack of sequence1 whence arises dispersion and confusion of ideas4 ,now1 all these facts productive of inequality are essentially abnormal1 therefore the inequality of capacities is abnormal4 ,unless you prove that women are mutilated by ,nature1 ,i do not exactly see how you can escape the consequences of your syllogism3 not only has feminine inferiority the same sources as masculine ignorance1 but public education is refused to women1 the great professional schools are closed to them1 those who through their intellect equal the most intelligent among you have had twenty times as many difficulties and prejudices to overcome4 ,you wish to subordinate women because in general they have less muscular force than you2 but at this rate the weak men ought not to be the equals of the strong1 and you combat this consequence yourself in your first ,memoir on ,property1 where you say3 ,social equilibrium is the equalization of the strong and the weak4 ,if ,i have treated you with consideration1 it is because you are an intelligent and progressive man1 and because it is impossible that you should remain under the influence of the doctors of the ,middle ,age on one question1 while you are in advance of the majority of your cotemporaries on so many others4 ,you will cease to sustain an illogical series that is without foundation1 remembering1 as you have said so well in the ,creation of ,order in ,humanity3 ,that the greater part of philosophical aberrations and chimeras have arisen from attributing to logical series a reality that they do not possess1 and endeavoring to explain the nature of man by abstractions4 ,you will acknowledge that all the higher animal species are composed of two sexes2 ,that in none is the female the inferior of the male1 except sometimes through force1 which cannot be the basis of human right2 ,you will renounce the androgynus1 which is only a dream4 ,woman1 a distinct individual1 endowed with consciousness1 intellect1 will and activity like man1 will be no longer separated from him before the laws4 ,you will say of all1 both men and women1 as in your first ,memoir on ,property3 ,liberty is an absolute right1 because it is to man what impenetrability is to matter1 a condition sine qua non of existence4 ,equality is an absolute right1 because without equality1 there is no society4 ,and you will thus show the second degree of sociability1 which you yourself define1 the recognition in another of a personality equal to our own4 ,i appeal therefore from ,proudhon drunk with theology to ,proudhon sobered by facts and science1 moved by the sorrows and disorders resulting from his own systems4 ,i hope ,i shall not encounter his ,herculean club raised against the holy banner of truth and right2 against woman1--that being physically so weak1 morally so strong1 who1 bleeding1 and steeped in gall beneath her crown of roses1 is just on the point of reaching the top of the rough mountain where progress will shortly give her her lawful place by the side of man4 ,but if my hopes are deceitful1 mark me well1 ,m4 ,proudhon1 you will find me standing firmly in the breach1 and1 whatever may be your strength1 ,i vow that you shall not overthrow me4 ,i will courageously defend the right and dignity of your daughters against the despotism and logical error of their father1 and the victory will remain mine1 for1 definitively1 it always belongs to truth4 ,proudhon replied by the following letter in the ,revue ,philosophique3 ,,to ,,madame d',h,,ricourt4 ,well1 ,madam1 what did ,i tell you in my last letter8 ,i consider the sort of crusade that is being carried on at this time by some estimable ladies in both hemispheres in behalf of their sex1 as a symptom of the general revolution that is being wrought2 but nevertheless as an exaggerated symptom1 an infatuation that proceeds precisely from the inferiority of the sex and its incapacity to understand and to govern itself4 ,i begin by withdrawing the word infatuation1 which may have wounded you1 but which was not1 as you know1 intended for publicity4 ,this point adjusted1 ,i will tell you1 ,madam1 with all the respect that ,i owe you as a woman1 that ,i did not expect to see you confirm my judgment so speedily by your petulant appeal4 ,i was at first at a loss to know whence came the discontent that impelled the bravest1 the most distinguished among you1 to an assault on paternal and marital supremacy4 ,i said to myself1 not without disquietude1 ,what is the matter8 ,what is it that troubles them8 ,with what do they reproach us8 ,to which of our faculties1 our virtues1 our prerogatives2 or else of our failings1 our perfidies1 our calamities1 do they aspire8 ,is this the cry of their outraged nature1 or an aberration of their understanding8 ,your attack1 joined to the studies which ,i immediately commenced on the subject1 came at last to solve the question4 ,no1 ,madam1 you know nothing of your sex2 you do not know the first word of the question that you and your honorable confederates are agitating with so much noise and so little success4 ,and1 if you do not comprehend this question2 if1 in your eight pages of reply to my letter1 there are forty paralogisms1 it results precisely1 as ,i have told you1 from your sexual infirmity4 ,i mean by this word1 the exactness of which is not1 perhaps1 irreproachable1 the quality of your understanding1 which permits you to seize the relation of things only as far as we1 men1 place your finger upon them4 ,you have in the brain1 as in the body1 a certain organ incapable by itself of overcoming its native inertia1 and which the masculine spirit alone is capable of setting in motion2 and even this does not always succeed4 ,such1 ,madam1 is the result of my direct and positive observations2 ,i make them over to your obstetrical sagacity1 and leave you to calculate therefrom the incalculable consequences to your thesis4 ,i will willingly enter into an elaborate discussion with you1 ,madam1 on this obscure subject1 in the ,revue ,philosophique4 ,but--as you will comprehend as well as ,i--the broader the question1 the more it affects our most sacred1 social1 and domestic interests1 the more important is it that we should approach it with seriousness and prudence4 ,the following course1 therefore1 appears to me indispensable3 ,in the first place1 you have promised us a book1 and ,i await it4 ,i need this work to complete my documents and to finish my demonstration4 ,since ,i had the honor of receiving and replying to your letter1 ,i have made earnest and interesting studies on woman1 which ,i ask only to rectify if they are erroneous2 as ,i also desire to set a seal on them if1 as ,i have every reason to presume1 your publication brings me but one confirmation more4 ,i have verified by facts and documents the truth of all the assertions which you call on me to retract1 namely3 ,that the difference of sex raises up between man and woman a separation ,,analogous--,i did not say equal--to that which the difference of races and species establishes between animals2 ,that by reason of this separation or difference1 man and woman are not associates2 ,i did not say that they could not be anything else2 ,that1 consequently1 woman can only be a citizen in so far as she is the wife of a citizen2 as we say ,madame la ,presidente to the wife of a ,president3 which does not imply that no other rle exists for her4 ,in two words1 ,i am in a position to establish1 by observation and reasoning1 the facts1 that woman1 being weaker than man with respect to muscular force1 as you yourself acknowledge1 is not less inferior to him with respect to ,,industrial1 ,,artistic1 ,,philosophical and ,,moral ,,power2 so that if the condition of woman in society be regulated1 as you demand for her1 by the same justice as the condition of man1 it is all over with her1 she is a slave4 ,to which ,i add1 immediately1 that this system is precisely what ,i reject3 the principle of pure1 rigorous right1 of that terrible right which the ,roman compared to an unsheathed sword1 jus strictum1 and which rules individuals of the same sex among themselves1 being different from that which governs the relations between individuals of different sexes4 ,what is this principle1 differing from justice1 and which1 notwithstanding1 would not exist without justice2 which all men feel in the depth of their souls1 and of which you women alone have no idea8 ,is it love8 nothing more8 ,i leave it to you to divine4 ,and if your penetration succeeds in clearing up this mystery1 ,i consent1 ,madam1 to sign you a certificate of genius2 ,et eris mihi magnus ,apollo4 ,but then you will have given me the cause4 ,such1 ,madam1 in a few words1 are the conclusions to which ,i have arrived1 and which the reading of your book surely will not modify4 ,notwithstanding1 as it is absolutely possible that your personal observations may have led you to diametrically opposite results1 good faith in the discussion and respect for our readers and ourselves exact that1 before entering upon the controversy1 a reciprocal interchange of all the documents that we have collected should be made between us4 ,you may take cognizance of mine4 ,one other condition1 which ,i entreat you1 ,madam1 to take in good part1 and from which ,i shall not depart under any pretext1 is that you shall choose yourself a male sponsor4 ,you1 who have declared yourself so energetically on this point1 would not wish your adversary to make the least sacrifice to gallantry in so serious a discussion2 and you are right4 ,but ,i1 ,madam1 who am so far from admitting your pretensions1 cannot thus release myself from the obligations which manly and honorable civility prescribes towards ladies2 and as ,i propose1 besides1 to make you serve as a subject of experiment2 as1 after having made the autopsy of five or six women of the greatest merit for the instruction of my readers1 ,i count also on making yours1 you will conceive that it is quite impossible for me to argue from you1 of you1 and with you1 without exposing myself at every word to a violation of all the rules of conventionality4 ,i know1 ,madam1 that such a condition will annoy you2 it is one of the disadvantages of your position to which you must submit courageously4 ,you are a plaintiff1 and1 as a woman1 you affirm that you are oppressed4 ,appear1 then1 before the judgment seat of incorruptible public opinion with this tyrannous chain which rouses your ire1 and which1 according to me1 exists only in your disordered imagination4 ,you will be but the more interesting for it4 ,besides1 you would deride me if1 while sustaining the superiority of man1 ,i should begin by according to you the equality of woman by disputing with you on an equal footing of companionship4 ,you have not counted1 ,i imagine1 upon my falling into this inconsistency4 ,you will not lack for champions1 besides4 ,i expect of your courtesy1 ,madam1 that he whom you shall select as my antagonist1 who will sign and affirm all your articles1 and assume the responsibility of your affirmations and replies1 shall be worthy of both you and me2 so that1 in fine1 ,i shall not have a right to complain that you have pitted me against a man of straw4 ,what has most surprised me1 since this hypothesis of the equality of the sexes1 renewed by the ,greeks as well as by many others1 has become known among us1 has been to see that it numbered among its partisans almost as many men as women4 ,i sought a long time for the reason of this strange fact1 which ,i at first attributed to chivalric zeal2 ,i think now that ,i have found it4 ,it is not to the advantage of the knights4 ,i shall be glad1 ,madam1 for their sake and yours1 if this serious examination should prove that the new emancipators of woman are the most lofty1 the broadest1 and the most progressive1 if not the most masculine minds of the age4 ,you say1 ,madam1 that women have a weakness for soldiers4 ,it is doubtless on this account that you have lashed me soundly4 ,he who loveth1 chasteneth4 ,when ,i was three years and a half old1 my mother1 to get rid of me1 sent me to a school-mistress of the neighborhood1 an excellent woman1 called ,madelon4 ,one day she threatened to whip me for some piece of mischief4 ,it made me furious4 ,i snatched her switch from her hand1 and flung it in her face4 ,i was always a disobedient subject4 ,i shall be glad1 therefore1 to find that you do not assume towards me castigating airs1 which it does not belong to a man to return2 but ,i leave this to your discretion4 ,strike1 redouble the blows1 do not spare me2 and if ,i should chance to grow restive under the rod1 believe me none the less1 ,madam1 your affectionate servant and compatriot1 ,,proudhon4 ,taking up the discussion in turn1 ,i replied as follows1 in the ensuing ,february number3-- ,i am forbidden1 sir1 to answer your letter in the indecorous style which you have deemed proper to assume towards me3 ,by respect for the gravity of my subject2 ,by respect for our readers2 ,by respect for myself4 ,you find yourself ill at ease in the ,popilian circle that has been traced around you by the hand of a woman2 all understand this1 ,i among the rest4 ,ill-armed for defence1 worse armed1 perhaps1 for attack1 you would like to escape2 but your skill as a tactician will avail you nothing2 you shall not quit the fatal circle till vanquished1 either by me1 or by yourself1 if you confess your weakness on the point in litigation1 by continuing to refuse a discussion under flimsy pretexts1 or1 lastly1 by public opinion1 which will award to you the quality of inconsistency1 the least desirable of all to a dialectician4 ,this being understood1 ,i must tell you that1 personally1 ,i am satisfied that you should attack1 in the rights of woman1 the cause of justice and progress4 ,it is an augury of success to this cause2 you have always been fatal to all that you have sought to sustain4 ,it is true that your attitude in this question makes you the ally of the dogmatism of the ,middle ,age2 it is true that the official representatives of this dogmatism avail themselves1 at the present time1 of your arguments and your name to maintain their influence over women1 and through them over men and children2 and this in order to revive the past1 to stifle the future4 ,is this your intention8 ,i do not believe it4 ,you are1 in my eyes1 a subverter1 a destroyer1 in whom instinct sometimes gets the better of intellect1 and from whom it shuts out a clear view of the consequences of his writings4 ,formed for strife1 you must have adversaries2 and1 in default of enemies1 you cruelly fall on those who are fighting in the same ranks with yourself4 ,in all your writings1 one feels that the second part of education--that which inspires respect and love of woman--is completely wanting in you4 ,let us come to your letter4 ,you reproach me with having made forty paralogisms2 it was your duty at least to have cited one of these4 ,however1 let us see4 ,you say3 between man and woman there is a separation of the same nature as that which the difference of race establishes between animals4 ,woman1 by nature and destination1 is neither associate1 nor citizen1 nor functionary4 ,she is1 until marriage1 only apprentice1 at most1 under-superintendent in the social workshop2 she is a minor in the family1 and does not form a part of the commonwealth4 ,you conceive of no destiny for her outside of the household3 she can be only housewife or courtesan4 ,she is incapable of understanding and of governing herself4 ,to make a paralogism is to draw a conclusion from false premises2 now did ,i conclude from such in saying3 ,in order that all these paradoxes may become truths1 you have to prove3 ,that man and woman are not of the same race2 ,that they can be reproduced separately2 ,that their common product is a mixed breed or a mule2 ,that difference of races corresponds to difference of rights4 ,you have to define for us an association1 and also the nature of a citizen or a functionary4 ,you have to prove that woman is less useful than man in society2 ,that1 at the present time1 she is necessarily a housewife1 when she is not a courtesan2 ,that she is destitute of intellect1 that she knows nothing of government4 ,you pretend that woman has not a right to demand for herself special legislation4 ,was ,i guilty of a paralogism in pointing out to you that it is not she1 but you1 who demand this1 since you lay down as a principle the inequality of the sexes before human law8 ,all that you say relatively to the pretended inferiority of woman and the conclusions which you draw from it applying to human races inferior to our own1 it would be easy for me to demonstrate that the consequence of your principles is the re-establishment of slavery4 ,the nearest perfect has the right to take advantage of the weakest1 instead of becoming his educator4 ,an admirable doctrine1 full of the spirit of progress1 full of generosity6 ,i compliment you most sincerely on it4 ,you say that labor specialized is the great emancipator of man2 that labor1 conscience1 liberty1 and reason1 find only in themselves their right to exist and to act2 that these pure forces constitute the human person1 which is sacred4 ,you lay down the principle that the law is the same for all2 so that1 to establish exceptions1 it would be necessary to prove that the individuals excepted are above or beneath the human species4 ,you say that social equilibrium is the equalization of the strong and the weak2 that all have the same rights1 not through that which distinguishes them from each other1 but through that which is common to them1--the quality of human beings4 ,was ,i guilty of paralogisms in saying to you3 ,then you cannot1 by reason of her weakness or even of a supposed inferiority1 exclude woman from equality of right3 your principles interdict it1 unless you prove3 ,that she is superior or inferior to the human species1 and that she does not form a part of it2 ,that she is destitute of conscience1 of justice1 and of reason2 that she does not labor1 that she does not execute specialties of labor4 ,it is evident1 that your doctrine concerning general right is in contradiction to your doctrine concerning the right of women2 it is evident that you are very inconsequent1 and that1 however skillful you may be1 you cannot extricate yourself from this embarrassment4 ,in what you call an answer1 there are a few passages that are worth the trouble of pausing to consider4 ,you ask what impels the bravest1 the most distinguished among us to an assault on paternal and marital supremacy4 ,you do not comprehend the movement1 or you would have said masculine supremacy4 ,in my turn1 ,i ask you3 ,what would have impelled ,proudhon1 a ,roman slave1 to play the part of ,spartacus8 ,what would have impelled ,proudhon1 a feudal serf1 to organize a ,jacquerie8 ,what would have impelled ,proudhon1 a black slave1 to become a ,toussaint ,l',ouverture8 ,what would have impelled ,proudhon1 a ,russian serf1 to take the character of ,poutgachef8 ,what would have impelled ,proudhon1 a citizen of '#hi1 to overthrow the privileges of the nobility and the clergy8 ,what would impel ,proudhon 444 but ,i will not touch on reality4 ,what would ,proudhon have replied to all the holders of prerogatives and supremacy1 who would not have failed on their part to have put to him the nave question3 ,ah6 what does this vile slave1 this unworthy serf1 this audacious and stupid citizen want of us1 then8 ,to which of our faculties1 our virtues1 our prerogatives does he aspire8 ,is this the cry of his outraged nature1 or an aberration of his understanding8 ,the answer that ,proudhon would make1 is that which will be made to him by all women who have attained majority4 ,there is in the brain of woman1 say you1 an organ which the masculine mind alone is capable of setting in motion4 ,render the service then to science of pointing it out and demonstrating its manner of working4 ,as to the other organ of which you speak1 it is its inertia1 doubtless1 that has caused it to be defined by some1 parvum animal furibondum1 octo ligamentis alligatum4 ,before choosing anatomical and physiological facts as proofs of your assertions1 consult some learned physician2 such is the counsel given you1 not only by my obstetrical1 but also by my medical sagacity4 ,you offer to acquaint me with your direct and positive observations4 ,what1 ,sir6 has it been possible for you in a few weeks to delve into the depths of the healthy and the diseased organization6 to go through the whole labyrinth of functions implicated in the questions4 ,it is more than miraculous2 despite my good will1 ,i cannot believe it1 unless you prove that you are a prophet in communication with some deity4 ,shall ,i tell you what ,i really think8 ,it is that you have studied these matters neither directly nor indirectly1 and that it belongs to me to tell you that you do not understand woman2 that you do not know the first word of the question4 ,your five or six purely moral and intellectual autopsies prove only one thing2 namely1 your inexperience in physiology4 ,you have navely mistaken the scalpel of your imagination for that of science4 ,with regard to autopsies1 you tell me that you are awaiting my promised work1 in order to make mine4 ,it would be doubtless a great honor to be stretched on your dissecting table in such good company as you promise me1 but the instruction of my future readers does not permit me to enjoy this satisfaction4 ,i shall not send my book to press until your own shall have appeared1 for ,i1 too1 intend to make your autopsy2 dissect me therefore now2 ,i promise you on my side that ,i will perform my duty conscientiously1 properly and delicately4 ,woman1 you say1 being weaker than man with respect to muscular force1 is not less inferior to him with respect to ,,industrial1 ,,artistic1 ,,philosophical ,,and ,,moral ,,power2 so that if the condition of woman in society be regulated1 as you demand for her1 by the same justice as the condition of man1 it is all over with her2 she is a slave4 ,terrible man1 you will be then always inconsistent1 you will always contradict yourself and facts6 ,what do you hold as the basis of right8 ,the simple quality of being human2 everything that distinguishes individuals disappears before right4 ,well6 even though it were true that women were inferior to men1 would it follow that their rights were not the same8 ,according to you1 by no means1 if they form a part of the human species4 ,there are not two kinds of justice1 there is but one2 there are not two kinds of right1 there is but one in the absolute sense4 ,the recognition and respect of individual autonomy in the lowest of human beings as well as in the man and woman of genius is the law which should preside over social relations2 must a woman tell you this6 ,let us now examine the value of your series of man and woman4 ,with respect to the reproduction of the species1 they form a series2 this is beyond dispute4 ,as to the rest1 do they form a series8 ,no4 ,if it were a law that woman is muscularly weaker than man1 the strongest woman would be weaker than the weakest man2 facts demonstrate the contrary daily4 ,if it were a law that women are inferior to men in industrial power1 the most skillful woman would be inferior in industrial pursuits to the least skillful man2 now facts demonstrate daily that there are women who are excellent manufacturers and excellent managers2 men who are unskilled in and unsuited to this kind of pursuits4 ,if it were a law that women are inferior to men in artistic power1 the best female artist would be inferior to the most indifferent male artist2 now facts daily demonstrate the contrary2 there are more great female than male tragedians2 many men are mediocre in music and painting1 and many women1 on the other hand1 remarkable in both respects1 etc41 etc4 ,what follows from all this8 ,that your series is false1 since facts destroy it4 ,how did you form it8 ,the process is a curious study4 ,you chose a few remarkable men1 in whom1 by a convenient process of abstraction1 you beheld all men1 even to cretins2 you here took a few women1 without taking into account in the slightest degree any differences of culture1 instruction1 and surroundings1 and compared them with these eminent men1 taking care to forget those that might have embarrassed you2 then1 deducing generals from particulars1 creating two entities1 you drew your conclusions4 ,a strange manner of reasoning1 truly6 ,you have fallen into the mania of imposing rules on ,nature1 instead of studying ,nature's rules1 and deserve that ,i should apply your own words to you3 ,the greatest part of the philosophical aberrations and chimeras have arisen from attributing to logical series a reality that they do not possess1 and endeavoring to explain the nature of man by abstractions4 ,still1 if this were to strengthen your doctrines concerning the basis of right1 it might be comprehended2 but it is to overthrow them6 ,you transform yourself into a ,sphinx1 to propose to me a riddle4 ,what is that right1 you say1 which is not justice1 and which1 notwithstanding1 would not exist without it1 which presides over the relations of both sexes1 the jus strictum governing only individuals of the same sex4 ,if you divine it1 you will have given me the cause4 ,it is not necessary to be the great ,apollo1 to divine that it is the right of grace1 of mercy1 towards an inferior that is not armed with strict right4 ,if ,i have divined rightly1 you have simply begged the question by supposing that resolved which ,i dispute4 ,i maintain that there is only one right1 that one single right presides over the rights of individuals and of sexes1 and that the right of mercy belongs to the domain of sentiment4 ,you wish it proved that the new emancipators of woman are the most elevated1 the broadest1 and the most progressive minds of the age4 ,rejoice1 your wish is accomplished3 a simple comparison between them and their adversaries will prove it to you4 ,the emancipators1 taking woman in the cradle of humanity1 see her marching slowly towards civil emancipation4 ,the intelligent disciples of progress1 they wish1 by extending a fraternal hand to her1 to aid her in fulfilling her destiny4 ,the non-emancipators1 denying the historical law1 regardless of the progressive and parallel movement of the populace1 woman1 and the industrial arts towards affranchisement1 wish to thrust her back far beyond the ,middle ,age1 to the days of ,romulus and the ,hebrew patriarchs4 ,the emancipators1 believing in individual autonomy1 respecting it1 and recognizing it in woman1 wish to aid her to conquer it4 ,judging of the need that a free being has of liberty by the need that they have of it themselves1 they are consistent4 ,the non-emancipators1 blinded by pride1 perverted by a love of dominion as unbridled as unintelligent1 desire liberty only for themselves4 ,these egotists1 so suspicious of those that menace their own freedom1 wish half the human species to be in their chains4 ,the emancipators have enough heart and ideality to desire a companion with whom they can exchange sentiment and thought1 and who can improve them in some respects and be improved by them in others2 they love and respect woman4 ,the non-emancipators1 without ideality1 without love1 chained to their senses and their pride1 despise woman2 and wish to have in her only a female1 a servant1 a machine to produce young ones4 ,they are males1 they are not yet men4 ,the emancipators desire perfection of the species1 in a three-fold point of view3 physical1 moral1 and intellectual4 ,they know that races cannot be improved without selecting and perfecting the mothers4 ,the non-emancipators are bent upon something quite different from the improvement of the species3 let their children be lacking in intelligence1 malicious1 ugly1 or deformed2 they think much less of this than of being masters4 ,do they know enough of physiology to have reflected that the faculties depend on organization1 that organization is capable of modification1 that modifications are transmitted1 that woman has a great share in this transmission1 a greater share1 perhaps1 than that of man8 ,it is therefore essential to place her in a condition to perform this great function in the manner most useful to humanity4 ,the emancipators desire humanity to go forward1 to vibrate no longer between the past and the future2 they know the influence that women possess1 first over children1 then over men2 they know that woman cannot serve progress unless she finds it to her interest to do so2 that she will find it so only through liberty2 that she will love it only if her intellect is elevated by study1 and her heart purified from the petty selfishness of home by the predominating love of the great human family4 ,as they desire the end sincerely1 they sincerely desire the means2 so long as half the human race shall labor as it is doing to destroy the edifice constructed by a few members of the other half2 so long as half the human race1 the one that secretly governs the other1 shall have its face turned towards the past1 the landmarks that point to the future will be threatened with being torn up4 ,do you consider it a crime in the emancipators to comprehend this1 to seek to conjure down the peril2 and do you consider a virtue in the non-emancipators the foolish pride that places a cataract over their eyes8 ,a few words more1 and ,i shall have done4 ,you would rather1 you say1 that ,i should not assume castigating airs with you4 ,but have you really the right to complain of it1 you who have constituted yourself the chief whipper-in of the economists and the socialists8 ,i shall never go so far towards you as you have gone towards them4 ,you must resign yourself to my abrupt1 sometimes harsh style4 ,i am implacable towards whatever appears to me false and unjust2 and were you my brother1 ,i should not war against you less sharply2 before all ties of affection and family1 should come the love of justice and humanity4 ,i owe now to my readers and to you1 sir1 the exposition of the thesis that ,i undertake to sustain2 for the phrase1 the emancipation of women has been1 and is1 quite variously interpreted4 ,with respect to right1 man and woman are equal1 whether the equality of faculties be admitted or rejected4 ,but for a truth to be useful1 it must be adapted to the surroundings into which we seek to introduce it4 ,absolute right being recognized1 the practice of it remains4 ,in practice1 ,i see two kinds of rights3 woman is ripe for the exercise of one of them2 but ,i acknowledge that the practice of the second would be at present dangerous1 by reason of the education that the majority of them have received4 ,you comprehend me1 without making it necessary for me to explain myself more clearly in a ,review in which social and political subjects are interdicted4 ,the directors of the ,revue having informed me that my adversary refused to continue the discussion1 ,i made the following recapitulation of his creed1 concerning the rights and nature of woman4 ,to the editors of the ,revue ,philosophique et ,religieuse3 ,you inform me that ,m4 ,proudhon will not reply to the questions that ,i have put to him2 ,i have neither the means nor the wish to constrain him to do so4 ,i shall not inquire into the motives of his determination2 my business now is only to make an exposition of his creed1 which may be summed up in this wise3 ,i believe that between man and woman1 there is a separation of the same nature as that which the difference of race places between animals2 ,i believe that1 by nature and by destination1 woman is neither associate1 nor functionary1 nor citizen2 ,i believe that1 in the social workshop1 she is1 until her marriage1 only apprentice1 at most under-superintendent2 ,i believe that she is a minor in the family1 art1 science1 manufactures1 and philosophy1 and that she is nothing in the commonwealth2 ,i believe that she can only be housewife or courtesan2 ,i believe that she is incapable of understanding and of governing herself2 ,i believe firmly that the basis of the equality of rights is in the simple quality of being human2 now1 woman being unable to have rights equal to those of man1 ,i affirm that she does not belong to the human species4 ,is ,proudhon conscious how far his creed is in opposition to science1 to facts1 to the law of progress1 to the tendencies of our own age1 and does he dare to attempt to justify it by proofs8 ,does he feel that this creed classes him among the abettors of the dogmatism of the ,middle ,age1 and does he recoil before such a responsibility8 ,if this were the case1 ,i should praise him for his prudent silence1 and it would be my warmest desire that he should keep it forever on the question that divides us4 ,to treat a subject1 it is necessary to love and understand it2 ,i dare not say that ,proudhon does not love woman1 but ,i do affirm that he does not understand her2 he sees in her nothing more than the female of man2 his peculiar organization seems to render him unfit for the investigation of such a subject4 ,he promises1 in the work that he is preparing1 to treat of the sphere and the rights of women2 if his doctrine has for its basis the paradoxical affirmations of his creed1 ,i hope that he will this time take pains to rest them at least upon the semblances of proofs1 which ,i shall examine with all the attention of which ,i am capable4 ,by shrinking from discussion1 he cannot escape my criticism4 ,the two studies of ,proudhon are simply the development of this creed4 ,i promised to dissect the author2 therefore1 ,i shall do so4 ,let me not be reproached with being pitiless2 ,proudhon has deserved it4 ,let me not be reproached with being a reasoning machine2 with such an adversary1 one should be nothing else4 ,let me not be reproached with being harsh2 ,proudhon has shown a harshness and injustice with respect to women1 even the most illustrious1 that exceed all bounds4 ,if ,i am harsh1 ,i will endeavor on my part not to be unjust4 ,i4 ,well1 ,m4 ,proudhon1 you have sought war with women6 ,war you shall have4 ,you have said1 not without reason1 that the ,comtois are an obstinate race2 now1 ,i am your countrywoman2 and as woman generally carries virtues and failings farther than man1 ,i intend to outdo you in obstinacy4 ,i have raised the banner under which your daughters will one day take shelter if they are worthy of the name they bear2 ,i will hold it with a firm hand and will never suffer it to be struck down2 against such as you1 ,i have the heart and claws of a lioness4 ,you begin by saying that you by no means desired to treat of the inequality of the sexes1 but that half a dozen insurgent women with ink-stained fingers having defied you to discuss the question1 you will establish by facts and documents the physical1 intellectual and moral inferiority of woman2 that you will prove that her emancipation is the same thing as her prostitution1 and will take her defence in hand against the rambling talk of a few impure women whom sin has rendered mad4--7,vol4 ,,iii41 p4 #ccg47 ,i alone1 by shutting you up in a circle of contradictions1 have dared defy you to discuss the question2 ,i sum up1 therefore1 in my own person1 the few impure women whom sin has rendered mad4 ,insults of this sort cannot touch me2 the esteem1 the regard1 the precious friendship of eminently respectable men and women suffice to reduce unworthy insinuations to naught4 ,i should not notice them1 with such contempt do they inspire me1 were it not necessary to tell you that the time has gone by when one might hope to stifle the voice of a woman by attacking her purity4 ,if you do not ask the man who demands his rights and seeks to prove their legitimacy1 whether he is upright1 chaste1 etc41 no more have you the right to ask the question of the woman who makes the same claim4 ,were ,i therefore so unfortunate as to be the vilest of mortals as regards chastity1 this would not at all lessen the value of my claim4 ,i greatly dislike any justification1 but ,i owe it to the sacred cause that ,i defend1 ,i owe it to my friends1 to tell you that the moral education which my sainted1 lamented mother gave me1 together with scientific studies1 serious philosophy1 and continual occupation1 have kept me in what is commonly called the right path1 and have strengthened the horror that ,i feel for all tyranny1 whether it be styled man or temperament4 ,you accuse your biographer of having committed an indignity in directing an accusation against a woman1 because this woman was your wife2 do you not commit an indignity yourself in insulting many others8 ,and if you blame those who calumniate the morals of ,proudhon because he is not of their opinion1 in what light do you think that men will regard your calumnious insinuations against women1 because they do not think like you8 ,you claim that we have no morality1 because we lack respect towards the dignity of others2 who has set us this detestable example more than you8 ,you1 who style yourself the champion of the principles of '#hi--who are the men and women whom you attack8 ,they who are in different degrees1 and from different stand points1 in favor of these principles4 ,your anger has no bounds against ,george ,sand1 our great prose writer1 the author of the bulletins of the republic of '#dh4 ,you depreciate ,madame de ,stel1 whom you have not read1 and who was in advance of most of the masculine writers of her epoch4 ,two scaffolds are erected1 two women mount thereon3 ,madame ,roland and ,marie ,antoinette4 ,i1 a woman1 will not cast insult on the decapitated queen1 dying with dignity and courage2 no1 ,i bow before the block1 whatever head may lay on it1 and wipe away my tears4 ,but1 ,marie ,antoinette died the victim of the faults that her princely education had caused her to commit against the modern principles2 while ,madame ,roland1 the chaste and noble wife1 died for the revolution1 and died blessing it4 ,whence comes it that you greet the queen with your sympathies1 while you have nought but words of blame and contempt for the revolutionist8 ,and the men that belong to the great party of the future1 how do you style them8 ,the ,girondins1 effeminate2 ,robespierre and his adherents1 eunuchs2 ,the gentle ,bernardin de ,st4 ,pierre1 effeminate2 ,m4 ,legouv and those who think like him concerning the emancipation of women1 effeminate2 ,m4 de ,girardin1 absurd2 ,branger1 a pitiable author1 and effeminate2 ,jean ,jacques1 not only the prince of effeminates1 but the greatest enemy of the people and the revolution--he who was evidently the chief author of our ,french ,revolution4 ,are we not justified in asking you1 whether you are for or against the ,revolution8 ,m4 ,proudhon1 you have forfeited your right to all consideration1 since you have none for those who have neither offended you or offered you provocation1 those who have never pretended to reduce you to servitude2 men have lacked courage2 they ought to have stopped you when you began to descend to insulting personalities2 what they have not done1 ,i1 a woman1 will do1 fearing nothing1 or no one1 except my own conscience4 ,proudhon1 the greatest enemy of the people1 is the writer who1 treading under foot reason and conscience1 science and facts1 calls to his aid all the ignorance1 all the despotism of the past1 to mislead the spirit of the people with respect to the rights of half the human species4 ,proudhon1 the greatest enemy of the revolution1 is he who shows it to women as a toy2 who detaches them from its holy cause by confounding it with the negation of their rights2 who attacks and vilifies the advocates of progress2 who dares1 in fine1 in the name of the principles of general emancipation1 to proclaim the social annihilation and the conjugal servitude of one entire half of humanity4 ,behold the enemy of the people and of the revolution6 ,,ii4 ,i had proceeded thus far in my reply when1 pausing to take breath and to reflect1 ,i grew calm4 ,what6 said ,i to myself1 have ,i then no more sense than to take in earnest that shapeless thing honored by the name of theory by the good people who are so bewildered by the noise of ,proudhon's drum and tam-tam that they see stars at noon-day and the sun at midnight8 ,let me be calm1 let me not give to the affair more importance than it possesses2 and since ,i must set forth this thing to my readers1 let me do it in a fitting tone4 ,we will leave ,proudhon to explain himself in his own words4 ,no sooner had ,i taken this good resolution1 than ,i evoked ,m4 ,proudhon1 and said to him in all humility3 ,master1 ,i come to you that you may define for me the nature of woman1 and also something of the nature of man4 ,,proudhon4 ,you do well1 for ,i alone am capable of instructing you2 listen then to me4 ,the complete human being1 adequate to his destiny1 ,i speak of the physical1 is the male1 who1 through his virility1 attains the highest degree of muscular and nervous tension comporting with his nature and end1 and thence1 the maximum of action in labor and in battle4 ,woman is a ,,diminutive of man1 lacking one organ to become a pubescent youth4 ,she is a receptacle for the germs that man alone produces1 a place of incubation1 like the earth for the seed of the wheat2 an organ inert in itself1 and purposeless with respect to the woman4 ,such an organization--presupposes the subordination of the subject4 ,in herself1 ,i speak still of the physical1 woman has no reason to exist2 she is an instrument of reproduction which it has pleased nature to choose in preference to any other4 ,woman1 in this first count1 is inferior to man3 a sort of mean term between him and the rest of the animal kingdom4--,justice1 ,vol4 ,,iii41 etc4 ,and remark that ,i am not alone in my opinion3 ,woman is not only different from man1 says ,paracelsus1 she is different because she is lesser1 because her sex constitutes for her one faculty less4 ,wherever virility is wanting1 the subject is imperfect2 wherever it is taken away1 the subject deteriorates4 ,woman lacks nothing in the physical point of view except to produce germs4 ,likewise1 in the intellectual point of view1 woman possesses perceptions1 memory and imagination1 she is capable of attention1 reflection1 and judgment2 what does she lack8 ,the power of producing germs1 that is1 ideas4--,id4 ,now1 follow my reasoning closely3 ,it being admitted that strength has some weight in the establishment of right2 it being admitted1 on the other hand1 that woman is one third weaker than man1 she will then be to man1 in physical respects1 as two is to three4 ,consequently1 in the social workshop1 the value of the products of woman will be one third less than that of the products of man2 therefore1 in the division of social advantages1 the proportion will be the same3 thus says justice4 ,man will always be stronger and will always produce more1 which signifies that man will be the master1 and that woman will obey1 dura lex1 sed lex4--,id4 ,besides1 reflect that woman falls to the charge of man during gestation2 her physical weakness1 her infirmities1 her maternity1 exclude her inevitably and judicially from all political1 doctrinal and industrial direction4--,id4 ,we will now proceed to the second point4 ,but first1 mark well that woman1 like all else1 is autonomic2 woman1 considered apart from the influence of man1 is the thesis2 woman1 considered under the influence of man1 is the antithesis2 it is the thesis that we are now examining4 ,let us therefore approach the thetic woman in the intellectual relation4 ,we will first admit the principle that thought is proportional to force2 whence we have a right to conclude that man possesses a stronger intellect than woman4 ,thus we see man alone possessing genius4 ,as to woman1 she is nothing in science2 we owe to her no invention1 not even her distaff and spindle4 ,she never generalizes1 never synthetizes2 her mind is anti-metaphysical2 she cannot produce any regular work1 not even a romance2 she composes nothing but medleys1 monsters2 she makes epigrams1 satire2 does not know how to express a judgment in set terms1 nor assign its causes2 it was not she who created abstract words1 such as cause1 time1 space1 quantity1 relation4 ,woman is a true table rapping medium4--,id4 ,i have already told you that woman does not produce intellectual germs any more than physical germs2 her intellectual inferiority tells upon the quality of the product as much as upon the intensity and duration of the action and1 as in this feeble nature1 the defect of the idea results from the lack of energy of the thought1 it may be truly said that woman possesses a mind essentially false1 of irremediable falsity4 ,disconnected ideas1 contradictory reasonings1 chimeras taken for realities1 unreal analogies erected into principles1 a tendency of mind inclining inevitably towards annihilation3 such is the intellect of woman4 ,yes1 woman is a passive1 enervating being1 whose conversation exhausts like her embraces4 ,he who wishes to preserve entire the strength of his mind and body will flee her4--,id4 ,without man1 who is to her prophet and word1 she would not emerge from the bestial condition4 ,,author4 ,calm yourself1 ,master1 and tell me whether it is true that you have dealt harshly with literary women4 ,,proudhon4 ,literary women6 ,as if there were any6 ,the woman author does not exist2 she is a contradiction4 ,the part of woman in literature is the same as in manufactures2 she is useful where genius is no longer of service1 like a needle or a bobbin4 ,by cutting out of a woman's book all that is borrowed1 imitated1 gleaned1 and common-place1 we reduce it to a few pretty sayings2 philosophy on nothing4 ,to the community of ideas1 woman brings nothing of her own1 any more than to generation4 ,,author4 ,ah6 ,i understand3 you mean that1 in the character of author1 the woman of genius does not exist4 ,but in this respect1 among the number of men that write how many are there who have genius1 and who never borrow from any one8 ,,proudhon4 ,i grant that there are many effeminate men2 which does not alter the fact that woman would do better to go and iron her collars than to meddle with writing2 for1 it may be affirmed without fear of calumny1 that the woman who dabbles with philosophy and writing destroys her progeny by the labor of her brain and her kisses which savor of man2 the safest and most honorable way for her is to renounce home life and maternity2 destiny has branded her on the forehead2 made only for love1 the title of concubine if not of courtesan suffices her4--,id4 ,let us now consider the thetic woman in the moral point of view4 ,we will admit in the first place the principle that virtue exists in the ratio of strength and intellect1 whence we have a right to conclude that man is more virtuous than woman4 ,do not laugh2 it disturbs my ideas4 ,i go further2 man alone is virtuous2 man alone has the sense of justice2 man alone has the comprehension of right4 ,tell me1 ,i pray you1 what produces in man this energy of will1 this confidence in himself1 this frankness1 this daring1 all these powerful qualities that we have agreed to designate by the single word1 morality4 ,what inspires him with the sentiment of his dignity1 the scorn of falsehood1 the hatred of injustice1 the abhorence of all tyranny8 ,nothing else than the consciousness of his strength and reason4 ,,author4 ,but then1 ,master1 if man is all this1 why do you reproach the men of our times with lack of courage1 of dignity1 of justice1 of reason1 of good faith8 ,when ,i take up in minute detail the terrible charges which you have fulminated against the masculine race1 ,i can make nothing of the meaning of the tirade you have just uttered4 ,,proudhon4 ,consider what you irreverently name a tirade1 as the necessary check to feminine immorality4 ,it is only to set forth the truth that of all the differences that separate her mind from ours1 the conscience of woman is the most trifling1 her morality is of a different nature2 what she regards as right and wrong is not identically the same as what man himself regards as right and wrong1 so that1 relatively to us1 woman may be styled an immoral being4 ,by her nature she is in a state of constant demoralization1 always on this side or that of justice4444 ,justice is insupportable to her4444 ,her conscience is anti-judicial4 ,she is aristocratic1 loves privileges and distinctions2 in all revolutions that have liberty and equality for their object1 women make the most resistance4 ,they did more harm in the revolution of ,february than all the powers of the masculine reaction combined4 ,women have so little judicial sense that the legislator who fixed the age of moral responsibility at sixteen for both sexes1 might have delayed it till forty-five1 for women4 ,woman's conscience is decidedly of no value till this age4 ,in herself1 woman is immodest4 ,it is from man therefore that she receives modesty1 which is the product of manly dignity1 the corollary of justice4 ,woman has no other inclination1 no other aptitude than love4 ,in affairs of love1 the initiative belongs truly to woman4--,justice1 ,vol4 ,,iii41 pp4 #cfd1 #cff4 ,,author4 ,how many persons you will astonish1 ,master1 by revealing to them that modesty comes from man2 that consequently all the young girls who have been seduced1 all the little girls whose corruptors and violators are punished by the courts1 are but jades1 who1 through their initiative1 have caused men to forget their character as inspirers of chastity6 ,you enlighten me1 illustrious ,master2 and ,i shall at once draw up a memorial to demand that all seduced and violated women and girls shall be punished as they deserve2 and that1 to console the seducers1 suborners1 corruptors and violators1 poor innocent victims of feminine ferocity1 for having sinned against the corollary of justice and the product of manly dignity1 rose-trees shall be forced to blossom1 in order that the maires of the forty thousand communes of ,france and ,algeria may crown them winners of the roses4 ,,proudhon4 ,jest as you please2 woman is nevertheless so perverse in her nature1 that1 through inclination1 she seeks men who are ugly1 old1 and wicked4 ,,author4 ,is not this somewhat exaggerated1 ,master8 ,,proudhon4 7,forgetting what he has just said17 ,woman always prefers a pretty1 finical puppet to an honest man2 a beau1 a knave can obtain from her all that he desires2 she has nothing but disdain for the man who is capable of sacrificing his love to his conscience4 ,you see what woman is3 unproductive by nature1 inert1 without industry or understanding1 without justice1 and without modesty1 she needs that a father1 a brother1 a lover1 a husband1 a master1 a man1 in fine1 should give her that magnetic influence1 if ,i may thus term it1 which will render her capable of manly virtues1 of social and intellectual faculties4--,id4 ,and as all her philosophy1 her religion1 her politics1 her economy1 her industry are resolved in one word3 ,love2 ,now shall we make of this being belonging wholly to love1 an overseer1 an engineer1 a captain1 a merchant1 a financier1 an economist1 an administrator1 a scholar1 an artist1 a professor1 a philosopher1 a legislator1 a judge1 an orator1 the general of an army1 the head of a ,state8 ,the question carries its answer within itself4--,id4 ,i have laid down and proved my thesis1 ,i am about to draw my conclusions4 ,since in economical1 political and social action1 the strength of the body and that of the mind concur and are multiplied1 the one by the other1 the physical and intellectual value of the man will be to the physical and intellectual value of woman as #c #c is to #b #b1 or as #i to #d4 ,in the moral1 as in the physical and intellectual point of view1 her value 7that of woman17 is also as #b to #c4 ,their share of influence1 compared together1 will be as #c #c #c is to #b #b #b or as #bg to #h4 ,according to these conditions1 woman cannot pretend to counterbalance the virile power2 her subordination is inevitable4 ,both by nature1 and before justice1 she does not weigh the third of man4--,id4 ,do you understand clearly8 ,,author4 ,very clearly4 ,your theory1 if theory there be1 is only a tissue of paradoxes2 your pretended principles are contradicted by facts1 your conclusions are equally contradicted by facts2 you affirm like a revelator1 but you never prove1 as a philosopher should do4 ,there is so much ignorance and senseless metaphysics in all that you say1 that ,i should rather give you credit for bad faith than be compelled to despise you4 ,i have listened to you patiently while you have said to me1 in saying it of all women3 ,you are inert1 passive1 you possess the germ of nothing2 ,you are a mean term between man and beast1 you have no right to exist2 ,you are immoral1 immodest1 imbecile1 aristocratic1 the enemy of liberty1 equality and justice4 ,in your turn1 endeavor to listen to me calmly1 while ,i refute your allegations by facts1 by science and by reason4 ,,iii4 ,there is1 by your own confession1 but one good method of demonstration2 that of basing every affirmation upon well established facts1 not contradicted by others1 legitimately deduced4 ,let us see how you have followed this method4 ,in order to prove that the thetic woman1 or woman considered apart from the influence of man1 is such as you depict her1 it is necessary that you should bring us face to face with an assemblage of such women1 and afterwards1 with another assemblage composed of men who have never been subjected to the influence of women1 that we may verify for ourselves the native activity of the latter and the native inertness of the former4 ,have you had at your disposal1 can you place at ours these proofs de facto8 ,no2 and if you neither have them nor can procure them1 what is your thesis1 if not the illusion of a brain sick with pride and with hatred of woman8 #a4 ,you say3 man alone produces physical germs4 ,anatomy answers3 ,it is woman that produces the germ2 the organ that performs this function in her1 as in all other females1 is the ovary4 #b4 ,you say3 woman is a diminutive of the man2 she is an imperfect male2 anatomy says3 man and woman are two distinct beings1 each one complete1 each one furnished with a special organism1 the one as necessary as the other4 #c4 ,you say with ,paracelsus1 of whom this is not the only absurdity3 where virility is wanting1 the subject is imperfect2 where it is taken away1 the subject deteriorates4 ,mere good sense replies3 the being can only be incomplete or deteriorate when it differs from its type2 now the type of woman is feminity not masculinity4444 ,if1 like you1 ,i were a lover of paradox1 ,i would say3 man is an imperfect woman1 since it is the woman that produces the germ2 his part in reproduction is very doubtful1 and science may even learn some day to dispense with it4 ,this is ,auguste ,comte's paradox2 it is worth as much as yours4 ,to prove that woman is only an imperfect male1 it is necessary to establish by facts that man on being deprived of virility1 finds the organs developed in him peculiar to woman1 becomes qualified for conception1 gestation1 delivery1 and giving suck4 ,now ,i have never learned that any keeper of a seraglio had been transformed into an odahlic2 have you8 #d4 ,you say3 the organs peculiar to woman are inert1 and purposeless with respect to herself2 physiology answers3 the labor that these organs accomplish is immense2 pregnancy and the crisis that terminates it are incontestable proofs of this4 ,the influence of these organs makes itself felt1 not only on the general health1 but in the intellectual and moral order4 ,pathology1 no less eloquent1 depicts to us the grave disorders produced among women by forced continence1 incontinence1 the excessive or perverted vitality of these organs which you pretend are inert4 #e4 ,you say3 woman is the soil1 the place of incubation for the germ4 ,anatomy has told you in reply that the woman alone produces the germ4 ,read my reply to your friend ,michelet on the subject of the resemblance of children and you will know what facts add to the answer of science4 ,your affirmation is no less absurd in the presence of these facts than that of a simpleton who should pretend that the soil in which the seed of the carnation or the oak is deposited1 has the property of causing rosebushes or palm trees to spring up4 ,from this false supposition that woman has not physical germs1 you conclude that she is destitute of intellectual and moral germs4444 ,and do you really dare accuse woman of thus taking false analogies for principles8 ,grant that when a man indulges in them thus wantonly1 and mistakes them for principles1 we ought to be more inclined to laugh than to be vexed4 #f4 ,you say that intellectually and morally1 woman is in herself1 nothing4 ,now1 if ,i am not mistaken1 you admit that our functions have our organs for their basis1 and you place the functions of intellect and morality in the brain1 according to ,gall1 or similarly4 ,well1 ,anatomy tells you3 in both sexes1 the cerebral mass is similar in composition and1 adds ,phrenology1 in the number of organs4 ,biology adds3 the law of development of our organs is exercise1 which supposes action and reaction1 the result of which is the augmentation of the volume1 consistency and vitality of the organ exercised4 ,the point in question then1 to convince your readers of the truth of your affirmations1 is to prove that the two sexes are subjected to the same exercise of the brain and to the same stimulus1 and that despite this identity of education1 woman constantly remains inferior4 ,have you proved this8 ,have you ever thought of doing so8 ,no4 ,for if you had1 your theory would have fallen to to the ground1 since you would have been forced to acknowledge that man and woman cannot be alike1 for we say to man from his infancy3 resist1 struggle2 ,to woman3 yield1 always submit4 ,to man3 be yourself1 speak your thoughts boldly1 ambition is a virtue2 you can aspire to everything4 ,to woman3 dissemble1 calculate your slightest word1 respect prejudices2 modesty1 abnegation1 such is your lot2 you can attain to naught4 ,to man3 knowledge1 talent1 courage will open every career of life to you1 will make you honored by all4 ,to woman3 knowledge is useless to you2 if you have it1 you will pass for a pedant1 and if you have courage1 you will be disdainfully called virago4 ,to man3 for you are instituted lyceums1 universities1 special schools1 high prizes2 all the institutions through which your intellect can be developed2 all the libraries in which is accumulated the knowledge of the past4 ,to woman3 for you is history in madrigals1 the reading of prayer-books and novels4 ,you have nothing to do with lyceums1 special schools1 high prizes1 anything that would elevate your mind and enlarge your views2 a learned woman is ridiculous6 ,man must display the knowledge that he often possesses but superficially1 woman must hide what she really possesses4 ,man must appear courageous when he is often but a coward2 woman must feign timidity when in reality she is not afraid4 ,for where man is reputed great and sublime1 woman is found ridiculous1 sometimes odious4 ,if you had verified as you should have done1 these diametrically opposite systems of training1 the one tending to develop and ennoble the being1 the other to degrade it and render it imbecile1 instead of writing such absurdities1 you would have said to yourself3 woman must really have the initiative to resist the iniquitous system of repression that weighs upon her2 she must have great elasticity to show herself so often superior to the majority of men in intellect1 and always in morality4 ,i am curious to know what you males would be if subjected to the same system as we4 ,look at those who have not studied like you1 and tell me whether they are not in general beneath uncultivated women4 ,look then at the men who have received a feminine education2 have they not all the affectation1 all the narrowness of mind of silly women8 ,look1 on the contrary1 at those women who1 through the wish of their teachers or their own energy1 have been subjected to masculine discipline1 and tell me1 on your conscience1 whether they do not equal the most intelligent1 the firmest among you8 #g4 ,you say3 intellectual force is in proportion to physical force4 ,facts reply3 great thoughts1 useful works1 date from the period when the physical forces began to decline4 ,facts say also3 the athletic temperament1 which is the most vigorous1 is the least intellectual3 statuaries fully comprehend this1 and sculpture ,hercules with a large body and a small head4 #h4 ,you say that morality is in a direct ratio to physical and intellectual force combined4 ,this pleasantry we will not refute2 every one knows too well that these things have no relation1 and that facts contradict your assertion4 #i4 ,you say3 woman being one third weaker1 should have in social labor one third the privileges of man4 ,upon what elements do you base this proportion8 ,in order to establish it1 did you carry a dynamometer about through our districts and measure the strength of each man and of each woman8 ,but were your affirmation true1 is naught but strength employed in labor8 ,then1 great economist1 what do we do with skill8 ,what ,samsonian muscles are needed to keep books1 dispense justice1 measure cloth1 cut and sew garments1 etc46 ,and what is the end of civilization if not to shift the employ of our strength from ourselves to machinery that we may be at liberty to use only our intellect and skill8 #aj4 ,you say3 the infirmities1 the weaknesses1 the maternity of woman1 and her aptitude for love1 exclude her from all functions2 she is judicially and absolutely excluded from all political1 industrial and doctrinal direction4 ,she cannot be a political leader4444 ,yet history shows us numerous empresses1 queens1 regents and sovereign princesses who have governed with wisdom and glory1 and have shown themselves far superior to many male sovereigns1 unless ,maria ,theresa1 ,catherine ,,ii1 ,isabella and ,blanche of ,castile1 and many others1 are but myths4 ,woman cannot be a legislator4444 ,all the women whom ,i have just cited have been so1 and many more beside4 ,women can be neither philosophers nor professors4 ,hypatia1 massacred by the ,christians1 taught ,philosophy with luster2 in the ,middle ,age and later1 ,italian women filled chairs of ,philosophy1 ,law and ,mathematics1 and excited admiration and enthusiasm2 in ,france1 at the present time1 the ,polytechnists are making great account of the geometrician1 ,sophie ,germain1 who has taken it into her head to study ,kant4 ,woman cannot be a merchant or an administratrix444 ,yet a great portion of the feminine population devote themselves to trade1 or fill commercial positions4 ,it is even admitted that the prosperity of commercial establishments is almost always due to the administrative genius of woman4 ,woman cannot be an overseer1 a foreman of a workshop444 ,yet a host of women superintend workshops1 invent1 improve1 carry on manufactures alone1 and contribute1 by their taste and activity1 to the increase of the national wealth and the industrial reputation of ,france4 ,woman cannot be artist444 ,yet every one knows that the greatest literary artist of our age is a woman1 ,george ,sand2 yet every one bows before ,duchesnois1 ,mars1 ,georges1 ,maxime1 ,ristori1 ,rachel1 ,dorval2 yet every one pauses before the beautiful paintings of ,rosa ,bonheur2 yet since the revival of the fine arts1 every century has registered many celebrated women4 ,we meet women everywhere1 working everywhere1 competing with man4444 ,yet ,proudhon pretends that she can be nowhere1 that she is excluded from every place absolutely and judicially2 that if she governs and legislates like ,maria ,theresa1 it is a contradiction2 ,that if she philosophises like ,hypatia1 it is a contradiction2 ,that if she commands an army and wins victories like the wife of the conqueror of ,calais2 if she fights like ,jeanne d',arc1 ,jeanne ,hachette1 ,madame ,garibaldi and thousands of others1 it is a contradiction2 ,that if she is merchant1 administratrix1 superintendent of a workshop1 like thousands of women1 it is a contradiction2 ,that if she is learned like ,dr4 ,boivin1 ,sophie ,germain1 and many others1 if she is a professor as are many among us1 it is a contradiction4 ,the thesis sustained by ,proudhon is1 as we have just seen1 contradicted by science and by facts4 ,we ask ourselves whether it is possible that he is ignorant of the simplest notions of ,anatomy and ,biology2 we ask ourselves whether it is possible that he is so far blind as not to see that woman is in reality all that he pretends that she absolutely and judicially cannot be in his absurd and insulting theory2 and we conclude that the author is struck with ignorance and voluntary blindness4 ,your reproaches are pleasant2 from the origin of society1 man has been the master2 now1 the ancient world sunk beneath the weight of slavery1 usury1 and the most shameless vices2 the modern world seems doomed to perish through inequality and its sad consequences1 you yourself acknowledge that injustice caused by your sex exists every where in the world1 and you say that man has judicial sense6 ,and1 in the face of the inequality and oppression created by men1 of their love of puerile distinctions1 of the base deeds which they commit for a bit of ribbon1 you accuse women of loving inequality and privileges6 ,they may love them1 like you1 but they are better than you1 if not more just2 they pray for the vanquished1 you kill him6 ,i do not deny that women did much harm to the ,revolution of ,february1 for they are as intelligent as men1 and have great influence over them4 ,but what did this ,revolution do for them1 ,i pray8 ,mark me well1 you and all those who are blind enough1 proud enough1 despotic enough to resemble you1 and remember what ,i say4 ,woman is like the people3 she desires no more of your revolutions1 which decimate us for the benefit of a few ambitious babblers4 ,she will have liberty and equality for all men and women1 or she will take care that no one shall have them4 ,we1 ,women of ,progress1 openly declare ourselves adversaries of whoever shall deny the right of woman to liberty4 ,our sisters of the people1 indignant at their exclusion from the popular assemblies1 say to you3 you have lured us long enough1 it is time that this should end4 ,we will no longer suffer ourselves to be ensnared by your high-sounding words of ,justice1 ,liberty1 and ,equality1 which are only false coin so long as they are applied to but half the human species4 ,do you wish to save the perishing world8 ,call woman to your side4 ,if you will not do this1 let us alone1 insipid phraseologists2 you are naught but ambitious hypocrites2 we do not wish our husbands to follow you1 and they will not4 ,,iv4 ,,proudhon4 ,let us consider woman in the antithesis4 ,i have said that woman1 considered apart from masculine influence1 is nothing4 ,,author4 ,yes1 ,master1 because this is a pure creation of your thought4 ,,proudhon4 ,but woman1 considered under the influence of man1 is half of the human being1 and ,i sing litanies in her praise4 ,,author4 ,then you make woman re-enter humanity through the door of ,androgyny1 in order to restore to her her share of rights4444 ,this is absurd2 no matter4 ,,proudhon4 ,not so6 not so6 ,women have rights6 ,never1 so long as ,i am ,proudhon6 ,she is indeed the complement of man1 who1 without her1 would be only a brute4 ,,author4 ,ah6 my learned ,master1 how do these things harmonize in your brain8 ,you have said hitherto that woman owes everything to man1 you tell me now that1 without woman1 man would be only a brute4 ,is he not then1 adequate to his destiny1 as you have affirmed8 ,and if woman is nothing without him1 and he nothing without woman1 ,i can see no longer upon what you rest in making him the guide of this poor unfortunate4 ,,proudhon4 ,i need not explain myself1 such is my idea4 ,i am simply comparing the respective qualities of the sexes1 and1 as ,i find1 they are incommutable4 ,,author4 ,ah6 ,i catch a glimpse of your meaning2 then you do not weigh them in the balance since they are not alike1 and1 being unable to prejudice the rights of woman1 you leave her free4 ,,proudhon4 ,what6 what6 ,woman free6 ,horrible6 ,are you resolved to throw me into convulsions8 ,woman1 however eminent may be her talents1 should serve man in silence and in all humility4 ,,author4 ,frankly1 ,master1 all this appears to me nonsense1 which1 satanic as you are1 you cannot yourself understand in the least4 ,,proudhon4 ,listen without interrupting me further1 if you wish to comprehend me4 ,without feminine grace1 man would not have emerged from the brutality of the early ages2 he would violate his female1 smother his little ones1 and give chase to his fellows in order to devour them4 ,woman is the conscience of man personified1 the incarnation of his youth1 his reason and his justice1 of all within him that is purest1 most sacred1 most sublime4--,justice1 ,vol4 ,,iii41 etc4 ,the ideality of his being1 she becomes to him a principle of animation1 a gift of strength1 of prudence1 of justice1 of patience1 of courage1 of sanctity1 of hope1 of consolation1 without which he would be incapable of sustaining the burden of life1 of preserving his dignity1 of enduring himself1 of fulfilling his destiny4 ,it is through her1 through the grace of her divine word1 that man gives life and reality to his ideas1 by bringing them back unceasingly from the abstract to the concrete4 ,the auxiliary on the side of justice1 she is the angel of patience1 of resignation1 of tolerance1 the guardian of his faith1 the mirror of his conscience1 the source of his devotion4 ,vanquished1 guilty1 it is still in the bosom of woman that he finds consolation and pardon4 ,man has strength1 woman beauty4 ,through her beauty1 she should be the expression of ,justice1 and the attraction that draws us to it4444 ,she will be better than man4444 ,she will be the motor of all justice1 all knowledge1 all industry1 all virtue4--,id4 ,also1 beauty is the true destination of the sex2 it is its natural condition1 its state4--,id4 ,woman is the soul of everything2 without her1 all beauty fades2 nature is sad1 precious stones lose their luster1 all our arts1 children of love1 become insipid1 half of our labor is without value4 ,if1 with respect to vigor1 man is to woman as #c to #b1 woman1 with respect to beauty1 is to man as #c to #b4 ,if1 from the body1 we pass to the mind and conscience1 woman1 through her beauty1 will be revealed with new advantages4--,id4 ,the mind of woman is more intuitive1 more concrete1 finer than that of man2 it seems to man1 and is in fact1 more circumspect1 more prudent1 more reserved1 wiser1 more equable2 it was ,minerva1 the protectress of ,achilles and ,ulysses1 who appeased the fury of the one1 and shamed the other of his paradoxes and profligacies2 it is the ,virgin whom the ,christian litany calls the seat of wisdom4 ,the quality of the feminine mind has the effect of serving the genius of man as a radiator1 by reflecting his thoughts at an angle which makes them appear more beautiful if they are correct1 more absurd if they are false2 consequently1 of simplifying our knowledge and condensing it into simple propositions1 easy to seize upon as simple facts1 and the intuitive1 aphoristic1 imaged comprehension of which1 while giving woman a share in the philosophy and the speculations of man1 makes their memory clearer to him1 their digestion more easy444 ,there is not a man among the most learned1 the most inventive1 the most profound1 who does not feel a sort of refreshment from conversation with women4444 ,popularizers are generally minds of the feminine type2 but man does not like to be subservient to the glory of man1 and provident ,nature has assigned this part to woman4 ,let her speak1 then1 let her write1 even1 ,i authorize and invite her to do so2 but let her do it according to the measure of her feminine intelligence1 since it is on this condition that she can serve us1 and please us1 otherwise ,i withdraw the permission4 ,man has strength2 but that constancy of which he boasts overmuch1 he derives especially from woman4444 ,through her he endures1 and learns true heroism4 ,upon occasion1 she can set him the example of it2 she will be1 then1 more sublime than he4 ,woman will render the law kind1 and will convert this two-edged sword into an olive branch4444 ,there is no justice without tolerance2 now1 it is in the exercise of tolerance that woman excels2 by the sensibility of her heart and the delicacy of her impressions1 by the tenderness of her soul1 by her love1 in fine1 she will blunt the sharp angles of justice1 destroy its asperities1 of a divinity of terror make a divinity of peace4 ,justice1 the mother of ,peace1 would be only a cause of disunion to humanity1 were it not for this tempering which she receives especially from woman4--,id4 ,and what chastity does woman possess6 ,with what constancy she awaits her betrothed6 ,what continence she observes during the absence or sickness of her husband6 ,ah6 woman alone knows how to be modest4444 ,through this modesty1 which is her most precious prerogative1 she triumphs over the transports of man1 and ravishes his heart4--,id4 ,and what wisdom in her choice of the companion of her life6 ,she desires man to be strong1 valiant1 ingenious2 she turns from him if he is mincing and delicate4--,id4 ,now1 my unloved1 indocile1 and very irreverent disciple1 let us recapitulate4 ,woman1 with respect to physical1 intellectual and moral beauty1 is to man as #c to #b2 thus it may be said1 indeed1 that between man and woman there exists a certain equivalence1 arising from their respective comparison1 in the two-fold point of view of strength and beauty2 if1 by labor1 genius1 and justice1 man is to woman as #bg to #h1 in her turn1 by graces of form and mind1 by amenity of character and tenderness of heart1 she is to man as #bg to #h4444 ,but these respective qualities are incommutable1 cannot be the subject of any contract4444 ,now1 as every question of preponderance in the government of human life is within the jurisdiction either of the economical order1 or of the philosophical or judicial order1 it is evident that superiority of beauty1 even of that which is intellectual and moral1 cannot create a compensation for woman1 whose condition is thus made fatally subordinate4--,id4 ,do you understand me now8 ,,author4 ,i understand that this is pure sophistry1 a thing easily demonstrated2 that if your thesis is absurd1 your antithesis1 however complimentary it may be1 is quite as much so2 that you have piled contradictions upon contradictions1 and that it is a sad spectacle to me to see so strong and fine an intellect as yours abandon itself to such practices4 ,you shall judge for yourself whether my reproaches and regrets are well founded4 ,in the ,thesis you say3 man alone is in himself intelligent and just1 he alone is adequate to his destiny4 ,woman has no reason for existing2 without man1 she would not emerge from the bestial condition4 ,in the ,antithesis3 without woman1 who is the principle of animation of man1 the motive power of all science1 of all art1 of all industry1 of all virtue--without woman1 who renders justice possible1 thought comprehensible and applicable1 man1 far from being in himself just1 intelligent1 a worker1 would be but a brute1 who would violate his female1 strangle his little ones1 and pursue his fellow men in order to devour them4 ,what follows from these divergent affirmations8 ,that if woman alone is inadequate to her destiny1 man alone is inadequate to his1 and that the adequateness of both is caused by the synthesis of their respective qualities4 ,it also follows1 by your own admission1 that man receives as much from woman as she receives from him1 since1 if he rescues her from the bestial state1 she rescues him from the state of brute ferocity4 ,it follows1 lastly1 by your own admission1 that there is equivalence between the respective qualities of the two sexes4 ,only you pretend that these qualities cannot be measured by each other1 and cannot therefore be subject for contract1 and that the qualities of man being more important to the social state than those of woman1 the latter should be subordinated to the former4 ,tell me1 is there commutability between the qualities that distinguish men from each other8 ,between the man of genius and the humble rag-picker8 ,between the philosopher who elevates the human mind and the porter who does not even know how to read8 ,between the brain that discovers a great natural law and the one that reflects on nothing8 ,to answer affirmatively is impossible3 for we only compare things of the same nature4 ,now1 if there can be no commutability between individuals so different1 is there not1 according to your system1 subject for social contract between them8 ,why then do you claim that these men should be equal socially8 ,why then do you admit that they may associate things in a private contract which cannot be subjected to a common measure8 ,there is no need to be learned in philosophy or economy to know that any contract whatsoever is an admission of personal insufficiency2 that we would not enter into partnership with others if we could dispense with them2 and that in general the design of the contracting parties is to establish commutability where it has not been established by the nature of things4 ,to a common work1 one brings his idea1 another his hands1 a third1 his money1 a fourth1 custom3 if each of the parties had had all these combined1 no one would have thought of forming a partnership3 a happy insufficiency brought them together1 and caused them to establish equivalence between the shares of capital which could not be subjected to a common measure4 ,were it true1 therefore1 that the qualities of the sexes differ as you pretend1 then1 as through this same difference1 they are equally necessary to the collective work1 they are essentially subject to contract1 and equivalent4 ,but do they differ as you say8 ,you know the answer of science and facts4 ,we will not return to it4 ,all your distinctions of beauty and strength are only imaginary classifications4 ,we all know that of eighteen millions of ,frenchmen1 at the present time1 we have a few men of genius1 absorbed in specialties1 a few more men of talent1 perhaps not four philosophers1 mediocrities in abundance1 and an immense host of cyphers4 ,it is mockery1 therefore1 to establish the right of prepotency of a sex from qualities which1 on the one hand1 do not exist in each of its members1 and1 on the other1 are often found in the highest degree in the sex which it is claimed to reduce to subjection4 ,besides1 did your sex possess the qualities which you ascribe to it1 to the exclusion of mine2 since1 by your admission1 there would be neither civilization1 nor science1 nor art1 nor justice1 without the qualities you term peculiar to woman2 and since1 without these qualities1 man would be only a brute and an anthropophagus1 it thence follows that woman is at least the equivalent of man1 if not his superior4 ,let us now notice a few of your contradictions4 #ast ,thesis4 ,woman is a sort of mean term between man and the rest of the animal kingdom4 ,antithesis4 ,no2 woman is the idealisation of man1 in that which is purest and most sublime in him4 #b;d ,thesis4 ,woman is an inert creature1 devoid of understanding1 that has no reason for existing4 ,antithesis4 ,no2 woman is the animating principle of man2 without her1 he could not fulfil his destiny2 she is the motive power of all justice1 all science1 all industry1 all civilization1 all virtue4 #c;d ,thesis4 ,woman does not know how to express an opinion in set terms1 or to assign reasons for it2 she has only disconnected ideas1 erroneous reasonings2 she mistakes chimeras for realities1 composes nothing but medleys1 monsters4 ,antithesis4 ,no2 the intellect of woman is finer than that of man2 she has a wiser1 more prudent1 more reserved mind2 she is the foil of masculine ideas4 ,she is ,minerva shaming ,ulysses for his paradoxes and profligacies2 she is the seat of wisdom4 #dth ,thesis4 ,without the magnetic influence of man1 woman would not emerge from the bestial state4 ,antithesis4 ,without the magnetic influence of woman1 man would be but a ferocious beast4 #eth ,thesis4 ,the woman who philosophises and writes1 destroys her progeny2 she had better go iron her collars2 she is good for nothing but to be concubine or courtesan4 ,antithesis4 ,woman should participate in the philosophy and speculations of man1 and popularize them by her writings4 #fth ,thesis4 ,the conversation of woman exhausts1 enervates2 he who wishes to preserve intact the force of his mind and body1 will flee her4 ,antithesis4 ,the conversation of woman refreshes the most eminent men4 #gth ,thesis4 ,woman has an infirm conscience2 she is immoral1 anti-judicial2 she is worth nothing as to moral responsibility until forty-five years of age4 ,antithesis4 ,woman is the mirror of the conscience of man1 the incarnation of this conscience2 through her alone justice becomes possible2 she is the guardian of morals2 she is superior to man in moral beauty4 #hth ,thesis4 ,woman is without virtue4 ,antithesis4 ,woman excels in tolerance2 through her1 man learns constancy and true heroism4 #ith ,thesis4 ,woman is immodest3 she takes the initiative in affairs of love4 ,antithesis4 ,woman alone knows how to be modest2 in principle1 there are no impure women2 woman calms the sensual passions of man4 #ajth ,thesis4 ,woman prefers an ugly1 old1 and wicked man4 ,no2 woman prefers a pretty1 mincing puppet1 a beau4 ,antithesis4 ,no2 woman wishes man strong1 valiant1 ingenious2 she turns from him when he is but a pretty1 mincing puppet1 a beau4 ,i might go on thus to a hundred1 and then make a cross to begin another hundred4 ,can it be possible that you trifle in this manner with your readers8 ,,proudhon4 ,the contradiction is not in my thought1 but only in the terms4 ,the woman of my thesis is she who has not been subjected to masculine magnetism1 to which the woman of my antithesis1 on the contrary1 has been subjected4 ,,author4 ,you would have reason to laugh at us1 should we take such an answer in earnest4 ,what6 have you seen women outside of society1 who would have taken men for monkeys8 ,have you proved that in this menagerie1 they think falsely1 they write badly1 they are worth nothing as to conscience until forty-five years of age8 ,that there1 in the absence of men1 the women take the initiative in affairs of love8 ,that the conversation of these women exhausts1 enervates the men who are not there8 ,that these women prefer the old1 ugly and wicked men1 or the pretty1 mincing puppets1 who are not at their disposal8 ,if the woman of your thesis is the one who has not been subjected to masculine influence1 why do you take the women whom you attack from among those who have been subjected to it8 ,your contradictions1 ,master1 are genuine and fair contradictions4 ,for you as for us1 there is but one woman3 she who lives in the society of man1 who has1 like him1 faults and vices1 and who influences him as much as she is influenced by him3 the other has never existed except in the brain of mystics and of victims of hallucination4 ,but we will leave this4 ,i have been told that you have spoken of love3 it would seem to me impossible1 did ,i not know your audacity4 ,,proudhon4 ,i have spoken of it1 as well as of ,marriage4 ,,author4 ,well6 let us make a little excursion into these two territories4 ,we will first speak of ,love4 ,v4 ,,proudhon4 ,love6444 ,it wearies and annoys me greatly4 ,i have never yet been able to make my ideas agree on this subject4 ,i at first defined love3 the attraction of the two sexes towards each other with a view to reproduction1 adding that this attraction becomes purified by the adjunction of the ,ideal4 ,i even made a most beautiful discovery with respect to this1 namely3 that there is a sexual division because it is impossible to idealize anything but the objective4--,vol4 ,,iii4 ,,author4 ,how you run on6 ,then all of the animal and vegetable species in which the sexes are separated have an ideal in love8 ,an ideal in the brain of a horse or a mare may pass1 since there is a brain2 but where will you lodge that of the male and female flower8 ,,proudhon4 ,on my honor1 ,i never thought of asking myself that question4 ,we will return1 if you please1 to the definition of human love4 ,i say1 then1 that love is an attraction given with a view to reproduction2 notwithstanding1 ,i think1 also1 that to love1 properly called1 progeny is odious4--,id4 ,,author4 ,but this is a contradiction444 ,,proudhon4 ,am ,i to blame for that6 ,you know1 that in my eyes1 man and woman form the organ of justice1 the humanitary ,androgynus4 ,now ,i affirm that love is the moving power of justice1 because it is this that attracts towards each other the two halves of the couple4 ,it is through love1 therefore1 that the conscience of man and woman is opened to the knowledge of justice1 which does not hinder it from being the most powerful fatality by which nature could have found the secret of obscuring reason within us1 of afflicting the conscience1 and of chaining the free will4--,id4 ,,author4 ,the moving power of justice1 the sentiment which opens the conscience of the sexes to justice1 and which forms the judicial organ1 disturbs the reason and afflicts the conscience6 ,but this is a contradiction4 ,,proudhon4 ,once more1 am ,i to blame for it8 ,love1 sought for itself1 renders man unworthy1 and woman vile2 and stop6 love1 even when sanctioned by justice1 ,i do not like4--,id4 ,,author4 ,have you not said that without the love inspired in man by the beauty of woman1 there would be neither art1 nor science1 nor industry1 nor justice2 that man would be only a brute8 ,,proudhon4 ,ah6 ,i have said much more6444 ,this love1 the motor of justice1 the father of civilization1 is1 notwithstanding1 the abolition of justice1 which exacts that it should be cast aside as soon as its office of motor is performed4 ,the impulse1 the movement given1 it must be dispensed with4 ,in marriage1 it should play the smallest part possible2 all amorous conversation1 even between betrothed lovers1 even between husband and wife1 is indecorous1 destructive of domestic respect1 of the love of labor and the practice of social duty4 ,a marriage of pure inclination is nearly allied to shame1 and the father that gives his consent to it is deserving of censure4--,id4 ,,author4 ,a father deserving of censure because he unites those who yield to the motive power of justice6 ,,proudhon4 ,let young people marry without repugnance1 that is right4444 ,but when a son1 a daughter1 to satisfy inclination1 tramples under foot the wishes of the father1 disinheritance is his first right and most sacred duty4--,id4 ,,author4 ,thus love1 the motor of justice1 the cause of civilization1 the necessity for reproduction1 is at the same time a thing of shame which should be feared and banished from marriage1 and that1 in certain cases1 deserves disinheritance6444 ,may the gods bless your contradictions1 and posterity pass lightly over them6 ,,proudhon4 ,i can say nothing more satisfactory on the subject2 but1 let us talk of marriage2 ,i am strong indeed on that point4 ,every function supposes an organ2 man is the organ of liberty2 but justice exacts an organ composed of two terms3 the couple4 ,it is necessary that the two persons that compose it should be dissimilar and unequal1 because1 if they were alike1 they would not be completed by each other2 they would be two beings wholly independent1 without reciprocal action1 incapable1 through this cause1 to produce justice4444 ,in principle1 there is no difference between man and woman1 except a simple diminution of energy in their faculties4 ,man is stronger1 woman is weaker1 that is all4444 ,man is the power of that of which woman is the ideal1 and reciprocally1 woman is the ideal of that of which man is the power4--,id4 ,androgyny laid down1 ,i define marriage to be3 the sacrament of justice1 the living mystery of universal harmony2 the form given by nature itself to the religion of the human race4 ,in a lower sphere1 marriage is the act by which man and woman1 elevating themselves above love and the senses1 declare their wish to be united according to the law1 and1 as far as in them lies1 to pursue the social destiny1 by laboring for the ,progress of ,justice4 ,in this family religion1 it may be said that the father is the priest1 the wife the god1 the children the people4444 ,all are in the hands of the father1 fed by his labor1 protected by his sword1 subjected to his government1 within the jurisdiction of his court1 heirs and continuers of his thought4444 ,woman remains subordinate to man1 because she is an object of worship1 and because there is no common measure between the force and the ideal4444 ,man will die for her1 as he dies for his faith and his gods1 but he will keep for himself the command and the responsibility4--,id4 ,in result1 the spouses are equal1 since there is community of fortune1 of honor1 of absolute devotion2 in principle and practice 444 this equality does not exist1 cannot exist4444 ,the equality of rights supposing an equilibrium between the advantages with which ,nature has endowed woman and the more powerful faculties of man1 the result would be that woman1 instead of being elevated by this equilibrium1 would be denaturalized1 debased4 ,by the ideality of her being1 woman is1 so to speak1 beyond price4444 ,that she may preserve this inestimable charm1 which is not a positive faculty in her1 but a quality1 a manner1 a state1 she must accept the law of marital power3 equality would render her odious1 would be the dissolution of marriage1 the death of love1 the destruction of the human race4 ,and the glory of man consists in reigning over this admirable creature1 in being able to say3 she is myself idealized1 she is more than ,i1 and1 notwithstanding1 would be nothing without me4444 ,in spite of this or on account of this1 ,i am and ought to remain the head of the community2 if ,i yield the command to her1 she becomes debased and we perish4--,id4 ,marriage should be monogamous1 because conscience is common between the spouses1 and because it cannot1 without being dissolved1 admit a third participant4--,id4 ,it should be indissoluble1 because conscience is immutable1 and the spouses could not procure an exchange without being guilty of sacrilege4 ,if they are obliged to separate1 the deserving one needs only to heal the wounds made in his heart and conscience1 the other has no longer the right to aspire to marriage1 but must be content with concubinage4--,id4 ,what do you think of this theory8 ,,author4 ,hitherto ,i have refused to believe in the god ,proteus2 but on contemplating you1 ,master1 ,i abjure my incredulity4 ,you appear to us first under the garb and form of ,manou1 and we discuss his physiology2 ,you appear to us next1 successively1 in the shape and vestments of ,moses1 ,st4 ,thomas ,aquinas1 and ,st4 ,bonaventure2 you are incarnated for a moment in ,paracelsus2 ,lastly1 you put on the ,roman toga1 over which you wrap the ungraceful robe of ,auguste ,comte4 ,all this is too old1 too unsightly for our age4444 ,have you really nothing better to give us than the resurrection of the ,roman law at the glorious time when ,cincinnatus ate his dish of lentils stark naked8 ,,proudhon4 ,what6 do you dispute that marriage by confarreation is not the masterpiece of the human conscience8 ,,author4 ,do ,i dispute it8 ,yes1 indeed1 and many other things beside4 ,but tell me1 what meaning do you give to the words sacrament and mystery1 that sound so hollow and false from your lips8 ,,proudhon4 ,despite all my explanations concerning marriage1 there nevertheless remains a mystery with respect to it4 ,this is all ,i can tell you in elucidation4 ,you must comprehend that marriage is an institution sui generis1 formed at the same time at the tribunal of human justice by contract1 and at the spiritual tribunal by sacrament1 and which perishes as soon as the one or the other of these two elements disappears4--,id4 ,you must also comprehend that marriage is a function of humanity1 outside of which love becomes a scourge1 the distinction of the sexes has no longer any meaning1 the perpetuation of the species becomes a real injury to the living1 justice is contrary to nature and the plan of the creation is absurd4--,id4 ,,author4 ,the plan of the creation absurd1 and justice contrary to nature without marriage6 ,what does this mean in plain language8 ,,proudhon4 ,what6 ,is your intellect so feeble that it does not comprehend that1 without marriage1 there is not1 there cannot be justice8 ,,author4 ,then marriage is necessary to all8 ,,proudhon4 ,no2 but all participate in it and receive its influence through filiation1 consanguinity1 adoption which1 universal in its essence1 in order to act1 has no need of cohabitation4444 ,in the animic or spiritual point of view1 marriage is to each of us a condition of felicity4444 ,every adult1 healthy in mind and body1 whom solitude or abstraction has not sequestered from the rest of mankind1 loves1 and by virtue of this love1 contracts marriage in his heart4444 ,justice1 which is the end of love1 and which can be obtained either by domestic initiation1 by civic communion1 or1 lastly1 by mystical love1 suffices for happiness in every condition of age and fortune4--,id4 ,and do not confound marriage with any other union1 with concubinage1 for example1 which is the mark of a feeble conscience4 ,i do not however condemn the concubinary1 for society is not the work of a day1 virtue is difficult to practise1 without speaking of those to whom marriage is inaccessible4--,id4 ,in my opinion1 it is for the interest of woman1 of children1 and of morals1 that concubinage should be regulated by legislation4 ,every child should bear the name of the concubinary father1 who should provide for his subsistence and for the expenses of his education2 the forsaken concubine should also have a right to an indemnity1 unless she has been the first to enter into another concubinage4--,id4 ,but it is not from concubinage1 but from marriage that all justice1 all right proceeds4 ,this is so true1 that if you take away marriage1 the mother is left with her tenderness1 but without authority1 without rights3 she can no longer do justice to her son2 there is illegitimacy1 a first step backward1 a return to immorality4--,id4 ,,author4 ,all that you have just said concerning love1 marriage1 justice and right1 contains so many equivocations1 errors1 sophisms1 and so much pathos1 that nothing less than a huge volume would suffice to refute1 after first explaining you4 ,we will content ourselves1 therefore1 with dwelling on the principal points4 ,,vi4 #a4 ,the ,androgynus1 by definition1 is a being combining the two sexes4 ,now marriage does not make of man and woman a single being2 each preserves his individuality2 your humanitary ,androgynus is not therefore worth the trouble of discussion2 it is only a fantasy4 #b4 ,every organ supposes a function1 it is true1 but what facts authorize you to say that the married couple is the organ of justice8 ,especially when you take the trouble to contradict yourself1 in admitting that justice is produced outside of marriage2 that there is no need of being married to be just8 ,the organ of justice1 like all other organs1 is in each of us2 it is the moral sense which comes into action when the point in question is the appreciation of the moral value of an act1 or to apply to our own conduct the moral science accepted by the reason of the age4 #c4 ,according to you1 equilibrium is equality2 equality is justice3 there is1 therefore1 a contradiction on your part in exacting of two beings1 endowed each with liberty1 will and intellect1 that they should acknowledge themselves unequal to produce equality4 #d4 ,to affirm1 as you have done1 that progress is the realization of the ideal through free will2 that1 consequently1 the ideal is superior to the reality1 and that man progresses because he suffers himself to be guided by it2 then to affirm that woman is the ideal of man and that1 notwithstanding1 she is less and should obey1 is a double contradiction4 ,if the point from which you start be admitted1 logic would exact that man should permit himself to be guided by woman4 ,but what is the use of discussing a thing that is devoid of meaning to the intellect8 ,if man1 according to you1 represents in reality strength1 reason1 justice1 woman being the idealization of man1 would therefore represent the greatest strength1 the loftiest reason1 the most sublime justice4444 ,do you pretend to say this1 you who affirm the contrary8 #e4 ,to say that marriage is an institution sui generis1 a sacrament1 a mystery1 is to affirm what8 ,and what enlightenment do you fancy that you have given us8 ,are you fully sure of comprehending yourself better than we comprehend you8 ,i doubt it4 #f4 ,can you demonstrate why1 in an association between strong1 intelligent men1 and weak1 narrow-minded men1 justice exacts equality1 respect for the dignity of all1 and declares the slave debased who submits2 whilst in the association of man and woman1 identical in species according to you1 the woman who is always1 according to you1 the weak and narrow-minded being1 would be debased and would become odious by equality8 #g4 ,can you explain also how1 in a couple which stands for the producer of justice or equality1 this equality would be the death of love and the destruction of the human race8 ,grant that such a farrago of nonsense and contradictions presents as many unfathomable mysteries as your marriage4 ,we will say nothing of divorce3 we leave it to modern reason and conscience whether the dissolution of morals and of the family1 due in a great measure to the indissolubility of marriage1 does not give cause that it should be granted4 ,what reasons do you give1 besides1 to support your opinions8 ,an absurdity3 that the rupture of marriage is sacrilege2 an affirmation contradicted by facts3 that conscience is immutable4 #h4 ,between the bastard and his mother1 there is no justice1 say you4 ,your conscience is younger by two thousand and some hundred years than the modern conscience4 ,in the work of reproduction1 the task to be performed with reference to the new being1 is divided between the parents4 ,on the woman1 as the more vital1 more elastic1 and more resisting1 devolves the more perilous part of this task4 ,you shall risk your life to form humanity from your own substance1 says ,nature to her4 ,to the man it belongs to pay his debt to his children by erecting the roof under which they take shelter1 by bringing the food which you elaborate or prepare for them4 ,to him it belongs to accomplish his duty towards his sons by the use of his strength1 as you accomplish yours by supplying them with your blood and your milk4 ,your rights over the child arise1 adds conscience1 from his incapacity to take care of himself1 from the duties which you fulfil towards him1 from the obligation under which you are placed to form his reason and conscience1 and to make him a useful and moral citizen4 ,well1 what happens most of the time1 in cases of illegitimacy8 ,that the father having weakly1 cruelly1 contrary to all justice1 deserted his task1 the mother performs double duty towards her children3 she is at once father and mother4 ,and it is when this mother has a double right that you dare to say that she has none6 that between her and her son there is no justice6 ,in truth1 ,i should rather live among savages than in a society that thinks and feels like you4 ,a mother has an incontestable right over her child1 for she has risked her own life to give it birth3 the father acquires rights over it only when ever he fulfils his duty2 when he does not fulfil it1 he has no right2 thus says reason4 ,in this question1 marriage signifies nothing4 ,if ,i were illegitimate1 and my father had basely abandoned me1 ,i should despise and hate him as the executioner of my mother2 as a man without heart and conscience1 a vile egotist2 and ,i should doubly love and respect her who had been at once my mother and my father4 ,such are the dictates of my conscience1 my reason1 and my heart4 #i4 ,what is your marriage1 the first form given by ,nature to the religion of the human race1 in which woman is an idol who does the cooking and mends the stockings of her priest8 ,what is this institution1 in which man is reputed to defend his wife and children with his sword1 whom the law defends1 even against him8 ,in which man is reputed to support by his labor those who often labor more than he1 or who bring him a dowry8 ,the wife and children are under the jurisdiction of the tribunal of man6 ,may the gods preserve us from this frightful return to the manners and customs of the patriarchs and ,romans4 ,women and children are under the jurisdiction of the social tribunal1 and it is safer for them3 the ,french wife has not at least to fear that her ,abraham will sacrifice her little ,isaac1 nor that her domestic despot1 leaving the child on the ground1 like the ancient ,roman1 will thus condemn it to death4 ,society has a heart and generous proctors who1 happily1 no longer see the family tribunal in the same light as ,proudhon4 ,it is true that our author is an ,epimenides1 awaking after a sleep of more than two thousand years4 ,i have finished1 ,master2 have you anything more to say8 ,,proudhon4 ,certainly4 ,i have to speak of the sphere of woman4 ,this sphere is the care of the household1 the education of childhood1 the instruction of young girls under the superintendence of the magistrates1 the service of public charity4 ,we dare not add the national festivals and spectacles1 which might be considered as the seed-time of love4 ,man is the worker1 woman the housewife4 ,the household is the full manifestation of woman4 ,for woman1 the household is an honorable necessity4 ,as all her literary productions are always reduced to a domestic novel1 the whole value of which is to serve1 through love and sentiment1 to the popularization of justice1 so her industrial production is brought back in conclusion1 to the labors of the household2 she will never depart from this circle4--,id4 ,,author4 ,pardon my astonishment1 ,master1 that woman1 whose mind is irremediably false1 who is immoral1 who composes nothing but medleys1 monsters1 who takes chimeras for realities1 who does not even know how to write a novel1 knows how1 notwithstanding1 by your own admission1 to write a novel in order to popularize justice through sentiment and love4 ,she therefore comprehends1 feels1 and loves justice8 ,i remark next1 that the cares of the household are labor2 ,that education is labor2 ,that the service of public charity is labor2 ,that the arrangement and superintendence of festivals and spectacles presume varied labors2 ,that to popularize justice through a domestic novel is labor2 ,whence it follows that woman is a worker1 that is1 a useful producer2 she differs from man1 therefore1 merely in the kind of production2 and we have only to ascertain whether the labor of woman is as useful to society as that of man4 ,i charge myself1 when you like1 with establishing this equivalence by facts4 ,i remark1 in the second place1 that the education of childhood1 the instruction of young girls1 the service of public charity1 the arrangement of festivals and spectacles1 the popularization of justice by literature1 do not form a part of the labors of the household2 and that woman1 therefore1 is not merely housewife4 ,i remark1 thirdly1 that our female superintendents1 merchants1 artists1 accountants1 clerks1 and professors1 are no more housewives than your male superintendents1 merchants1 artists1 book keepers1 clerks1 and professors2 that our female cooks and waiting-maids are no more housewives1 than your male cooks1 bakers1 confectioners1 and footmen2 that1 in all these functions1 and in many others1 women equal men1 which proves that they are not less fitted than you for employments that do not pertain to the household1 and that you are not less adapted than they to those that do pertain to it4 ,rude facts thus stifle your affirmations1 and show us that woman may be something else than housewife or courtesan4 ,lastly1 ,master1 what is the position of all women relatively to all men8 ,,proudhon4 ,inferiority2 for the entire feminine sex fills the place with regard to the other sex1 in certain respects1 of the wife with regard to the husband3 this proceeds from the sum total of the respective faculties4 ,,author4 ,so there is neither liberty nor equality even for the woman who has not a father or husband8 ,,proudhon4 ,the truly free woman is the woman who is chaste2 the chaste woman is she who experiences no amorous emotion for any one1 not even for her husband4--,vol4 ,,iii4 ,,author4 ,such a woman is not chaste3 she is a statue4 ,chastity being a virtue1 supposes the dominion of the reason and the moral sense over an instinct3 the chaste woman1 therefore1 is she who controls a certain instinct1 not she who is destitute of it4 ,i add that the woman who yields herself to her husband without attraction1 plays the part of a prostitute4 ,i knew well that you understood nothing either of love or of woman6 ,shall we1 in conclusion1 compare your doctrine concerning the right of woman with that which you profess concerning right in general8 ,,proudhon4 ,willingly 444 since ,i cannot do otherwise4 ,,author4 ,do you admit that woman is identical in species with man8 ,,proudhon4 ,yes1 only her faculties are less energetic4 ,,author4 ,i grant you this for the sake of discussion4 ,expound your general theory concerning right1 ,i will apply it to woman1 and you shall draw the conclusion4 ,,vii4 ,,proudhon4 ,the law regulating only human relations1 it is the same for all2 so that1 to establish exceptions1 it will be necessary to prove that the individuals excepted are of superior order1 or inferior to the human species4--,creation of ,order in ,humanity4 ,,author4 ,now you admit that woman is neither superior nor inferior to the human species1 but is identical in species with man2 the law is therefore the same for her as for man4 ,,proudhon4 ,i draw the contrary conclusion1 because man is the stronger4 ,,author4 ,a contradiction1 ,master4 ,,proudhon4 ,neither figure1 nor birth1 nor the faculties1 nor fortune1 nor rank1 nor profession1 nor talent1 nor anything which distinguishes individuals apart1 establishes between them a difference of species3 all being men1 and the law only regulating human relations1 it is the same for all4--,id4 ,,author4 ,now1 woman is in essence identical with man2 she differs from him only in manners and qualities which1 according to you1 by no means make her differ in essence2 once more1 therefore1 the law is the same for her as for man4 ,,proudhon4 ,it is logical2 but ,i conclude the contrary1 because man is the stronger4 ,,author4 ,a contradiction1 ,master4 ,,proudhon4 ,social equilibrium is the equalization of the strong and the weak4 ,so long as the strong and the weak are not equal1 they are strangers1 they cannot form an alliance1 they are enemies4--#ast ,memoir on ,property4 ,,author4 ,now1 according to you1 man is the strong and woman the weak of an identical species2 social equilibrium ought therefore to equalize them1 that they may be neither strangers nor enemies4 ,,proudhon4 ,it is logical2 but ,i claim that they should be made unequal in society and in marriage4 ,man should have the prepotence1 because he is the stronger4 ,,author4 ,a contradiction1 ,master4 ,,proudhon4 ,from the identity of reason in all men1 and the sentiment of respect which leads them to maintain their mutual dignity at any cost1 follows equality before justice4--7,justice1 ,vol4 ,,iii1 etc47 ,all are born free3 between individual liberties there is no other judge than equilibrium1 which is equality2 the identity of essence does not permit the creation of a hierarchy4--,vol4 ,,ii1 the whole of the #hth ,study4 ,,author4 ,now1 woman is in essence identical with man4 ,she is born free2 between her and man there is1 therefore1 no other judge than equality2 it is not permissible1 therefore1 to establish a hierarchy between them4 ,,proudhon4 ,it is logical4 ,but ,i conclude1 on the contrary1 that it is necessary to create a hierarchy between the sexes1 and to give the prepotence to man1 because he is the stronger4 ,,author4 ,a contradiction1 ,master4 ,,proudhon4 ,the dignity of the human soul consists in being unwilling to suffer any one of its powers to subordinate the others1 to require all to be at the service of the collective whole2 this is morality1 this is virtue4 ,whoever speaks of harmony or agreement1 in fact1 necessarily supposes terms in opposition4 ,attempt a hierarchy1 a prepotence6 you think to create order1 you create nothing but absolutism4--,justice1 ,vol4 ,,ii4 ,,author4 ,woman1 according to you1 forms with man an organism1 that of justice4 ,now1 according to you1 the two halves of the androgynus have different qualities1 which are required to harmonize with each other in equality under pain of creating absolutism instead of order2 the feminine faculty is therefore required to form an equipoise with the masculine faculty4 ,,proudhon4 ,it is logical2 but ,i conclude that the dignity of the humanitary androgynus lies in subjugating the feminine faculty and creating despotism1 because man is the stronger4 ,,author4 ,a contradiction1 ,master4 ,,proudhon4 ,justice is the respect spontaneously felt for and reciprocally guarantied to human dignity1 in whatever person and whatever circumstance it may be found compromised4--,justice1 ,vol4 ,i4 ,,author4 ,now1 woman is a human being1 possessing a dignity which should be respected and guarantied by the law of reciprocity2 therefore one cannot be wanting in respect to feminine dignity without being wanting in justice4 ,,proudhon4 ,it is logical2 but although woman is a human being1 identical in species with man1 and although ,i believe that there is no other basis of right than equality1 ,i nevertheless affirm that the dignity of woman is inferior to that of man1 because he is the stronger4 ,,author4 ,a contradiction1 ,master4 ,,proudhon4 ,right is to each the faculty of exacting from others respect for human dignity in his person1 duty is the obligation of each to respect this dignity in another4--,justice1 ,vol4 ,i4 ,,author4 ,now1 woman being identical in species1 man possesses a dignity equal to hers2 therefore she should be respected in her dignity1 that is1 in her person1 her liberty1 her property1 her affections2 this is her right as a human being1 and man cannot deny it without failing in justice and in his duty4 ,,proudhon4 ,it is logical4 ,but ,i claim that woman has not the right which my principles attribute to her2 that man alone has rights1 because man is the stronger4 ,,author4 ,a contradiction1 ,master4 ,,proudhon4 ,liberty is an absolute right1 because it is to man what impenetrability is to matter1 a condition sine qua non of existence4--#ast ,memoir on ,property4 ,,author4 ,now1 woman is a human being1 she has therefore an absolute right to liberty1 which is her condition sine qua non of existence4 ,,proudhon4 ,it is logical4 ,but ,i conclude1 on the contrary1 that woman has no need of liberty2 that this condition sine qua non of existence for our species1 does not regard one half of the species2 that man alone cannot exist without liberty1 because he is the stronger4 ,,author4 ,a contradiction1 ,master4 ,,proudhon4 ,equality is an absolute right1 because without equality1 there is no society4--,id4 ,,author4 ,now1 woman is a human and social being2 she has an absolute right1 therefore1 to this equality1 without which she would be but a ,pariah in society4 ,,proudhon4 ,it is logical4 ,but ,i nevertheless conclude from this that woman has no more right to equality than to liberty4 ,that1 although of the same species as man1 and consequently amenable to the law of equality1 nevertheless she is not amenable to it1 and should be unequal and in subjection to man1 because he is the stronger4 ,,author4 ,fie1 ,master6 ,to contradict yourself thus is disgraceful to your reputation4 ,it would be better to maintain that woman has not the same rights as man1 because she is of a different species4 ,,proudhon4 ,woman is bound to feel that she does not possess a dignity equal to that of man2 in the association formed between them to produce justice1 the notions of right and duty shall be no longer correlative4 ,man shall have all rights1 and shall accept only such duties as it shall please him to recognize4 ,,author4 ,reflect that man1 after having denied the dignity and the right of woman1 will labor to stultify her more and more in the interest of his despotism6 ,,proudhon4 ,that does not concern me3 the family should be immured3 the husband is priest and king therein4 ,if1 as in the case with all liberty oppressed1 the woman grows restive1 we will tell her that she does not know herself1 that she is incapable of judging and ruling herself2 that she is a cypher2 we will outrage her in her moral worth2 we will deny her intellect and activity3 and by dint of intimidating her1 we will succeed in forcing her to be silent3 for man must remain master1 since he is the stronger6 ,,author4 ,deny and insult us1 ,master1 this does us no harm3 the lords of the ,middle ,age employed this method with their serfs1 your sires 444 we are now indignant at them4 ,slaveholders employed and still employ this method with the blacks1 and the civilized world is indignant at them1 slavery is restricted1 and is on the way to disappear4 ,meanwhile1 ,i point out your contradictions to my readers2 your authority over minds will be thereby lessened1 ,i hope4 ,those who claim1 in accordance with the major of the preceding syllogisms1 that you found right upon identity of species1 an abstraction of individual qualities2 that you believe right and duty correlative2 that you desire equality and liberty1 will be quite as nearly right as those who claim1 in accordance with the conclusion of the same syllogisms1 that you base right upon force1 superiority of faculties2 that you accept inequality and despotism1 deny individual liberty and social equality1 and do not believe in the correlation of right and duty4 ,if it is painful to you to have fallen into contradictions so monstrous1 believe that it is not less painful to me to be forced1 in the interest of my cause1 to point them out to the world4 ,having taken in hand the cause of my sex1 ,i was under obligations to parry your attacks by turning against yourself your allegations against us4 ,it was necessary to do this1 not by denials and declamations which prove nothing1 or by affirmations without proofs1 according to your method of proceeding2 but by opposing to you science and facts2 by making use only of the rational method which you extol without employing it1 by charging you often with contradicting yourself when proofs de facto would have demanded too much detail and time4 ,you accuse women of taking chimeras for realities4 ,i have proved to you that you deserve this reproach1 since your theory is in contradiction to science and facts4 ,you accuse women of erecting unreal analogies into principles4444 ,i have proved that you have done so as well1 in deducing from the pretended absence of physical germs in woman1 the absence of intellectual and moral germs4 ,you accuse woman of reasoning wrongly4444 ,i have brought you face to face with your own principles1 that you might draw from them contradictory conclusions4 ,you accuse woman of creating nothing but medleys1 monsters4444 ,the anatomy of your theory proves that you know how to do so quite as well4 ,you accuse woman of lacking intellect1 of want of justice1 virtue1 chastity4444 ,i appeal from you to yourself1 and you say positively the contrary4 ,where you are fantastic1 contradictory1 ,i1 a woman1 appeal to logic4 ,where you are wanting in method1 ,i1 a woman1 employ scientific and rational method4 ,where you contradict your own principles1 ,i appeal to these same principles to judge and condemn you4 ,which of us two is the more reasonable and more rational8 ,my modesty suffers1 ,i acknowledge1 at the thought that ,i have played the part of ,minerva shaming ,ulysses of his paradoxes and his profligacies4 ,at last1 this tiresome part is ended6 ,i have addressed so many harsh things to you in so firm and resolute a tone1 that ,i should be sorry to quit you without a few friendly words coming from my heart4 ,you ought to be fully convinced of my sincerity1 for you see that you have to deal with a woman who shrinks from no one2 who is never intimidated1 however great may be her opponent1 or whatever name he may bear4 ,you may be my adversary3 ,i shall never be your enemy1 for ,i regard you as an honest man1 a vigorous thinker1 one of the glories of ,france1 one of the great men of our ,comt1 always so dear to the heart of her children2 lastly1 one of the admirations of my youth4 ,you and ,i belong to the great army that is assaulting the citadel of abuse1 and endeavoring to mine and sap it2 ,i do not shun this solidarity4 ,is it so necessary that we should fight8 ,let us live in peace2 ,i can entreat it of you without stooping1 since ,i do not fear you4 ,understand one thing that ,i tell you without bitterness3 that you are incapable of understanding woman1 and that by continuing the struggle1 you will inevitably range her under the banner of the anti-revolutionists4 ,your pride has set enmity between you and woman1 and you have bruised her heel3 no one would be more sorry than ,i to see her crush your head4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,comte4 ,what thought ,auguste ,comte1 who died in ,september1 #aheg4 ,to solve this question1 it is necessary first to divide the man into two parts2 not as the wise king ,solomon designed to divide the child disputed for by two mothers1 but in thought1 by making of him two distinct men2 a philosopher and a revealer4 ,m4 ,comte1 who denied and insulted his master1 ,saint ,simon1 is only the popularizer of his recently edited works3 so much for the rational phase4 ,what belongs to him exclusively is a socio-religious organization1 which cannot be the work of a healthy mind4 ,what belongs to him exclusively1 is a heavy1 dry1 insulting style1 arrogant to the point of being revolting1 loaded and overloaded with adjectives and adverbs4 ,what belongs to him exclusively1 are a few ideas that he has submerged in volumes1 containing not less than from seven hundred and fifty to eight hundred pages1 in small type4 ,i do not advise you to peruse them1 readers1 unless in your heart and soul you believe yourself deserving of many years of purgatory1 which you prefer to expiate on the earth 444 ,i do not know whether ,i ought to say above or below1 since astronomy has reversed the positions of the material and spiritual worlds4 ,the disciples of ,comte are divided into two schools3 that of the ,positivist ,philosophers1 and that of the ,priesthood4 ,the first reject the religious organization of ,comte1 and are in reality nothing but the children of modern ,philosophy1 and very estimable adversaries of that nebulous thing which is called ,metaphysics4 ,we could not therefore have them in sight in this article2 so1 let not ,m4 ,littr and his honorable friends frown in reading us3 we are about to find fault only with the high priest and his priesthood4 ,the doctrine of ,comte concerning woman being connected with the whole of his religious system1 let us first say a word about this system4 ,there is no ,god2 there is no soul3 the object of our adoration should be ,humanity1 represented by the best of our species4444 ,there are three social elements3 woman1 priest1 and man4 ,woman is the moral providence1 the guardian of morals4 ,had it not been for the wholly mystical love1 ,i willingly believe1 that ,comte had for ,madame ,clotilde de ,vaux1 it is probable that woman would not have been the moral ,providence2 thanks to this love1 she is nothing less than this4 ,we will see that neither is she anything more4 ,of a nature superior to that of man 7in the opinion of ,comte71 she is nevertheless subject to him1 in consequence of a philosophical paradox which we need not refute here4 ,the function of woman is to render man moral2 a task which she can perform well only in private life2 all social and sacerdotal functions are therefore interdicted her4 ,she should be preserved from labor1 should renounce dowry and inheritance2 man is charged with maintaining her2 daughter1 she is supported by her father or her brothers2 wife1 by her husband2 widow1 by her sons4 ,in default of her natural maintainers1 the state1 on the requisition of the priesthood1 provides for her wants4 ,marriage is instituted for the perfecting of the married couple1 above all1 for that of the man3 the reproduction of the species has so little to do with its end1 that the progress of science permits us to hope that1 some day1 woman will be able alone to reproduce humanity1 so as to realize and to generalize the hypothesis of the ,virgin ,mother4 ,then it will be possible to regulate human production1 by entrusting to none but the most deserving women the task of conceiving children and bringing them into the world1 especially members of the priesthood4 ,divorce is not permitted1 and widowhood is eternal for both sexes4 ,such1 in brief1 is the ,comtist doctrine concerning woman1 marriage and procreation4 ,as the reader might suspect us of malicious exaggeration1 we entreat him to read attentively the following pages1 emanating from the pen of the originator of the system4 ,according to him1 women have never demanded their emancipation2 the men who claim it for them are1 after ,comte's usual courteous style1 nothing but utopists corrupted by retrogression4 ,all transitional ages1' he says1 have given rise1 like our own1 to sophistical aberrations concerning the social condition of woman4 ,but the natural law which assigns to the effective sex an existence essentially domestic1 has never been materially altered4444 ,women were then 7in antiquity7 too low to reject worthily1 even by their silence1 the doctoral aberrations of their pretended defenders4444 ,but among the moderns1 the happy liberty of the western women permits them to manifest a decisive repugnance which is sufficient1 in default of rational ratification1 to neutralize these wanderings of the mind1 inspired by the intemperance of the heart4 ,without discussing unreal retrograde utopias1 it is of importance to feel1 the better to appreciate real order1 that if women should ever obtain this temporal equality demanded1 without their consent1 by their pretended defenders1 their social guaranties would suffer thereby as much as their moral character4 ,for they would find themselves thus subjected1 in the majority of occupations1 to an active daily competition which they could not sustain1 while at the same time the practical rivalry would corrupt the principal sources of mutual affection4 ,man should support woman1 such is the natural law of our species4--,politique ,positive1 t4 ,i4 ,it is necessary to consider the just independence of the affective sex as founded upon two connected conditions1 its universal affranchisement from labor outside the household1 and its free renunciation of all wealth4444 ,domestic priestesses of humanity1 born to modify by affection the necessary reign of force1 they should shun1 as radically degrading1 all participation in command4--,id4 t4 ,,iv4 ,the moral degradation appears to me still greater when woman enriches herself by her own labor4 ,the continued eagerness of gain makes her then lose even that spontaneous kindness which preserves the other type in the midst of its dissipations4 ,no worse industrial chiefs can exist than women4--,cat4 ,pos4 ,so ladies1 ye who prefer labor to prostitution1 who pass days and nights in providing for the wants of your family1 it is understood of course that you are degraded2 a woman ought not to do anything2 respect and honor belong to idleness4 ,you1 ,victoria of ,england1 ,isabella of ,spain1--you command1 therefore you are radically degraded4 ,m4 ,comte pretends that masculine superiority is incontestable in all that concerns the properly called source of command 444 that the intellect of man is stronger1 more extended than that of woman4 ,a healthy appreciation of the universal order will make the affective sex comprehend how important submission is to dignity4 ,the priesthood will make women feel the merit of submission1 by developing this admirable maxim of ,aristotle3 the chief strength of woman consists in surmounting the difficulty of obeying2 their education will have prepared them to comprehend that all dominion1 far from really elevating1 necessarily degrades them1 by depreciating their chief worth so as to expect from strength the ascendancy which is due to love alone4--,ibid4 ,here are a few pages from the system of ,politique ,positive1 t4 ,,iv41 which are too curious not to interest the reader4 ,the better to characterize feminine independence1 ,i think it best to introduce a bold hypothesis1 which human progress perhaps will realize1 although it is my business neither to examine when nor how4 ,if the masculine apparatus contributes to our generation only after a simple excitement1 derived from its organic destination1 the possibility may be conceived of replacing this stimulant by another or several others1 of which the woman would dispose at will4 ,the absence of such a faculty among the neighboring species cannot be sufficient to interdict it to the most eminent and most modifiable race4444 ,if feminine independence can ever reach this limit1 in accordance with the sum total of moral1 intellectual1 and even material progress1 the social function of the affective sex will be found notably improved4 ,then all fluctuation between the animal appreciation which still prevails1 and the noble doctrine systematized by positivism1 would cease4 ,the most essential production 7that of our species7 would become independent of the caprices of a perturbating instinct1 the normal repression of which has hitherto constituted the principal obstacle to human discipline4 ,such a privilege would be naturally found transferred1 with full responsibility1 to the organs best fitted to its use1 alone capable of guarding themselves from vicious impulses1 so as to realize all the advantages that it permits4 ,which means in good ,english1 my female readers1 that perhaps the time will come when you will create children without the co-operation of these gentlemen2 that this function will be confided to those among you who shall be most worthy of it1 and that they will be held responsible for the imperfection of the product4 ,thenceforth1 resumes the author1 the utopia of the ,virgin ,mother will become to the purest and most eminent an ideal goal1 directly suited to sum up human perfection1 thus carried even to systematizing procreation1 while ennobling it4444 ,success depends most of all on the general development of the relations between the soul and the body1 its continued search 7that of the problem of fruitful virginity7 will worthily institute the systematic study of vital harmony1 by procuring to it at once the noblest aim and the best organs4--,ibid4 ,translated3 the study of the relations of the brain with the body will lead us to discover the means of procreating children without the co-operation of man2 this is the noblest aim of this study1 as the faculty of being a virgin mother should be the ideal which the purest and most eminent women should seek to attain4 ,thus1 continues ,m4 ,comte1 ,i am led to represent the utopia of the ,virgin ,mother as the synthetic rsume of positive religion1 all the phases of which it combines4--,ibid4 ,translation3 ,to procreate children without the concurrence of man1 sums up positive religion1 and combines all its phases4 ,this may be very fine1 but as to being rational and positive--what do you think1 readers8 ,the rationality of the problem1 adds the author1 is founded upon the determination of the true office of the masculine apparatus1 designed especially to supply to the blood an excitative fluid1 capable of strengthening all the vital operations1 whether animal or organic4 ,in comparison with this general service1 the special use of the fecundative stimulus becomes more and more secondary in proportion as the organism is elevated4 ,it may thus be conceived that in the noblest species1 this liquid ceases to be indispensable to the awakening of the germ1 which may result artificially from several other1 and even from material sources1 especially from a better reaction of the nervous upon the vascular system4--,ibid4 ,all this would be possible1 ,i grant1 if the fluid of which you speak1 ,high ,priest1 had1 above all1 the general function which you attribute to it2 ,if the reproduction of our species by the co-operation of the two sexes were not a law2 ,if we could preserve a species while destroying its law2 ,if facts did not contradict the possibility of the hypothesis4 ,now1 to place an if before a natural law and the phenomena which are its expression1 is only a gross absurdity3 we explain laws1 we do not reform them without profoundly modifying the being that they govern2 we do not destroy without destroying this being3 for the individual being is the law in form4 ,the author dwells as follows on the consequences of the absurd hypothesis4 ,thence it may be conceived that civilization not only disposes man better to appreciate woman1 but augments the participation of this sex in human reproduction1 which ought1 finally1 to emanate from it alone4 ,regarded individually1 such a modification ought to improve the cerebral and corporal constitution of both sexes1 by developing therein continued chastity1 the importance of which has been felt more and more by universal instinct1 even during irregularities4--p4 #bgg4 ,considered domestically1 this transformation would render the constitution of the human family more in conformity with the general spirit of sociocracy1 by completing the just emancipation of woman1 thus made1 even physically1 independent of man4 ,the normal ascendancy of the affective sex would be no longer contestable with respect to children emanated from it exclusively4 ,but the principal result would consist in perfecting the fundamental institution of marriage 7the improvement of the married couple without sexual motive71 the positive theory of which would then become unexceptionable4 ,thus purified1 the conjugal tie would experience an amelioration as marked as when ,polygamy was replaced by ,monogamy3 for we should generalize the utopia of the ,middle ,age1 in which ,maternity was reconciled with ,virginity4 ,regarded civilly1 this institution alone permits the regulation of the most important of productions1 which can never become sufficiently susceptible of systematization1 so long as it shall be accomplished in delirium and without responsibility4 ,reserved to its best organs1 this function would perfect the human race by better determining the transmission of ameliorations due to external influences1 both social and personal4444 ,systematic procreation coming to remain more or less concentrated among the better types1 the comparison of the two cases would give rise not only to valuable enlightenment1 but also to an important institution which would procure to sociocracy the principal advantage of theocracy4 ,for the development of the new mode would soon cause a non-hereditary caste to spring up1 better adapted than the common populace for the recruital of spiritual and even temporal chiefs1 whose authority would then rest on a truly superior origin1 which would not shun investigation4 ,all these indications will suffice to show the value of the utopia of the ,virgin ,mother1 destined to procure to ,positivism a synthetic rsume1 equivalent to that which the institution of the ,eucharist furnishes to ,catholicism4--,ibid4 ,it is much to be feared1 alas6 that the disciples of this great man1 however ardent seekers of vital harmony they may be1 will never find the synthetic rsume of ,positivism1 the equivalent of the ,eucharist3 and it will be a great pity3 to order children as we order shoes1 and leave them on the mother's hands when they do not suit1 would be very convenient4 ,and what1 ,i ask you1 will the future leaders of humanity do1 if they can only obtain respect and obedience on the condition of proving that they are sons of virgins8 ,but we will not jest with so grave a personage as the ,high ,priest of ,humanity3 we will only say in passing1 that never was atheist seen to show himself more profoundly a ,christian through contempt for works of the flesh4 ,hear what he says on page #bhf of the work before cited3 ,useless to individual conservation1 the sexual instinct co-operates only in an accessory and even equivocal manner to the propagation of the species4 ,philosophers truly freed from superstition should regard it more and more as tending above all to disturb the principal design of the vivifying fluid4 ,but without waiting for the feminine utopia to be realized1 we may determine1 if not the atrophy1 at least the inertia of this cerebral superfoetation1 with more facility than is indicated by the insufficient efforts of theologism4 ,while positive education will make the vices of such an instinct everywhere felt1 and will raise up the continued hope of its desuetude1 the whole final system ought naturally to institute a revulsive treatment with respect to it1 more efficacious than ,catholic austerities4 ,for the universal aspiration of domestic existence and of public life will develop the sympathetic faculties to such a degree1 that sentiment1 intellect1 and activity will always concur to stigmatize and repress the most perturbing of selfish propensities4 ,despite all this aspiration1 and all these stigmas1 do not trust to it1 ,high ,priest6 ,be advised by me1 use camphor1 and plenty of it2 scatter it everywhere as a certain ,amphitryon scattered nutmeg4 ,it is in prevision of the excommunications hurled by you against this vile1 this useless instinct1 that ,nature has been prodigal of camphor4 ,upon the whole1 you see1 my female readers1 that if ,m4 ,comte believes us weaker than man in body1 mind1 and character1 in return1 he believes us better4 ,we are moral providence1 guardian angels3 he dreams of affranchisement for us through the subversion of a natural law4 ,but meanwhile he places us under the yoke of man by exempting us from labor2 ,he rivets our chains by persuading us cajolingly to despoil ourselves of our property2 ,he says to us in the gentlest voice imaginable3 never command3 it would degrade you2 ,your great strength is in obeying him whom it is your destiny to direct4 ,you will be naught in the temple1 naught in the state4 ,in the family1 you are domestic priestesses1 the auxiliaries of the priesthood4 ,three sacraments out of nine are refused you3 that of destiny1 because1 for you1 it is confounded with that of marriage2 that of retirement1 because you have no profession2 lastly1 that of incorporation1 because a woman cannot1 in herself1 merit a personal and public apotheosis4 ,if you have been worthy auxiliaries1 you shall be interred near those whom you shall have influenced1 like their other useful auxiliaries3 the horse1 the dog1 the cow1 and the ass2 and mention shall be made of you when honors shall be paid to the member of humanity to whom you shall have belonged4 ,shall we refute such doctrines8 ,no4 ,our answer to them finds a fitter place in the article devoted to ,m4 ,proudhon1 who has drawn largely from the doctrine of ,m4 ,comte4 ,as to the priests who continue the teachings of their master1 it suffices to refer them to what ,i said to ,m4 ,comte in the ,revue ,philosophique of ,december1 #ahee4 ,the women of the present time are in general intelligent1 because they receive an education superior to that of their mothers4 ,the majority of them devote themselves to an active life either in the arts or the trades2 men acknowledge them as their competitors in these1 and even confess that they are superior in management4 ,no man1 worthy of the name1 would dare contest that woman is his equal1 and that the day of her civil emancipation is close at hand4 ,women1 on their side1 more independent and more deserving1 without having lost anything of their grace and gentleness1 no longer accept the famous axiom3 man should support woman2 still less do they accept the admirable maxim of ,aristotle1 fit for the slaves of the gyneceum4 ,be sure that every true woman will laugh at the raiment of clouds which you pretend to give her1 at the incense with which you wish to asphyxiate her2 for she cares no longer for adoration4 ,she wishes to carry her intellect and activity unfettered into spheres suited to her aptitudes2 she wishes to aid her brother1 man1 in clearing up the field of theory1 the domain of practice2 she claims that every human being is the judge of his own aptitudes2 she does not recognize in any man or in any doctrine the right of fixing her place1 and of marking out her road4 ,through the labor of war was the patriciate constituted2 through peaceful labor was servitude emancipated2 through labor1 also1 does woman claim to conquer her civil rights4 ,such is what many women are1 what they wish to be to-day2 see if it is not madness to seek to revive the gyneceum and the atrium for these women1 impregnated with the ideas of the eighteenth century1 wrought upon by the ideas of '#hi and of the modern reformers4 ,to say to such women that they shall have no place in the state1 nor in marriage1 nor in science1 nor in art1 nor in the trades1 nor even in your subjective paradise1 is something so monstrous that ,i cannot conceive1 for my part1 how aberration could go so far4 ,you will no longer find an interlocutress to say3 that a woman can scarcely ever deserve a personal and public apotheosis 444 that views involving the fullest experience and the profoundest reflection are naturally interdicted to the sex whose contemplations can scarcely go beyond the circle of private life with success 444 that the moral degradation of woman is still greater when she enriches herself by her own labor 444 that there are no worse industrial chiefs than women4444 ,and if any woman behind the times should be so imbecile and immodest as to hold such language1 all men of any worth whatever would regard her only with disdain4 ,but you1 who wish to annihilate woman1 from what principle do you draw such a consequence8 ,that she is an affective power1 you say 444 yes1 but1 as to that1 man is such1 likewise2 and is not woman1 as well as he1 alike intellect and activity8 ,by reason of a purely accidental predominance1 can one half of the human species be banished beyond the clouds of sentimentality8 ,and ought not all serious discipline to tend to develop1 not one phase of the being1 but the ponderation1 the harmony of all its phases8 ,want of harmony is the source of disorder and deformity4 ,the woman who is solely sentimental commits irreparable errors2 the man who is solely rational is a species of monster1 and the person in whom activity predominates is but a brute4 ,since you believe in ,gall and ,spurzheim1 you know that the encephalon of the two sexes is alike1 that it is modifiable in both1 that all education is founded on this modificability2 why has it never occurred to you that if man en masse is more rational than woman1 it is because education1 laws and custom have developed in him the anterior lobes of the brain2 while in woman1 education1 laws and custom develop especially the posterior lobes of this organ2 and why1 having established these facts1 have you not been led to conclude that1 since organs are developed only in consequence of the excitants applied to them1 it is probable that man and woman1 subjected to the same cerebral excitants1 would be developed in the same manner1 with the shades of difference peculiar to each individuality2 and that for woman to be developed harmoniously under her three aspects1 she must manifest herself socially under three aspects8 ,be sure1 sir1 your principle is thrice false1 thrice in contradiction to science and reason2 in the presence of the physiology of the brain1 all theories of classification fall to the ground3 before the nervous system1 women are the equals of men3 they can be their inferiors only before muscular supremacy1 attacked by the invention of powder1 and about to be reduced to dust by the triumph of mechanism4 ,i should say many more things to you1 sir1 were not this critical sketch too long already2 but imperfect though it may be1 having to my mind only the meaning of a woman's protest against your doctrines1 ,i shall pause here4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,legouv4 ,the inheritor of a name which commands respect1 ,ernest ,legouv1 an elegant1 eloquent1 and impassioned author1 has written a ,moral ,history of ,women1 whence exhales a perfume of purity and love which refreshes the heart and calms the soul4 ,in every page of this book1 we detect the impulse of an upright heart and lofty mind1 indignant at injustice1 oppression1 and moral deformity4 ,the author has deserved well of women1 and it is with pleasure that ,i seize the opportunity of thanking him in the name of those who1 at the present time1 are struggling in various countries for the emancipation of half the human race4 ,what is the object of ,legouv's work8 ,we will let him tell it himself4 ,the object of this book is summed up in these words3 to lay claim to feminine liberty in the name of the two very principles of the adversaries of this liberty3 tradition and difference 7of the sexes71 that is to say1 to show in tradition progress1 and in difference equality4 ,god created the human species double1 we utilize but half of it2 ,nature says two1 we say one2 we must agree with ,nature4 ,unity itself1 instead of perishing thereby1 would only then be true unity2 that is1 not the sterile absorption of one of two terms for the benefit of the other1 but the living fusion of two fraternal individualities1 increasing the common power with all the force of their individual development4 ,the feminine spirit is stifled1 but not dead4444 ,we cannot annihilate at our pleasure a force created by ,god1 or extinguish a torch lighted by his hand2 but turned aside from its purpose1 this force1 instead of creating1 destroys2 this torch consumes instead of giving light4 ,let us then open wide the gates of the world to this new element3 we have need of it4 ,then1 examining the position of women1 the author adds3 ,no history presents1 we believe1 more iniquitous prejudices to combat1 more secret wounds to heal4 ,shall we speak of the present8 ,as daughters1 no public education for them1 no professional instruction1 no possible life without marriage1 no marriage without a dowry4 ,wives--they do not legally possess their property1 they do not possess their persons1 they cannot give1 they cannot receive1 they are under the ban of an eternal interdict4 ,mothers--they have not the legal right to direct the education of their children1 they can neither marry them1 nor prevent them from marrying1 nor banish them from the paternal house nor retain them there4 ,members of the commonwealth1 they can neither be the guardians of other orphans than their sons or their grand-sons1 nor take part in a family council1 nor witness a will2 they have not the right of testifying in the state to the birth of a child6 ,among the working people1 what class is most wretched8 ,women4 ,who are they that earn from sixteen to eighteen sous for twelve hours of labor8 ,women4 ,upon whom falls all the expense of illegitimate children8 ,upon women4 ,who bear all the disgrace of faults committed through passion8 ,women4 ,then1 after showing the position of rich women1 he continues3 ,and thus1 slaves everywhere1 slaves of want1 slaves of wealth1 slaves of ignorance1 they can only maintain themselves great and pure by force of native nobleness and almost superhuman virtue4 ,can such domination endure8 ,evidently not4 ,it necessarily falls before the principle of natural equity2 and the moment has come to claim for women their share of rights and1 above all1 of duties2 to demonstrate what subjection takes away from them1 and what true liberty will restore to them2 to show1 in short1 the good that they do not and the good they might do4 ,the history of the past shows us woman more and more oppressed in proportion as we trace back the course of centuries4 ,the ,french ,revolution 7itself71 which renewed the whole order of things in order to affranchise men1 did nothing1 we may say1 for the affranchisement of women4444 '#ia respected almost all of the feminine disabilities of '#hh1 and the ,consulate confirmed them in the civil code4 ,this1 in ,legouv's opinion was the fault of the philosophy of the eighteenth century1 for woman is1 according to ,diderot1 a courtesan2 according to ,montesquieu1 an attractive child2 according to ,rousseau1 an object of pleasure to man2 according to ,voltaire1 nothing4444 ,condorcet and ,sieys demanded even the political emancipation of woman2 but their protests were stifled by the powerful voices of the three great continuers of the eighteenth century1 ,mirabeau1 ,danton1 and ,robespierre4 ,under the ,consulate1 feminine liberty had no more decided enemy 7than ,bonaparte37 a southerner1 the spirituality of woman was lost on him2 a warrior1 he saw in the family a camp1 and there required1 before all else1 discipline2 a despot1 he saw in it a state1 and there required1 before all else1 obedience4 ,he it was who concluded a discussion in council with these words3 ,there is one thing that is not ,french2 that a woman can do as she pleases4444 ,always man 7in the thought of ,bonaparte71 always the honor of man6 ,as to the happiness of woman1 it is not a single time in question 7in the civil code47 ,it is in behalf of the weakness of women1 it is in behalf of tradition which shows them constantly subordinate1 it is in behalf of their household functions1 that the adversaries of the emancipation of women oppose it4 ,to educate them is to deform them2 and they do not want their playthings spoiled1 says ,m4 ,legouv1 ironically4 ,he then continues in a serious strain3 ,what matters tradition to us8 ,what matters history to us8 ,there is an authority more powerful than the consent of the human race3 it is the ,right4 ,though a thousand more centuries of servitude should be added to those which have already passed1 their accord could not banish the primordial right which rules over everything1 the absolute right of perfecting one's self which every being has received from the sole fact that he has been created4 ,to those who base their opposition on the domestic functions of woman1 he answers3 ,if there 7in the household7 is their kingdom1 then there they should be queens2 their own faculties assure them there of authority1 and their adversaries are forced1 by their own principles1 to emancipate them as daughters1 as wives1 as mothers4 ,or1 on the contrary1 it is sought to extend their influence1 to give them a rle in the state1 and we believe that they should have one3 well2 it is also in this dissimilarity 7between the two sexes71 that it is fitting to seek it4 ,when two beings are of value to each other1 it is almost always because they differ from1 not because they resemble each other4 ,far from dispossessing men1 the mission of women therefore would be to do what men leave undone1 to aspire to empty places1 in short1 to represent in the commonwealth the spirit of woman4 ,as is evident1 ,legouv demands the civil emancipation of woman in the name of the eternal ,right1 in the name of the happiness of the family1 in the name of the commonwealth2 their long standing oppression is an iniquitous fact1 and he casts blame on all who have perpetuated it4 ,this blame from a man of heart and justice may perhaps have some weight with those women who are so much accustomed to bondage that they do not blush at it--that they even no longer feel it6 ,in his first book1 ,the ,daughter1 which is divided into seven chapters1 ,legouv takes the child from her birth2 he shows her made inferior in the ancient religions and systems of legislation by ,menu1 by ,moses1 at ,rome1 at ,sparta1 at ,athens1 and under the feudal rgime2 and he asks why1 even in our days1 the birth of a daughter is received with a sort of disfavor4 ,it is because she will neither continue the name nor the works of her father1 says he2 it is because her future gives rise to a thousand anxieties4 ,life is so rude and so uncertain for a girl6 ,poor1 how many chances of misery6 ,rich1 how many chances of moral suffering6 ,if she is to have only her labor for a maintenance1 how shall we give her an occupation that will support her in a state of society in which women scarcely earn wherewith not to die8 ,if she has no dowry1 how can she marry in this world in which woman1 never representing anything but a passive being1 is forced to buy a husband8444 ,from this dbut1 and in this child's cradle1 we have found and caught a glimpse of all the chains that await women3 insufficiency of education for the rich girl2 insufficiency of wages for the poor girl2 exclusion from the greater part of the professions2 subordination in the conjugal abode4 ,in the second chapter1 the author shows by what gradations the daughter1 deprived of the right of inheritance1 has come in our times to share equally with her brothers2 then1 passing to the right of education1 he answers those who pretend that to give a solid education to woman would be to corrupt her and to injure the family3 ,the diversity of their nature 7man and woman7 being developed by the identity of their studies1 it may be said that women would become so much the more fully women in proportion as they received a masculine education4 ,well6 it is in the name of the family1 in the name of the salvation of the family1 in the name of maternity1 of marriage1 of the household1 that a solid and earnest education must be demanded for girls4444 ,without knowledge1 no mother is completely a mother1 without knowledge no wife is truly a wife4 ,the question is not1 in revealing to the feminine intellect the laws of nature1 to make all our girls astronomers or physicians2 do we see all men become ,latinists by spending ten years of their life in the study of ,latin8 ,the question is to strengthen their minds by acquaintance with science2 and to prepare them to participate in all the thoughts of their husbands1 all the studies of their children4444 ,ignorance leads to a thousand faults1 a thousand errors in the wife4 ,the husband who scoffs at science might have been saved by it from dishonor4 ,insisting upon the rights of woman1 the author adds3 ,as such 7the work of ,god7 she has the right to the most complete development of her mind and heart4 ,away then with these vain objections1 drawn from the laws of a day6 ,it is in the name of eternity that you owe her enlightenment4 ,further on1 he exclaims indignantly3 ,what6 the state maintains a university for men1 a polytechnic school for men1 academies of art and trades for men1 agricultural schools for men--and for woman1 what has it established8 ,primary schools6 ,and even these were not founded by the ,state1 but by the ,commune4 ,no inequality could be more humiliating4 ,there are courts and prisons for women1 there should be public education for women2 you have not the right to punish those whom you do not instruct6 ,m4 ,legouv demands1 in consequence1 public education for girls in athenums1 which1 by thorough instruction with respect to ,france1 her laws1 her annals1 and her poetry1 shall make her women ,french women in truth4 ,the country alone can teach love of country4 ,ancient religions and systems of legislation punished misdemeanors and crimes against the purity of women severely 7says ,m4 ,legouv in his fourth chapter74 ,our code1 profoundly immoral1 does not punish seduction1 and punishes corruption only derisively1 and violation insufficiently4 ,to declare void the promise of marriage is fearful immorality2 to permit no investigation of paternity and to admit that of maternity1 is as cruel as it is immoral4 ,if the solicitude of the legislator for property be compared with his solicitude for purity1 we shall soon see how little the law cares for the latter4 ,the law recognizes as criminal only a single kind of robbery of honor1 violation1 but it defines1 pursues and punishes two kinds of robbery of money1 larceny and fraud2 there are thieves of coin1 there are no sharpers in chastity4 ,when a man has seduced a girl fifteen years old under promise of marriage1 he has a right to come before a magistrate and say3 ,this is my signature1 it is true2 but ,i refuse to acknowledge it2 a debt of love is void in law4 ,the indignant author exclaims1 further on3 ,thus1 therefore1 on every side1 in practice and in theory1 in the world and in the law1 for the rich as for the poor1 we see abandonment of public purity1 and a loose rein to all ungoverned or depraved desires4444 ,manufacturers seduce their workwomen1 foremen of workshops discharge young girls who will not yield to them1 masters corrupt their servant maids4 ,of #ejhc lost women1 enumerated by the grave ,parent-,duchtelet at ,paris in #ahcj1 #bhe were servants1 seduced by their masters1 and discarded4 ,clerks1 merchants1 officers1 students deprave poor country girls and bring them to ,paris1 where they abandon them1 and prostitution gathers them up4444 ,at ,rheims1 at ,lille1 in all the great centres of industry1 are found organized companies for the recruital of the houses of debauchery of ,paris4 ,with the indignation of an upright man1 ,m4 ,legouv adds3 ,punish the guilty woman if you will1 but punish also the man6 ,she is already punished2 punished by abandonment1 punished by dishonor1 punished by remorse1 punished by nine months of suffering1 punished by the burden of rearing a child3 let him then be smitten in turn2 or else1 it is not public decency that you are protecting1 as you say1 it is masculine sovereignty1 in its vilest form3 seigniorial right6 ,impunity assured to men doubles the number of illegitimate children4 ,impunity fosters libertinism2 libertinism enervates the race1 wastes fortunes and blights offspring4 ,impunity fosters prostitution2 prostitution destroys the public health1 and makes a profession of idleness and license4 ,impunity1 in short1 surrenders half the human race as a prey to the vices of the other half3 behold its condemnation in a single word4 ,in the fifth chapter1 the author finding1 with reason1 that girls are married too young1 desires that they should not enter upon family duties until twenty-two years old2 works of charity1 solid studies1 innocent pleasures1 and the ideal of pure love will suffice to keep them pure till this age4 ,if the young maiden learns that nothing is more fatal to this divine sentiment 7love7 than the ephemeral fancies which dare call themselves by its name2 if she perceives in it one of those rare treasures which we win only by conquering them1 which we keep only by deserving them2 if she knows that the heart which would be worthy to receive it must be purified like a sanctuary and enlarged like a temple2 then be sure that this sublime ideal1 engraven within her1 will disgust her1 by its beauty alone1 with the vain images that profane or parody it2 idols are not worshipped when ,god is known4 ,what is marriage8 asks ,m4 ,legouv4 ,the union of two free beings1 forming an alliance in order to perfect themselves through love4 ,neither antiquity nor the ,middle ,age considered it in this light4 ,the father1 in ancient times1 transmitted to the husband his right of property in his daughter in consideration of a certain sum4 ,at ,athens1 the daughter1 even when married1 formed part of the paternal inheritance1 and was bound to leave her husband to espouse the heir4 ,at ,rome1 the father1 after having given his daughter in marriage1 had the power to take her back and to espouse her to another4 ,among the barbarians1 she belonged to him who paid the mundium to her father4 ,under the feudal system1 the law disposed also of the daughter without her consent4 ,the ,french ,revolution emancipated her in this respect2 she is required now to consent to her marriage2 but the customs of the age take from her the benefit of this emancipation2 she is married too young to know what she is doing1 and interest almost always determines her parents to give her in marriage4 ,for woman to profit by her legal emancipation1 she should be at least twenty-two years old when she marries2 she should make her choice freely2 and her relatives should content themselves with keeping her apart from those whom she ought not to choose1 and should only enlighten and counsel her2 for on the love between the married couple depends the happiness and virtue of the wife4 ,examining next the origin of the dower1 the transferral of the dowry1 the betrothal and the marriage1 he shows the mundium paid at first to the father or the brother2 then later1 to the maiden1 becoming1 with the rest of the nuptial gifts1 the origin of the dower1 which he wishes to see made obligatory in modern times4 ,passing to the dowry1 he proves that1 becoming by degrees a custom among the ,romans1 it was at first the property of the husband2 then1 as the world progressed1 it became the property of the wife4 ,our code fully protects the dowry2 but the law should oblige wealthy parents to endow their daughters so that they can marry4 ,in olden times1 a maiden was betrothed by pledges exchanged by the father and the man who asked her in marriage2 at a later date the pledge was given to the maiden instead of the father1 and the law intervened to render obligatory promises of marriage4 ,at the present day1 in ,france1 there are no longer betrothed1 but future spouses4 ,in his second book1 the author distinguishes the beloved one from the mistress1 the adoration of pure from that of sensual love2 the first produces goodness1 patriotism1 and respect for woman2 the second regards her only as an object of pleasure and of disdain4 ,antiquity had no knowledge of pure love2 the ,middle ,age1 which comprehended it1 was divided equally between it and sensual love2 to-day1 we have learned to comprehend that the two loves should be united2 that the beloved and the mistress should make one in the person of the wife4 ,the third book1 ,the ,wife1 is divided into seven chapters4 ,the subordination of woman in marriage1 with contempt for the mother1 arose from two erroneous ideas3 the inferiority of her nature2 her passivity in the reproduction of the species1 in which she performed the part of the earth with respect to the reception of germs4 ,modern science has destroyed these bases of inferiority by demonstrating3 #ast1 that the human germ1 before taking its definitive form1 passes1 in the bosom of its mother1 through progressive degrees of animal life2 #b;d1 that in all species1 both animal and vegetable1 the females are the conservers of the race1 which they bring to their own type4 ,among the ,romans1 two forms of marriage placed the wife1 soul1 body and estate1 in the hands of her husband2 in a third form1 which left her in her father's family1 she received a dowry1 inherited1 and administered her property4 ,barbarism and feudality made the wife a ward1 the husband an administrator1 and a step was taken towards the equality of the spouses by the institution of acquts1 or property belonging to both1 though obtained by but one4 ,to-day1 the maiden is married sometimes under the dotal system1 occasionally under that of the separation of property1 and chiefly under that of communion of goods4 ,this last1 which is the rule1 permits the husband to dispose of the property of his partner1 to sell the household furniture1 to take possession of the very jewels of his wife to adorn his mistress4 ,thus1 this law respects no dignity1 no delicacy1 nothing whatever1 says ,m4 ,legouv4 ,the omnipotence of the husband is a crime of the law in every point of view2 it is in manifest violation of the modern principle1 which exacts that all authority shall be limited and placed under surveillance4 ,to surrender to the husband the fortune of the wife is to condemn her to an eternal moral minority1 to create him absolute master of the actions and almost of the soul of his companion4 ,the author next addresses himself to those who pretend to justify marital omnipotence by the incapacity of woman3 ,in vain do facts protest against this alleged incapacity2 in vain does reality say3 ,to whom is the prosperity of most of our commercial houses due8 ,to women4 ,who establish1 who superintend the thousands of establishments of millinery and objects of taste8 ,women4 ,by whom are the boarding-schools1 the farms1 often even1 the manufactories1 sustained8 ,by women4 ,it matters not1 the ,code denies to the wife the foresight to preserve1 the judgment to administer1 even the maternal tenderness to economize1 and the marriage certificate becomes the expression of this disdainful phrase3 the most reasonable woman never attains the good sense of a boy fourteen years of age4 ,how shall we set to work to remedy this iniquitous and shameful state of affairs8 ,the property of the partners should be divided into three shares3 one for the wife1 to be placed at her disposal five years after marriage1 one for the husband1 and a third common to both1 to be administered by the husband under the direction of a family council1 which council1 in case of incapacity or waste1 shall have the right provisionally to take away the management from him1 to entrust it to his wife4 ,if anything is iniquitous and revolting1 it is the power of the husband over the person and the actions of his wife2 the right over her of correction1 still tolerated in our days4 ,there must be a directing power in the household2 the husband must be the depositary of this power1 which should be limited1 and controlled by the family council4 ,legal omnipotence demoralizes the husband1 who believes in the end in the lawfulness of his despotism4 ,it is said that custom establishes precisely the contrary of what the laws prescribe3 this is generally true1 but it is at the expense of the moral character of the wife1 thus forced to have recourse to artifice4 ,restore liberty to women1 since liberty is truth6 exclaims ,legouv4 ,this will be1 at the same time1 to affranchise man4 ,servitude always creates two slaves3 he who holds the chain and he who wears it4 ,antiquity1 the ,middle ,age1 and the centuries nearer our own1 punished the adultery of the wife severely1 even cruelly1 yet did not admit that a man could become guilty of this offence with respect to his spouse4 ,our present code acknowledges1 indeed1 that the husband can commit adultery1 but only in case he maintains his mistress under the conjugal roof2 the wife is an adulteress everywhere1 and is punished severely2 as to the husband1 his punishment is a farce4 ,such impunity1 says ,m4 ,legouv1 is not only injurious to order1 it is an insult to public morals1 it is a lesson of debauchery1 given by the law itself4 ,if1 by adultery1 the wife wounds the heart of an honorable man1 introduces false heirs into the family1 she at least can abstract nothing from the common fortune2 while the husband1 in the same case1 can ruin the family1 while increasing the number of natural children and provoking his wife to wrong by his neglect and brutality4 ,the husband1 besides1 is more criminal than the wife1 for he seeks adultery1 while1 on the contrary1 it comes to the wife under a thousand attractive forms4 ,notwithstanding1 the adultery of the woman deserves greater punishment than that of the man4444 ,ah6 ,m4 ,legouv1 is this logic8 ,the ,oriental wife was and is still1 a slave1 a generatrix2 the ,roman wife was something more than this2 the wife of the ,middle ,age owed her body to her husband1 but the ,courts of ,love had decided that her affections could1 nay1 should belong to another4 ,to-day1 the ideal of marriage is enlarged2 we comprehend that it is the fusion of two souls1 a school for mutual perfection1 and that the two spouses should belong wholly to each other4 ,we have been led to this new ideal of the conjugal union by the civilizing struggles of the church against divorce and repudiation4 ,in its nature1 marriage is indissoluble1 but in the existing state of things in which the ideal is but very exceptionally realized1 the legislator has deemed it right to render possible the separation of the spouses3 this measure is immoral and unfortunate both for the partners and for their children4 ,the only remedy for family difficulties is divorce1 a question with which the church has nothing to do4 ,the whole of the last chapter of the third book is a condemnation of fickleness in love1 and an affirmation of the indissolubility of marriage and of the sanctity of the conjugal tie4 ,the fourth book1 ,the ,mother1 comprises six chapters4 ,until a late day1 it was believed that woman was only the soil in which man1 the creator of the species1 deposited the human germ4 ,modern science has overthrown this false doctrine1 and elevated woman by demonstrating these three incontestable facts3 #ast1 that1 dating from the moment of conception1 the human germ passes through successive degrees of animal life until it acquires its proper form2 #b;d1 that the female sex is the conserver of the race1 since it always brings them to its own type1 as well in the human as in the animal and vegetable species2 #c;d1 that woman is physiologically of a nature superior to man1 since it is now demonstrated that the higher the respiratory apparatus is placed in the organism1 the more elevated is the species in the scale of beings2 and that woman breathes from the upper1 and man from the lower part of the lungs4 ,maternity does not give to women rights over their children1 but contributes1 notwithstanding1 to their emancipation2 thus1 in ,india1 a woman who had borne sons could not be repudiated1 and at ,rome1 a woman emerged from tutelage at maternity4 ,it is iniquitous to give the paternal authority to the father alone2 the mother should have an equal right with him over her children4 ,supremacy of direction belongs indeed to the father1 but this direction should be limited and superintended by a family council1 and transferred to the mother in case of the unworthiness of her spouse4 ,the education of the children belongs of right to the mother1 because she understands them best1 and because it is necessary that she should acquire that entire influence over her sons which she will need afterwards to counsel and to console them4 ,public education is not fit for boys until they have attained their twelfth year2 younger1 it is injurious in its results to their character4 ,the author demands that the maternal grand-parents shall not be made inferior in guardianship1 as is the case now in the law2 and he considers it as sacrilege not to give to the mother an equal right with respect to consent to the marriage of their children4 ,legitimate maternity is happiness to the rich woman2 want1 often grief1 to the poor woman4 ,illegitimate maternity is to women of all ranks a source of sorrow1 shame and crime4 ,to the rich girl it is dishonor1 an eternal bar to marriage2 to the poor girl it is poverty1 shame if she keeps her child2 crime1 if she destroys it4 ,yet the law dares grant impunity to the corrupter1 to the seducer1 to the man who has not hesitated to sacrifice to a moment of passion the whole future of a woman1 the whole future of a child6 ,the ,state ought to come to the aid of all poor mothers1 because it is for its interest that the race should be strong and vigorous1 and because mothers are the preservers of the race4 ,let the genius of women be set to work2 let infant schools and infant asylums be founded in every quarter of ,france4 ,the ,hindoo widow was burned2 the ,jewish widow was bound to re-marry certain men designated by the law2 the ,grecian and the ,gothic widow passed under the guardianship of her son1 and the latter could not even re-marry without his permission2 the ,christian widow was condemned to seclusion2 none of these women had any rights over their children4 ,the ,french code restores full liberty to the widow1 renders to her the right of majority1 appoints her the guardian and directress of her children2 it is a preliminary step to liberty in marriage4 ,the fifth book1 ,woman1 is divided into five chapters4 ,all antiquity oppressed woman1 although it recognized in her something superior1 and made her a priestess or a prophetess4 ,the ,christian woman of the early ages1 who alone could dethrone the ,pagan woman1 not only endured martyrdom as courageously as man1 but was distinguished for her great charity1 for the purity and lucidity of doctrine which rendered her the counsellor of learned men4 ,we do not know1 in reality1 to what heights woman can attain2 we cannot judge her by what she is to-day1 since she is the work of the eternal oppression of man4 ,who can say whether many of the ills that rend society1 and of the insoluble problems that trouble it1 may not be caused in part by the annihilation of one of the two forces of creation1 the ban placed on female genius8 ,have we a right to say to half the human kind3 you shall not have your share in life and in the state8 ,is it not to deny to them 7to women7 their title of human beings8 ,is it not to disinherit the state itself8 ,yes1 woman should have her place in civil life1 concludes ,legouv4 ,woman and man are equal1 but different4 ,to man1 belong synthesis1 superiority in all that demands comprehensive views1 genius1 muscular force2 to woman1 belong the spirit of analysis1 the comprehension of details1 imagination1 tenderness1 grace4 ,man has more strength of reason and body1 woman more strength of heart1 with a marvelous perspicacity to which man will never attain4 ,the division thus fixed1 what ought woman to do8 ,in the family1 the task of the wife is the management of domestic affairs1 the education of the children1 and the comfort of the husband1 of whom she should be the inspiration4 ,by the side of the eminent man1 yet in the shade1 there is always a woman2 this career of hidden utility and of modest devotion is the one best suited to woman4 ,in civil life there are several fields of occupation which they may enter with success3 art1 literature1 instruction1 administration1 medicine4 ,modesty itself demands that we should call in women as physicians1 not to men1 but to women2 for it is an abiding outrage upon all purity that their ignorance should forcibly expose to masculine curiosity the sufferings of their sisters4444 ,nervous diseases1 especially1 would find in feminine genius the only adversary able to understand and combat them4 ,the author says that it is the duty of society to see that poor women do not work for one-third or one-fourth the wages of men2 and that1 in manufactures1 they have not the most dangerous and least remunerative labors4 ,parent-,duchtelet1 says he1 attests that of three thousand lost women1 only thirty-five had an occupation that could support them1 and that fourteen hundred had been precipitated into this horrible life by destitution4 ,one of them1 when she resolved on this course1 had eaten nothing for three days4 ,m4 ,legouv thinks it shameful that men should enter into competition with women in the manufacture of articles of dress and taste4 ,in the fifth and last chapter1 the author recognizes the remarkable capacity of women in administration1 of which he cites numerous examples4 ,he demands that they should have the superintendence of prisons for women1 hospitals1 charitable institutions1 the legal guardianship of foundlings1 the management1 in short1 of all that concerns social charity1 because they will acquit themselves in it infinitely better than men4 ,but he refuses to them all participation in political acts and in all that concerns the government1 because they have no aptitude for things of this nature4 ,finally1 he concludes thus3 ,our task is finished2 we have examined the principal phases of the life of women1 in the character of daughters1 wives1 mothers1 and women1 comparing the present with the past1 and endeavoring to indicate the future2 that is1 by pointing out the bad1 verifying the better1 seeking the best4 ,what principle has served us in this as a guide8 ,equality in difference4 ,in the name of this principle1 what ameliorations have we demanded in the laws and customs8 ,for daughters3 ,reform in education4 ,laws against seduction4 ,the postponement of the marriageable age4 ,the actual participation of the betrothed parties in the execution of their contract4 ,abolition of the formal request to the father of consent to marriage1 which is an insult to the father and an injustice to the child4 ,for wives3 ,an age of legal majority4 ,administration1 and the right of disposing of a portion of their private property4 ,the right to appear in law without the consent of their husbands4 ,the limitation of the power of the husband over the person of the wife4 ,the creation of a family council1 charged with controlling this part of the power4 ,for mothers3 ,the right of government4 ,the right of direction4 ,the right of education4 ,the right of consent to the marriage of their children4 ,a law requiring the investigation of paternity4 ,the creation of a family council to decide on serious disagreements between father and mother4 ,for women3 ,admission to guardianship and the family council4 ,admission to all professions4 ,admission within the bounds of their capabilities and duties to public offices4 ,it is evident that ,legouv has but one end1 that of advancing the emancipation of women a single step2 he does not demand all that he believes just1 but all that seems to him mature and possible4 ,we should thank him for his prudence3 he has brought over many men to our cause1 and has prepared them to hear the voice of woman1 speaking loudly and firmly by her right as a wife and a human being1 as a worker and a member of the social body4 ,by the side of ,legouv1 outside the social schools1 are a phalanx of just and generous men who have written in our favor4 ,we thank them all for their good words4 ,,chapter ,v4 ,,de ,,girardin4 ,on page #db of his pamphlet1 ,liberty in ,marriage1 ,de ,girardin says1 with great reason3 ,man is born of woman4 ,everything1 therefore1 that benefits woman will benefit man4 ,to fight and conquer for her is to fight and conquer for himself4 ,inspired by these excellent sentiments1 the celebrated publicist has investigated the causes of the slavery and degradation of woman1 and the means of paralyzing them4 ,every child has for its father the husband of its mother3 this1 according to ,m4 de ,girardin1 is the principle of two great wrongs3 the servitude of the married woman2 the inequality of children before the law1 which classes them as legitimate and illegitimate4 ,that children may become equal1 that woman may be affranchised from the yoke of man1 it is necessary1 says the author1 to substitute the system of maternity for that of paternity2 to modify ,marriage1 and to render woman independent through the institution and universalizing of the dower4 ,we will let ,m4 de ,girardin expound the rest of his doctrine himself4 ,we must choose1 says he1 between these two systems3 ,between the system of presumed paternity1 which is the system of the law1 and the system of maternity1 bearing its proof within itself1 which is the system of ,nature2 the latter is in conformity with incontestable truth1 the former is condemned by undisputed statistics4 ,the system of paternity is inequality of children before the mother and before the law2 it is woman possessed and not possessing2 444 it is no longer the legal slavery of woman1 but is still conjugal servitude4--,liberty in ,marriage4 ,without equality of children before the mother1 equality of citizens before the law is only an imposture1 for evidently and incontestably1 this equality does not exist for #b1hjj1jjj children1 who1 arbitrarily entitled illegitimate1 are placed outside of common right in violation of natural law4--,id4 ,according to ,de ,girardin1 the logical consequences of the system of maternity would be3 ,the abolition of civil marriage2 ,the mother's name alone given to the child2 ,the inheritance placed solely in the maternal line4 ,marriage1 says he1 is a purely individual act1 and1 as regards its celebration1 a purely religious act4-- ,marriage is an act of faith1 not of law3 it is for faith to govern it1 not for law to make rules for it4 ,as soon as the law intervenes1 it intervenes without right1 without necessity1 without utility4 ,for one abuse that it pretends to avert1 it gives rise to innumerable others which are worse1 and from which society afterwards suffers seriously1 without taking into account the cause that produced them4 ,legal liberty in marriage is durable love in the household2 indissolubility of marriage is habitual love outside of the household4--,id4 ,with respect to inheritance and dowry1 the author expresses himself thus3 ,to inherit at the death of the mother1 because maternity and certitude are two equipollent terms1 and to receive a support from the father1 because paternity and doubt are two inseparable terms2 such is the true law of ,nature4--,id4 ,in ,de ,girardin's opinion1 woman has the same rights as man to liberty and equality2 the sexes are equal1 not through similitude but equivalence of faculties and functions2 man produces1 acquires1 woman administers1 economizes2 it belongs therefore to man to provide for the expenses of the household4 ,it is his duty1 on uniting himself to a woman1 to settle on her an inalienable dower that will permit her to perform her maternal functions properly1 and to escape from the vices that frequently result from want and abandonment4 ,to the objection that the wages of the working people are insufficient to satisfy this duty1 the generous publicist replies3 ,well1 raise the rate of wages by excluding from industrial occupations the women and children that lower it by competition with men4 ,and if this measure be not sufficient to balance receipts and expenses1 increase the wages1 for there is no consideration weighty enough to make me admit that1 in order not to diminish the profits of some men1 others shall be eternally condemned to insufficient wages2 and that to shelter some women from violation1 others shall be necessarily devoted to prostitution4--,id4 ,in comparing the lot of the wife under the two systems1 ,de ,girardin expresses himself thus3 ,under the system of paternity1 the wife1 loaded with the gifts of fortune1 sinks under the weight of an idleness which most frequently inflames and disorders her imagination4 ,she does not know what to do to employ her time4 ,woman does nothing because man does everything4 ,the wife who has brought no dowry and received no dower1 sinks under the weight of a toil contrary to nature which obliges her1 through economy1 to separate herself from her child a few days after giving it birth1 and to put it away from her to nurse1 for the consideration of five or six francs a month2 to go to work in one direction while her husband works in the other1 and not to rejoin him till evening1 when each returns from the workshop which has kept them absent from their household all day3 if this is what is called the family1 is it indeed worth all the stir that is made about it8 ,under the system of maternity1 on the contrary1 the richer a woman is1 the further she is removed from idleness2 for not only has she her children to nurse1 to rear1 to instruct1 and to watch over1 but she has also to administer her fortune which will one day be theirs4 ,to preserve this fortune1 to increase it still more3 here is wherewith to occupy her leisure1 to calm her imagination1 to place her under curb4 ,it is wrong to suppose women not qualified for the management of business2 they excel in it1 however little may have been their practice or application4 ,long enough has man been the personification of war1 of slavery1 of conquest2 it is the turn of woman to be the personification of peace1 of liberty1 of civilization4 ,in this new system 7that of maternity71 each of the two has his part3 to man labor1 the genius of enterprise2 to woman economy and the spirit of foresight4 ,man speculates1 woman administers2 ,man acquires1 woman preserves2 ,man brings in1 woman transmits2 ,the dowry remains the attribute of the father1 the inheritance becomes the privilege of the mother2 ,each of the two thus exercises the function that is natural to him1 and in conformity with the essence of things4--,id4 ,a number of women have asked whether ,de ,girardin recognizes political right for women4 ,he says nothing about it1 either in his work ,liberty in ,marriage1 or in his ,universal ,politics4 ,but when a man writes that3 ,woman1 belonging to herself1 and being dependent only on her reason1 has the same rights as man to liberty and equality4 ,that universal suffrage should be individual and direct4 ,that every holder of a general insurance has a right to be a party to it4 ,it is evident that we may deduce1 without any great stretch of logic1 that1 woman being free and equal to man1 ,woman being comprised in universality1 ,woman holding1 like man1 her policy of insurance1 has a right1 like man1 to be elector1 to be eligible to office1 and to vote individually and directly4 ,now1 as ,m4 de ,girardin is not one of those who recoil from the consequences of their principles1 we are led to believe that he admits to woman the exercise of political right for woman4 ,i have been told that1 in #ahdh1 one of those pitiable individuals who have neither intellect enough to be logical1 nor justice enough to comprehend the oppressed1 was haranguing before ,m4 de ,girardin against the claims of certain women to enter political life4 ,why not8 asked ,m4 de ,girardin4 ,do you believe that ,madame de ,girardin would deposit a less intelligent vote in the electoral urn than that of her footman8 ,if this anecdote be true1 the opinion of the publicist concerning the political right of woman is not doubtful4 ,la libert dans le mariage has raised a tempest of indignation1 to a greater or less degree feigned1 among the prudes2 and for some time it required courage openly to proclaim one's self the 7feminine7 champion of the author4 ,abolish marriage6 cry some1 veiling their faces with an air of offended modesty4 ,make a speculation of love6 exclaim others who1 apparently1 have preserved their holy innocence and baptismal ignorance4 ,come1 ladies1 we might say1--a truce to conventional delicacy and sentimentality4 ,let men suffer themselves to be deceived by our mask1 nothing is more natural2 but what is the use of playing the farce among women8 ,m4 de ,girardin does not really suppress marriage2 he changes it in some respects1 but leaves it intact in a religious point of view4 ,if his system should be adopted1 therefore1 you might be married in the presence of the clergymen of your respective faiths1 precisely as was done some seventy years ago1 and you would have no fewer scruples than your grandmothers1 who believed themselves then sufficiently married4 ,on the other hand1 in suppressing civil marriage1 the author does not interdict such and such particular stipulations2 if therefore you hold in any degree to the religion of the ,code1 it will be lawful for you to stipulate in your notarial contract3 #a4 ,that you will be submissive to your husbands2 #b4 ,that you will permit them to manage your fortune1 even contrary to your interests and to those of your children2 #c4 ,that without authority from them1 you will neither go to law1 nor undertake anything1 nor sell anything1 nor receive anything1 nor give anything away2 #d4 ,that1 so long as they shall live1 you renounce all authority over your children2 that they can1 if they please1 take them from you1 banish you from them1 have them reared by whoever they choose1 even by their mistress1 finally1 give them in marriage contrary to your will2 #e4 ,that you recognise their right to carry elsewhere their love1 their attentions1 their fortune and your own2 provided that this does not happen under your roof2 #f4 ,that1 lastly1 you grant their right1 if1 abandoned by them1 you attach yourself to another1 to drag you before the bar1 to dishonor you1 to imprison you with thieves and prostitutes2 that even in such case you declare them excusable in killing you4 ,yes1 ladies1 you might stipulate all this1 for ,m4 de ,girardin disputes no one the rights of lacking dignity and being imbecile2 of what then do you complain8 ,you reproach ,m4 de ,girardin with wishing to make a speculation of love6 ,be good enough to tell me what you call the greater part of the marriages of the present time1 in which men have the heartlessness to speculate even on death6--in which they ask how much a young girl has1 what are her expectations1 and how old are her parents4 ,answer1 women3 ,is it true that the great majority of seduced women are incapacitated1 through shame and poverty1 from rearing their children8 ,that what you call a first fault1 drives the greater part of them to make a traffic of their charms8 ,that the great majority of men forget1 after satisfying their passion1 both the woman whom they have led astray1 and the innocent creature that owes its life to them8 ,is it true that the horrible and cruel selfishness of men and the insane confidence of women produces annually a fearful number of so called illegitimate children1 the greater part of which people the prisons1 the galleys1 and the public brothels8 ,is it true1 lastly1 that this same selfishness and this same confidence are the cause of thousands of human lives being criminally sacrificed8 ,and if all this shame1 all these griefs1 all these crimes are true8 ,if there are so many women seduced and heartbroken2 ,if there are so many children abandoned2 ,if there are so many infanticides2 ,if the law does not protect the woman deceived and made a mother2 ,if this law does not compel the seducer to any reparation2 ,if public opinion leaves to the victim all the shame2 ,why do you reproach a man for reminding a young girl that from love may proceed maternity8 ,for telling her that she ought to provide in advance for the child that may be born1 in order that it may not be cast upon public charity1 and that she herself may not risk falling into those sinks of impurity that are the shame and degradation of our sex8 ,do you reproach a man then for taking our part against the selfish and animal passions of his sex1 and against the impunity accorded them by the laws8 ,do you reproach him for taking in hand the cause of morals and health1 in opposition to the degradation of soul and body8 ,a young girl stipulate the sale of her person6 say you8 what essential difference do you find between this kind of contract1 and those that are made to-day before the notary on the occasion of a marriage8 ,did not most among you1 ladies1 purchase your husbands with so much dowry1 so much income1 so much expectations8 ,and if these husbands of yours did not think it shameful to be sold1 and if you do not esteem them less for it1 be good enough to tell me from what principle you judge it shameful for a young girl to do the same in order to rear her children1 and to live without prostituting herself8 ,for my part1 ,i do not see4 ,ladies1 you are grown-up children3 men feign to have contempt for the woman who thinks of her interests in love 444 because they wish1 if possible1 to keep their money1 that is all4 ,is this to say that ,i admit all the ideas of ,m4 de ,girardin8 ,no4 ,i admit with him1 that woman can only be free and the equal of man1 in so far as she is a wife1 through a change in marriage4 ,that1 in the state of insecurity in which she is placed with respect to wages and to maternity outside of marriages1 woman does well to take measures to prevent man from shifting the obligations of paternity from himself to her4 ,i would willingly admit that the child should bear the mother's name only1 if men did not object so strongly to it4 ,the child1 belonging to both1 should bear both names1 and choose1 at majority1 the one that he preferred2 or else the daughters should bear the name of the mother and the sons that of the father1 from the time of majority4 ,i readily admit the equality of children before the mother and the law2 for bastardy is meaningless in nature and is social iniquity4 ,but what ,i do not admit1 is the ideal ,m4 de ,girardin has formed with regard to the respective functions of each sex3 ,the exclusion of woman from active occupations2 ,the universalizing of the dower2 ,lastly1 family education4 ,to say that man represents labor1 the genius of enterprise1 that he speculates1 acquires1 brings in1--that woman represents economy1 the spirit of foresight1--that she administers1 preserves1 transmits1 is to establish a series which does not appear to me at all in conformity with the nature of things1 since it is notorious that a great number of women do what ,m4 de ,girardin attributes to the other sex1 and vice vers4 ,functions1 to be properly performed1 should be the result of aptitudes4 ,now ,nature1 except in what concerns the reproduction of the species1 does not appear to have classed these according to the sexes4 ,since the origin of society1 we have attempted to do it1 but history is at hand to reveal to us that1 in acting thus1 we have only succeeded in tyrannizing over the sturdy minorities that have given the lie to such pretensions4 ,now1 ,m4 de ,girardin1 admitting a false series1 priori1 is led without perceiving it to forge chains for all women whom ,nature has not made in conformity with the conventional order which he wishes to see realized4 ,to exclude woman from active occupations in order to confine her to the cares of the household is to attempt an impossibility1 to close the way to progress1 and to replace woman beneath the yoke of man4 ,it is to attempt an impossibility1 because there are branches of manufactures that can be executed only by women2 because many women who would not marry1 or who would be left portionless widows without resources1 could only remain pure by devoting themselves to some active employment which1 notwithstanding1 would be interdicted to them4 ,to see woman in the household alone1 is to view her from a contracted stand point1 which retards the advent of her liberty4 ,it is to close the way to progress1 because there are social functions which will never be well performed until woman shall participate in them1 and social questions that will never be resolved until woman shall stand by the side of man to elucidate them4 ,it is to replace woman beneath the yoke of man1 because it is in human nature to rule and domineer over those whom we provide with their daily bread4 ,to wish to erect the dower into an institution1 is to wish to restore one of the most lamentable phases of the ,past at the moment when ,humanity is marching towards the ,future--that which shows us woman purchased by man4 ,the universalizing of the dower would be therefore a criminal attempt on the liberty and moral dignity of woman4 ,lastly1 to claim that every mother ought to educate her children herself appears to us to propose as great impossibility as social danger4 ,if every well constituted woman is fit to bring children into the world and to nourish them with her milk1 very few are capable of developing their intellect and heart1 for education is a special function1 requiring a particular aptitude1 with which all mothers cannot be endowed4 ,next1 family education perpetuates divergence of opinions and sentiments1 maintains prejudices1 favors the development of vanity and selfishness1 and tends1 by this means1 to paralyze the most noble1 the most civilizing sentiment--that of universal solidarity4 ,assuredly1 at the present time1 many motives may justify family education1 but for the good of humanity it is to be desired that parents who sympathize in progressive ideas should assemble their children together to form them for social life1 instead of rearing them each by himself4 ,i submit this critical sketch to ,m4 de ,girardin in the name of the principle that he has always defended3--individual dignity and human liberty4 ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,modern ,,communists4 ,the ,communists hold as the principle of social organization1 not the agrarian law1 as has been charged on them through ignorance or bad faith1 but the enjoyment in common of the soil1 of implements of labor1 and of products4 ,from each one according to his strength1 to each one according to his needs1 is the formula of most among them4 ,it is not our business to examine the social value of this doctrine1 but only to show what ,communism thinks of woman and her rights4 ,the modern communists may be divided into two classes3 the religious and the political4 ,among the first are the ,saint ,simonians1 the ,fusionists and the ,philadelphians4 ,among the second1 are the ,equalitarians1 the ,unitarians1 the ,icarians1 etc4 ,the first consider woman as the equal of man4 ,to the others1 she is free2 among some1 with a shade of subordination4 ,the ,unitarians1 who have drawn largely from ,fourier1 proclaim woman free1 and equal with man4 ,we shall speak here of only a few of the communistic sects1 reserving for separate articles what relates to the ,saint ,simonians and the ,fusionists4 ,the ,philadelphians1 admitting ,god and the immortality of the soul1 lay down these two principles3 ,god is the chief of the social order2 ,fraternity is the law that governs human relations4 ,religion1 to the ,philadelphians1 is the practice of ,fraternity2 ,progress is a dogma1 ,community is the law of the individual before ,god and conscience4 ,touching the relations of the sexes and the rights of woman1 ,m4 ,pecqueur thus expresses himself in his work ,la ,rpublique de ,dieu1 pp4 #aid1 #aie3 ,complete equality of the man and the woman4 ,the ,monogamic marriage1 intentionally indissoluble as a normal condition2 such is the second practical consequence of the dogma of religious fraternity4 #a4 ,,equality4 ,we bring no proofs in evidence of this2 his reason is blotted out by prejudice and his heart chilled by egotism1 who is not impressed at once with the truth of equality4 ,in the state of society created by the religion of fraternity and equality1 women will find1 from their earliest years1 the same means and the same conditions of development of function and of remuneration1 in short1 ,,the ,,same ,,rights1 the same social aim to pursue as men2 and in proportion as custom shall correspond with the religious and moral ends of the union1 will the living law deduce the practical consequences of all order1 contained in the germ in the dogma of the complete equality of the sexes4 #d4 ,,monogamy ,,and ,,indissolubility4 ,to comprehend the lawfulness of the unlimited or indefinite monogamic marriage1 it suffices to consider3 #ast4 the exigencies of our inmost nature1 that is1 the characteristics of love2 its instinctive aspiration to the union and the fusion of two beings1 to duration and to perpetuity2 the necessity of possessing each other reciprocally and of having faith in this possession in order to love each other2 in short1 instinct1 desire2 the irresistible and universal affections1 and the joys of paternity and of the family2 #b;d4 the physiological conditions of generation1 which exact monogamy in order to assure the reproduction and the good and progressive conservation of the species2 #c;d4 social and religious exigencies1 which require relations of all kinds to be predetermined and regulated1 that each one may be secure in his expectation and his possession1 and that there may be a possibility of satisfying the fundamental propensities of our natures4444 ,to claim to introduce polygamy1 promiscuousness1 or union for a term of years into such surroundings1 7the ,philadelphian society17 is evidently to decree selfishness and mere carnal pleasure1 while proclaiming duty and dignity4 ,it is inconceivable that two moral beings1 once united by pure love1 should ever cease to love each other1 to delight in each other1 or at least to endure each other1 when they are presumed already to be devoted and sacrificing without distinction in their love to their brothers and sisters4 ,still less is it conceivable that their brothers and sisters would dream of diverting this reciprocal love of two members of the family to their personal advantage2 for this would be infamy4 ,m4 ,pecqueur admits1 notwithstanding1 that in very rare cases1 divorce may be granted on account of incompatibility of temper4 ,in such case the offending party would be excluded from the republic1 and the other would be at liberty to remarry4 ,according to ,m4 ,pecqueur1 indissolubility of marriage does not relate to the present antagonistic state of society1 as he says3 ,divorce is a great misfortune1 not only to the parties concerned1 but to religion2 notwithstanding1 in the kingdom of ,csar in which pure justice is the question1 it is the lesser evil1 when the individuals are determined on a separation in fact1 and are lusting after other ties4 ,they do evil clandestinely2 they are the cause or the occasion of the temptation or the fall of others4 ,do what they will1 the scandal is known2 so that neither society1 nor the spouses1 nor the children1 nor morality derive benefit from the consecration of absolute perpetuity4 ,it is not charitable1 it is impious to force two beings to remain together1 one of which1 to say the least1 maltreats1 detests1 takes advantage of1 or domineers over the other4 ,it is equally wrong to grant them a separation from bed and board without at the same time permitting them to yield to chaste affections when they acknowledge these in purity and liberty4 ,so then1 to the ,philadelphians1 expounded by ,m4 ,pecqueur1 marriage is monogamous1 indissoluble by intention2 divorce is a sad necessity of the existing state of society1 whilst separation is immorality4 ,in short1 woman is free and the equal of man4 ,another communist sect1 that of the ,icarians1 takes no notice either of the nature or the rights of women4 ,its chief1 ,m4 ,cabet1 an ex-attorney-general1 was too fully imbued with the doctrines of the ,civil ,code1 that inelegant paraphrase of the ,apostle ,paul1 not to be persuaded that woman ought to remain outside the pale of political right1 and that she ought to be subordinate to man in general1 and to her husband1 good or bad1 in particular4 ,let us do justice however to ,m4 ,cabet's disciples2 ,i have never found a single one of them of his opinion on this great question4 ,one evening in #ahdh1 as ,m4 ,cabet was presiding over a well attended club1 he was requested by a woman to put the question3 ,is woman the equal of man before social and political rights8 ,almost every hand was raised in the affirmative2 in the negative1 not a hand was raised1 not a man protested against the affirmation4 ,a round of applause followed from the galleries filled with women2 and ,m4 ,cabet was somewhat disconcerted by the result4 ,he seemed to be ignorant that the people1 always eminently logical1 are never guilty of quibbling to elude or to limit the principles that they have adopted4 ,this vote of the ,cabet club was repeated in three others1 in my presence4 ,the men in paletots laughed at the demands of brave ,jeanne ,deroin2 the men in blouses did not even smile at them4 ,m4 ,dezamy representing another shade of communism1 thus expresses himself in the code of the ,community2 ,away with marital dominion6 ,freedom of alliance6 perfect equality of both sexes6 ,freedom of divorce6 ,he adds1 under the heading2 ,laws for the union of the sexes1 designed to prevent all discord and debauchery1 page #bff3 ,art4 ,i4 ,mutual love1 inmost sympathy1 purity of heart between two beings1 form and legalize their union4 ,art4 ,,ii4 ,there should be perfect equality between the two sexes4 ,art4 ,,iii4 ,no bond except that of mutual love can link the man and the woman together4 ,art4 ,,iv4 ,nothing shall prevent lovers who have separated from forming new ties as often as they shall be attracted to another person4 ,the ethics of ,m4 ,dezamy are not to our taste2 we prefer those of the ,communist1 ,pecqueur2 but we are glad to prove that modern communism1 divided on the questions of marriage1 the family1 and morals in relations of the sexes1 is unanimous with respect to the liberty of woman and the equality of the sexes before the law and society4 ,in this1 modern communism is greatly superior to that of the ancient school1 practised among several nations1 and taught by ,plato1 ,morelly1 etc4 ,we recognize a sign of the times in this juster appreciation of woman1 with the introduction of the principle of her rights into doctrines which formerly never took them into account4 ,the greater part of the ,communists belong to the working class2 which proves that the people most of all feel the great truth1 that the liberty of woman is identical with that of the masses2 and it will take more than ,,mm4 ,proudhon1 ,comte1 ,michelet and their adepts1 to throw cold water on their feelings and to make them retrace their steps4 ,,saint ,,simonians4 ,my mother1 a zealous ,protestant and very austere in morals1 disapproved of ,st4 ,simonianism1 and never permitted any one to speak of it in my presence except to condemn it2 she took great care that not a line of the new doctrine should fall under my eyes4 ,whether from a natural spirit of opposition or from instinctive justice1 ,i know not1 but ,i by no means shared in the censure that ,i heard expressed about me2 one thing alone resulted from it--curiosity to become acquainted with what were called immoral dogmas4 ,i was in this frame of mind when one day while with my mother in the neighborhood of the ,palais du ,justice1 ,i saw a company of men advancing1 clad in a graceful costume2 they were the ,saint ,simonians going in a body to defend their infant church against prosecution at the bar4 ,i was greatly moved by the sight2 ,i felt in communion with these youth who were about to bear testimony to their faith2 they did not seem like strangers1 but as struggling for my own cause or for one that deserved my sympathy1 and tears sprang to my eyes4 ,i could have heartily embraced those whom ,i heard defending them1 and as heartily have assailed those who claimed that it would be just to condemn them4 ,my mother being too generous to join with the latter1 we departed in silence4 ,i knew1 without having any knowledge of the details1 that the church of ,st4 ,simon had been dispersed4 ,it was not until some years after that1 having made the acquaintance of a ,st4 ,simonian lady1 ,i was enabled to read the doctrinal writings and to form an idea of the aspirations and the dogmas of the school of ,st4 ,simon4 ,if the nature of this work forbids me their analysis1 it cannot reproach me for expressing my sympathies for those who have had great and generous aspirations2 for those who1 in a critical point of view1 have rendered real services to the cause of ,progress2 for those who have brought to light the solution of the two capital problems of our epoch2 the emancipation of woman and of the workman4 ,the ,st4 ,simonians have been enough assailed1 enough calumniated to justify a woman who is not a ,st4 ,simonian in considering it a duty to render them justice1 by acknowledging the good which they have done4 ,yes1 you have a right to be proud of your name of ,st4 ,simonians1 you who have proclaimed the obligation of laboring without respite for the physical1 moral and intellectual amelioration of the most numerous and the poorest class2 ,you who have proclaimed the sanctity of science1 art1 manufactures1 and labor in every form2 ,you who have proclaimed the equality of the sexes in the family1 the church1 and the state2 ,you who have preached of peace and fraternity to a world given over to wars of cannon and competition4 ,you who have criticised the ancient dogma1 and all the evil institutions that have thence arisen2 ,yes1 ,i repeat1 you have deserved well of ,progress1 you have deserved well of ,humanity2 and you have a right to bear with pride your great scholastic name2 for it was noble to desire the emancipation of woman1 of labor1 and of the laborer2 it was generous to consecrate youth and fortune to it1 as so many among you have done4 ,through your aspirations1 you have been the continuers of '#hi1 since you dreamed of realizing what was contained in the germ in the ,declaration of ,rights3 these are your titles of greatness2 this is why your name will not perish4 ,but if1 through your sentiments1 you belonged to the great era of '#hi1 the social form in which you claimed to incarnate your principles1 belonged to the ,middle ,ages2 the age therefore has done right to leave you behind4 ,seduced by trinitarian mysticism1 deluded by an erroneous historical point of view1 you claimed to resuscitate hierarchy and theocracy in a system of humanity fashioned in conformity with the opposing principle2 the triumph of individual liberty in social equality4 ,this is the reason that the age could not follow you4 ,no more could women follow you1 for they felt that they could only be affranchised through labor and through purity of morals2 by ruling over1 not imitating masculine passions4 ,they felt that their power of moralization was due as much to their chastity as to their intellect2 they knew that those who make use of the most liberty in love1 neither love nor esteem the other sex2 that1 in general1 they employ their ascendancy over it to pervert it to ruin and afflict their companions1 and to dissolve the family and civilization2 that1 in consequence1 they are the most dangerous enemies of the emancipation of their sex2 for man1 sobered of his passion1 can never desire to emancipate those by whom he has been deceived1 ruined and demoralized4 ,the ,st4 ,simonian orthodoxy is therefore1 in my opinion1 greatly mistaken with respect to the ways and means of realization4 ,shall we impute this to it as a crime8 ,no1 indeed6 social problems are not mathematical problems2 there is merit in propounding them2 courage and devotion in pursuing their solution1 even when we fail completely to attain it4 ,we all know the spirit of the ,st4 ,simonians who first brought before the public mind of the age the question of female emancipation2 it would be ungrateful in the women who demand liberty and equality not to recognize the debt of gratitude which they have contracted toward them4 ,it is their duty to say to their companions3 the seal of ,st4 ,simonianism is the safeguard of the liberty of woman2 wherever therefore you meet a ,st4 ,simonian1 you may press his hand fraternally2 you have in him a defender of your right4 ,let us sketch the general outline of the ,st4 ,simonian doctrine1 touching woman and her rights4 ,all of the ,st4 ,simonians admit that the sexes are equal2 ,that the couple forms the social individual2 ,that marriage is the sacred bond of generations2 the association of a man and a woman for the accomplishment of a sacerdotal1 scientific1 artistic1 or industrial work2 ,all admit divorce1 and transition to another union2 but some are more severe than others with respect to the conditions of divorce4 ,there is a division among them on the question of morals4 ,olinde ,rodrigues and ,bazard do not admit any liaison of love outside of marriage4 ,m4 ,enfantine1 on the contrary1 claims the greatest liberty in love4 ,we should add that he gives to this opinion a fixed and provisional value only1 since he says that the law of the relations of sexes can only be established in a sure and definitive manner by the concurrence of the woman2 and since1 on the other hand1 he prescribes continence to his closest followers1 until the coming of the ,woman1 of which he regards himself the precursor4 ,in addition1 to give our readers a more precise idea of the sentiments of the ,st4 ,simonians concerning woman1 we will cite some passages of their writings4 ,the use of woman by man still exists1 says ,m4 ,enfantin2 this it is that constitutes the necessity of our apostleship4 ,this use1 this subalternation contrary to nature1 with respect to the future1 results on the one hand1 in falsehood and fraud2 on the other1 in violence and animal passions2 it is necessary to put an end to these vices4--7,religion ,st4 ,simonienne1 #ahcb1 p4 #e47 ,woman1 as we have said1 is the equal of man2 ,she is now a slave2 it belongs to her master to affranchise her4 7,id4 p4 #ab47 ,there will be no definitive law and morality until woman shall have spoken4 7,id4 p4 #ah47 ,in the name of ,god1 exclaims ,m4 ,enfantin in his ,appel la ,femme1 in the name of ,god and of all the sufferings which ,humanity1 his loved child1 endures to-day in her flesh2 in the name of the poorest and most numerous class whose daughters are sold to ,indolence and whose sons are given up to ,war2 in the name of all those men and of all those women1 who cast the glittering veil of falsehood or the filthy rays of debauchery over their secret or public prostitution2 in the name of ,st4 ,simon who came to announce to man and woman their moral1 social and religious equality1 ,i conjure woman to answer me6 7,entretien du #g ,dcembre1 #ahca47 ,on his side1 ,bazard concludes a pamphlet1 published in ,january1 #ahcb1 with these words3 ,and we too have hastened the coming of woman2 we too summon her with all our might2 but it is in the name of the pure love with which she has imbued the heart of man1 and which man is now ready to give her in return2 it is in the name of the dignity which is promised her in marriage2 it is lastly and above all1 in the name of the most numerous and poorest class1 whose servitudes and humiliations she has hitherto shared1 and whom her enchanting voice can alone to-day have power finally to release from the harsh imposition with which it is still weighed down by the wrecks of the past4 ,ah6 you are to a great extent right1 ,enfantin and ,bazard6 ,so long as woman is not free and the equal of man2 so long as she is not everywhere at his side1 sorrows1 disorders1 war1 the exploitation of the weak1 will be the sad lot of humanity4 ,pierre ,leroux1 the gentlest1 best and most simple man that ,i know1 writes in turn in the fourth volume of his ,encyclopdie ,nouvelle1 article ,egalit1 the following remarkable paragraphs3 ,there are not two different beings1 man and woman1 there is but a single human being with two phases1 which correspond and are united by love4 ,man and woman exist to form the couple2 they are the two parts of it4 ,outside of the couple1 outside of love and marriage1 there is no longer any sex2 there are human beings of a common origin and of like faculties4 ,man at every moment of his life is sensation1 sentiment1 knowledge2 so is woman4 ,the definition is therefore the same4 ,after having proved1 according to his idea1 that the type of woman differs from that of man1 he continues3 ,but this type does not separate them from the rest of humanity1 and does not make of them a separate race which must be distinguished philosophically from man4444 ,love being absent1 they manifest themselves to man as human beings1 and are ranked1 like man1 under the various categories of civil society4 ,after having observed that1 however different men may be1 they are therefore none the less equal1 since they all are sensation1 sentiment and knowledge1 ,pierre ,leroux1 applying this principle to the question of the right of woman1 adds3 ,from whatever side we look at this question1 we are led to proclaim the equality of man and woman4 ,for1 if we consider woman in the couple1 woman is the equal of man1 since the couple itself is founded on equality1 since love is equality in itself1 and since where justice1 that is1 equality1 does not reign1 there love cannot reign1 but the contrary of love4 ,and if we consider woman outside of the couple1 she is a being like unto man1 endowed with the same faculties in various degrees2 one of those varieties in unity which constitute the world and human society4 ,the author says that woman should lay claim to equality only as a spouse and a human being2 that to acknowledge her as free because she has sex1 is to declare her at liberty not only to use but also to abuse love2 and that the abuse of love must not be the appanage and sign of liberty4 ,he says that woman has sex only for him whom she loves and by whom she is loved2 that to all others she can be merely a human being4 ,from this point of view1 continues he1 we must say to women3 you have a right to equality by two distinct titles2 as human beings and as wives4 ,as wives1 you are our equals1 for love in itself is equality4 ,as human beings1 your cause is that of all1 it is the same as that of the people2 it is allied to the great revolutionary cause2 that is1 to the general progress of the human kind4 ,you are our equals1 not because you are women but because there are no longer either slaves or serfs4 ,this is the truth that must be spoken to men and women2 but it would be to pervert this truth and to transform it into error to say to women3 ,you are a sex apart1 a sex in the possession of love4 ,emancipate yourselves2 that is1 use and abuse love4 ,woman thus transformed into an unchaste ,venus1 loses at once her dignity as a human being and as a woman2 that is1 as a being capable of forming a human couple under the sacred law of love4 ,the excellent ,leroux asks who does not feel1 who does not admit at the present day the equality of the sexes8 ,who would dare maintain that woman is an inferior being1 of whom man is the guide and beacon light8 ,that woman is elevated by man1 who is elevated only by himself and by ,god8 ,who would dare maintain such absurdities to-day1 brave and upright ,leroux8 ,p4 ,j4 ,proudhon1 the man who called you ,theopompe and ,plissier--,m4 ,michelet1 who claims that woman was created to be the most tiresome doll of her loving husband4 ,but to return to yourself4 ,you affirm that ,god is androgynous2 that in him coexist the male and female principles on the footing of equality3 that consequently1 man and woman are equal in ,god4 ,i assent to this willingly1 although ,i know absolutely nothing about it4 ,but when you add that woman is deserving of quite as much as man1 because she has shared in all the agonizing crises of the progressive education of the human race2 ,that love1 which cannot exist without the woman1 has led us from the law of slavery to that of equality2 ,that consequently woman represents half in the work of the ages2 ,in this there is no mystery2 ,i join you therefore with all my heart in repeating to men the invitations and the lessons which you give to these ungrateful and stubborn males3 ,if we are free1 it is in part by woman2 let her then be made free by us4 ,but is she so8 ,is she treated by us as an equal8 ,a wife--does she find equality in love and marriage8 ,a human being1 does she find equality in the ,state8 ,this is the question4 ,on the subject of woman1 our civil law is a model of absurd contradictions4 ,according to the ,roman law1 woman lived perpetually under tutelage2 in this system of legislation1 everything was at least in perfect harmony2 woman was always a minor4 ,we1 on our part1 declare her in a multitude of cases to be free as man4 ,she is no longer under general or fictitious tutelage2 her age of majority is fixed2 she is competent to inherit in her own right2 she inherits in equal proportion2 she controls and disposes of her property2 more than this1 in the system of communion of goods between husband and wife1 we admit the separation of property4 ,but let the marriage bond itself be in question1 in which wealth is no longer at stake1 but ourselves and our mothers1 ourselves and our sisters1 ourselves and our daughters2 then we are found intractable in our laws2 we no longer admit equality2 we require woman to declare herself our inferior and servant1 and to swear obedience to us4 ,truly we cling more to money than to love2 we have more consideration for money-bags than for human dignity2 for we emancipate women as soon as they become freeholders2 but as soon as they become wives the law declares them our inferiors4 ,here notwithstanding1 that bond is in question in which the equality of man and woman is most evident2 that bond in which this equality breaks forth1 as it were2 that bond in which it is so necessary to proclaim that without equality1 the bond itself exists no longer4 ,yet1 by an absurd contradiction1 our civil law chooses this moment to proclaim the inferiority of woman2 it condemns her to obedience1 makes her take a false oath1 and takes advantage of love to make it outrage itself4 ,i have no doubt that1 to future ages1 the characteristic symbol of our moral condition will be that article of our laws which sanctions in set terms inequality in love4 ,it will be said of us3 they had so little comprehension of justice1 that they did not comprehend love which is justice in even its holiest type2 they had so little comprehension of love1 that they did not even admit justice in it2 and that in their written law1 their ,code1 the form of marriage1 the only sacrament of which they yet had any idea1 instead of sanctioning equality1 sanctions inequality2 instead of union1 disunion2 instead of the love that equalizes and identifies its objects1 some contradictory and monstrous relation1 founded at the same time upon identity1 and upon inferiority and slavery4 ,yes1 like those forms of the law of the ,twelve ,tables1 that we quote now to prove the barbarity of the ancient ,romans and their ignorance of justice1 this article of our ,code will be some day cited to characterize our grossness and ignorance1 for the absence of an elevated notion of justice is as marked in it as is the absence of an elevated notion of love4 ,thence follows everything relative to the condition of woman2 or rather1 everything is connected with this point2 for will we respect the equality of woman as a human being when we are senseless enough to deny her this quality as a wife8 ,is woman to-day1 in so far as a human being1 really treated as the equal of man8 ,i will not enter upon this broad subject4 ,i confine myself to a single question2 what education do women receive8 ,you treat them as you treat the people4 ,to these too you leave the old religion that fits us no longer4 ,they are children kept as long as possible in swaddling clothes1 as though this were not the true way to deform them1 to destroy at once the rectitude of their mind and the candor of their soul4 ,besides1 what does ,society do for them8 ,to what new careers does she give them access8 ,yet1 notwithstanding1 it is evident to every thinking mind that our arts1 our sciences1 our manufactures will make as much new progress when women are called to take a part in them1 as they did a few years ago1 when they were opened to the serfs4 ,you complain of the want and wretchedness that weighs down your systems of society2 abolish the castes that are still subsisting2 abolish the caste in which you hold immured the half of the human race4 ,these few pages1 my readers1 give you the compass of the sentiments of the ,st4 ,simonians1 both orthodox and dissenters1 and justify the sympathy entertained by women who have attained majority for those who have so ardently pleaded their cause4 ,,fusionists4 ,louis de ,tourreil1 the revealer of ,fusionism1 is a man whom it is impossible to behold without sympathy or to hear without pleasure2 he is kindly1 he speaks well1 and his ideas are most logically deduced2 his principles once admitted1 one is constrained to follow him to the end4 ,tourreil expresses himself in the ,revue ,philosophique of ,may1 #ahef1 on the subject of woman and her rights1 as follows3 ,nature is reduced to three great co-eternal principles or productive agents of all things4 ,these principles are3 ,the female or passive principle1 ,the male or active principle1 ,and the mixed or unificative principle1 participating in both1 which is called ,love4 ,god is therefore ,female1 ,male and ,androgynous1 in his trinary unity4 ,he is simultaneously from all eternity ,mother1 ,father and ,love1 instead of being1 as the theologians say1 ,father1 ,son1 and ,holy ,spirit2 three agents of like sex1 incapable of producing anything4 ,you will easily conceive1 my dear brother1 that if the masculine and the feminine sex hold the same rank in the ,divine ,trinity1 they will be also found in the same rank in humanity4 ,the part which the divine woman plays in ,heaven1 the human woman will play on ,earth4444 ,were he 7,god7 only of the masculine sex1 men would say that the masculine sex alone is noble1 and that woman is created merely for the service of man1 as man is created for that of ,god4 ,they would even question whether she had a soul1 and would think that they were doing her a favor in admitting her as something in life4 ,after quoting the teachings of the apostle ,paul with respect to woman and marriage1 the author continues3 ,behold1 my dear brother1 the part which ,christianity assigns to woman4 ,if this doctrine therefore were followed in every point1 and if it ought to be replaced by no higher one1 woman would find herself condemned in perpetuity to a subalternization humiliating to her nature4 ,but ,fusionism1 which is the doctrine of ,salvation for all1 does not permit any one to be sacrificed2 for this reason1 woman is the equal of man and man the equal of woman1 as in ,god1 the eternal ,mother is the equal of the eternal ,father1 and the eternal ,father is the equal of the eternal ,mother4 ,de ,tourreil believes that the ,mother gives form and the ,father life1 two things equally necessary to constitute the being4 ,since woman is the equal of man in absolute principle1 continues he1 and since she is co-eternal with him1 there is injustice in subordinating her to man in the relative2 and the book of ,genesis commits a gross error in making her proceed from man3 ,if either of the two could be before the other1 it would be the woman1 for strictly speaking1 we could conceive of the being without the life1 but it would be quite impossible to conceive of the life without the being3 ,the being without the life would be a dead being1 but what would the life be without the being8 ,it would be a life without existence1 negation1 the absence of life1 nothingness4 ,therefore1 in logical order1 woman is first4444 ,not only ought woman to be the equal of man1 as we have seen1 but in enunciation and classification1 she should be named and classed first4 ,woman is the mould by which the species is perfected or depraved1 according as the mould is good or bad4 ,the fate of humanity depends therefore on woman1 since she has all powerful influence on the fruit that she bears in her bosom4 ,pure1 good1 intelligent1 she will produce healthy1 intelligent and good beings4 ,impure1 narrow1 and wicked1 she will produce unhealthy1 unintelligent and wicked beings4 ,in a word1 the child will be what its mother is1 for nothing can give what it has not4 ,it is important therefore that woman should be developed like man1 that her education should be comprehensive1 that her person should be honored1 respected1 and tenderly cared for1 in order that nothing in the social surroundings may shape it to evil4 ,destined by the ,supreme ,being to form the human being from her flesh1 her blood and her soul1 destined to nourish it with her milk and to give it its earliest education1 the two acts which have the greatest influence over the individual life1 woman should be considered as the chief agent of perfection4 ,this rle classes her naturally in a very elevated rank in society1 and exacts of her superior perfections4 ,thus in the future she will be the image of ,divine ,wisdom on earth1 as man will represent ,divine ,power4 ,to man more especially will belong action2 to woman1 counsel4 ,man will take the initiative in difficult enterprises2 woman will moderate or excite ardor therein4 ,man will rule the planet2 woman will embellish it4 ,man will symbolize science and manufactures2 woman will symbolize poetry and art4 ,the one will always have need of the other2 they will walk together side by side1 and will find completeness reciprocally in each other4 ,such1 my dear friend1 after a brief fashion1 is the idea which should be formed of woman4 ,man and woman are not two beings radically separated2 both together make but a single being4 ,to subordinate woman to man or man to woman is therefore to mutilate the human being1 or to fail to comprehend its interests4 ,that humanity may be happy1 neither of its halves must suffer4 ,and how can it help suffering if it is reduced to servitude and oppressed by the other8 ,our destiny on earth is to constitute the collective being in his own consciousness4 ,for this1 it is necessary to realize the humanitary androgynus4 ,now the humanitary androgynus necessitates first the individual androgynus which can only be constituted by harmonious marriage4 ,marriage is therefore the great formative or deformative law of the collective being1 according as it is expressed by the legislator in a manner conformably or contrary to human destiny4 ,it is in marriage that the sources of good and evil are found2 would you know why8 ,because in the act that joins the man to the woman1 and by which the couple are made to form but one body1 the two souls are fused by means of a reciprocal donation1 which unites the souls of the two for eternity4 ,so that1 after the conjunction1 the soul of the woman adheres to the soul of the man and accompanies it everywhere1 while the soul of the man adheres to the woman and never more quits it4 ,whence it follows that if the soul of the man be depraved1 it depraves the woman to whom it is united1 by exercising over her a continued action1 even at a distance4 ,so also does the depravity of the woman united to the man deprave him without his knowing it by an occult and permanent action4 ,the souls of two depraved beings may be therefore inseparably conjoined1 without thus constituting the individual androgynus1 which is the divine end of marriage or the union of the sexes4 ,the individual androgynus is only possible to the condition of unity4 ,but unity cannot be constituted by evil4 ,the good1 the true and the perfect alone can combine the conditions of unity4 ,the evil1 the false and the imperfect are essentially inharmonious in their nature4 ,two wicked1 insincere and vicious beings will only produce by their conjunction a still greater difference4 ,they will be united1 but only reciprocally to torment each other4 ,unity will never be constituted by them2 and without the constitution of unity or the individual androgynus1 it will be impossible to realize the human destiny4 ,in order that the individual androgynus may exist in the couple1 there must be perfect spiritual communion between them2 that is1 communion of thought1 of feeling1 and of will4 ,but how can two individuals who1 instead of being ruled by truth1 are ruled only by their misdirected passions1--how can these two make but one8 ,it is impossible4 ,you will comprehend1 my dear brother1 from these few words1 how sacred is marriage1 and how important it is to contract none but harmonious unions1 for the unhappiness of a lifetime often depends on an inconsiderate conjunction4 ,having had several opportunities of meeting ,m4 de ,tourreil1 ,i asked him for some exact details in respect to the liberty of woman and marriage4 ,the following is an abstract of those that he has kindly given me2 ,education should be the same for both sexes2 ,woman should be at liberty to follow the vocation which comes to her from ,god2 and of which she alone is judge2 ,in all grades and employments in the republic of ,god1 woman should be at the side of man2 ,after the age of fifty1 all individuals of both sexes should be rulers and priests2 ,the reproduction of the species being the work of the love of persons healthy in mind and in body1 before marriage1 the bride should be required to make confession to a priestess and the bridegroom to a priest1 in order to be enlightened with respect to the opportuneness or unsuitableness of the union4 ,dissolution of marriage should take place but in a single case1--when the husband and wife have attained to complete fusion2 that is1 to feeling and knowing reciprocally that they have no longer anything to exchange4 ,it then becomes necessary to form new ties1 and1 each one to labor to fuse with a new consort4 ,in the existing condition of humanity1 this fusion cannot take place2 but in the future1 when we shall be nearer perfection1 it will become possible several times in life4 ,fusionism is1 as is evident1 mystical socialism4 ,its votaries are gentle and good1 and very tolerant towards those who do not think like them4 ,,phalansterians4 ,the motto of the ,fourieristic1 ,societary or ,phalansterian school is respect for individual liberty1 based on the following notions3 ,all nature is good2 it becomes perverted only when performing its functions in evil surroundings4 ,no person exactly resembling the rest1 each one should be the sole judge of his capacities1 and should receive laws only from himself4 ,attractions are proportional to destinies4 ,if the disciples of my compatriot1 ,charles ,fourier1 do not express themselves exactly in this wise1 all that have written bears the imprint of these thoughts4 ,are ,fourier and his disciples right in believing that the law of passional attraction alone is required to organize the industrial1 moral and social world8 ,that the primordial element of a system of society should be the ,societary or ,phalansterian association8 ,that the most opposite1 the most diverse passions are the conditions sine qu non of harmony8 ,that the compensation of labor and of competition should be regulated according to ,labor1 ,capital and ,talent8 ,we are not called on to examine this here4 ,the only thing that need occupy us in this rapid review of contemporaneous opinions is the investigation of the sentiments and ideas of ,fourier and his school in that which concerns the principal object of this book4 ,a few pages from the chief of the order1 and a summary analysis will suffice for this4 ,in the ,thorie des quatre ,mouvements1 ,m4 ,fourier writes2 ,that the ancient philosophers of ,greece and ,rome should have disdained the interests of women is by no means surprising1 since these rhetoricians were all ultra partisans of the pederasty which they had brought in high honor in la belle antiquit4 ,they cast ridicule upon the associating with women2 this passion was considered dishonorable4444 ,these manners obtained the unanimous suffrage of the philosophers who1 from the virtuous ,socrates to the delicate ,anacreon1 affected ,sodomitish love alone and contempt for women1 who were banished to the upper apartments1 immured as in a seraglio1 and exiled from the society of men4 ,these fantastic tastes not having found favor among the moderns1 there is reason for surprise that our philosophers should have inherited the hatred that the ancient scholars bore to women1 and that they should continue to disparage the sex on account of a few wiles to which woman is forced by the oppression which weighs upon her2 for every word or thought in conformity with the voice of nature is made in her a crime4 ,what can be more inconsistent than the opinion of ,diderot1 who pretends that1 to write to woman1 one has only to dip his pen in the rainbow1 and sprinkle the writing with dust from butterflies' wings8 ,women might reply to the philosopher3 ,your civilization persecutes us as soon as we obey nature2 we are obliged to assume a fictitious character and to listen to impulses contrary to our desires4 ,to give us a relish for this doctrine1 you are forced to bring in play deceitful illusions and language1 as you do with respect to the soldier whom you cradle in laurels and immortality to divert his thoughts from his wretched condition4 ,if he were truly happy1 he would welcome the plain and truthful language which you take care not to address to him4 ,it is the same with women2 if they were free and happy1 they would be less eager for illusions and cajoleries1 and it would no longer be necessary in writing to them to place rainbows and butterflies' wings under contribution4 ,when it 7,philosophy7 rails at the vices of women1 it criticises itself2 this it is that produces these vices by a social system which1 repressing their faculties from their infancy and through the whole course of their life1 forces them to have recourse to fraud in order to yield to nature4 ,to attempt to judge of women by the vicious character which they display in civilization is like attempting to judge of human nature by the character of the ,russian peasant1 who is destitute of all ideas of honor and liberty2 or like judging the beaver by the stupidity which they show when domesticated1 whilst in a condition of liberty combined with labor1 they become the most intelligent of all quadrupeds4 ,the same contrast will reign between the women who are slaves of civilization and those who are free in the combined order2 they will surpass men in industrial devotion1 in loyalty1 in nobleness2 but outside of the free and combined state1 woman1 like the domesticated beaver or the ,russian peasant1 becomes a being so inferior to her destiny and talents that we are inclined to despise her when judging her superficially according to appearances4 ,it is a surprising thing that women should have always shown themselves superior to men when they have had it in their power to display on the throne their natural talents1 of which the diadem assured them a free use4 ,is it not certain that of eight queens1 independent and unmarried1 seven will be found to have reigned with glory1 while of eight kings1 we count habitually seven feeble sovereigns4 444 ,the ,elizabeths and ,catherines did not make war in person1 but they knew how to choose their generals2 and it is enough that these are good4 ,in every other branch of administration1 has not woman given lessons to man8 ,what prince has surpassed in firmness ,maria ,theresa who1 in a disastrous moment1 when the fidelity of her subjects was tottering and her ministers were struck with terror1 undertook herself alone to inspire all with new courage8 ,she intimidated by her presence1 the disaffected ,diet of ,hungary2 she harangued the ,magnates in the ,latin tongue1 and brought her very enemies to swear on their sabres to die for her4 ,this is an indication of the prodigies that would be wrought by feminine emulation in a social order which would permit free scope to her faculties4 ,and you1 the oppressing sex1--would you not go beyond the faults imputed to women if you1 like them1 had been moulded by a servile education to believe yourselves automatons created to obey prejudices and to cringe before the master whom chance had given you8 ,have we not seen your pretensions to superiority confounded by ,catharine1 who trampled under foot the masculine sex8 ,in creating titled favorites1 she trailed man in the dust1 and proved that it is possible for him in full liberty to abase himself beneath woman1 whose degradation is forced1 and consequently1 excusable4 ,it would be necessary1 to confound the tyranny of man that1 for the space of a century1 a third sex should exist1 which should be both male and female1 and stronger than man4 ,this new sex would prove by dint of blows that men as well as women were made for its pleasures2 then we should hear men protest against the tyranny of the hermaphrodite sex1 and confess that force ought not to be the sole law of right4 ,now why are these privileges1 this independence1 which they would reclaim from this third sex1 refused by them to women4 ,in singling out those women who have had power to soar1 from the virago1 like ,maria ,theresia1 to those of a gentler type1 like the ,ninons and the ,svigns1 ,i am authorized in saying that woman1 in a state of liberty1 will surpass man in all functions of the mind and body which are not the attributes of physical strength4 ,man seems already to foresee this2 he becomes indignant and alarmed when women give the lie to the prejudice that accuses them of inferiority4 ,masculine jealousy has especially broken out against women authors2 philosophy has kept them out of academic honors1 and has sent them back ignominiously to the household4444 7p4 #adh47 ,what is their existence to-day 7that of women78 ,they exist in privations alone1 even in the trades1 in which man has encroached on everything1 even to the minutest occupations of the needle and the pen1 while women are seen employed in the toilsome labors of the field4 ,is it not scandalous to see athletes thirty years old squatted before a desk1 or carrying a cup of coffee with muscular arms1 as if there were not women and children enough to attend to the minor details of the counting-room and the household4 ,what then are the means of subsistence for women destitute of fortune8 ,the distaff1 or else their charms if they have any4 ,yes1 prostitution more or less glossed over is their only resource1 which philosophy again contests to them2 this is the abject fate to which they are reduced by this civilization1 this conjugal slavery which they have not even thought of attacking4 7p4 #aej47 ,fourier bitterly reproaches women authors for having neglected to seek the means whereby to put an end to such a state of affairs1 and adds with great reason3 ,their indolence in this respect is one of the causes that have accrued from the contempt of man4 ,the slave is never more contemptible than by a blind submission which persuades the oppressor that his victim was born for slavery41 7p4 #aej74 ,fourier is right1 but 444 to elevate others is to risk being lost one's self in the crowd2 and every one is not capable of this degree of abnegation4 ,to combat for the right of the weak when men have admitted you to their ranks1 is to prepare for yourself a rough way and a heavy cross4 ,in the first place1 you are exposed to the hatred and raillery of men1 then half-cultured women corroded by jealousy1 invent a thousand calumnies for your destruction2 they feign to be scandalized that a woman dare protest against the inferiority and use of her sex2 they enter into league with the masters1 clamor louder than they and satirize you without mercy4 ,now all women are not made to shrug their shoulders in the face of this cohort of morbid minds 444 they love peace too well1 they lack courage1 and they do not care enough for justice2 is it not so1 ladies8 ,let us return to ,fourier4 ,it is known that he admits several social periods4 ,according to him1 the pivot of each of them hinges on love and the degree of liberty of woman4 ,as a general rule1 he says1 social progress and changes of the period will be wrought in proportion to the progress of women towards liberty1 and the decay of the social order will be wrought in proportion to the decline of the liberty of women4 ,in another place1 he adds in speaking of philosophers3 ,if they treat of morals1 they forget to recognize and to claim the rights of the weaker sex1 the oppression of which destroys the basis of justice4 ,he says again1 elsewhere3 ,now1 ,god recognizes as liberty only that which is extended to both sexes1 and not to one alone2 so he has prescribed that all the germs of social evils1 as the savage state1 barbarism1 civilization1 should have no other pivot than the enthrallment of women2 and that all the germs of social good1 as the sixth1 seventh and eighth period1 should have no other pivot1 no other compass1 than the progressive affranchisement of the weaker sex4 ,fourier is reproached with having desired the emancipation of woman in love2 nothing is more true4 ,but to impute this to him as immorality1 men must censure their own morals4 ,now1 these gentlemen considering themselves as wholly pure1 though themselves representing the butterfly in love1 infidelity and the simultaneous possession of several women being only a pastime to them1 ,i do not really see what they can blame in ,fourier4 ,either what they do is right1 and therefore cannot be wrong in woman2 ,or what they do is wrong2 then why do they do it8 ,fourier believed in the unity of the moral law and in the equality of the sexes2 he believed in the lawfulness of the morals of these gentlemen1 minus perfidy and hypocrisy2 this is the reason that he claims emancipation in love for woman3 he is logical4 ,besides1 he repeats continually that the ethics that he depicts would cause disorder in the civilized period2 and that they can only be established progressively in subsequent periods4 ,many among the ,phalansterians reject ,fourier's ethics with respect to love as well as his ,theodicy1 and ,i myself have heard several discourses in which the orator condemned1 not only falsity in conjugal relations1 but also looseness of morals4 ,fourier and the ,saint ,simonian orthodoxy have both been guilty of the same error with regard to the emancipation of woman2 but1 men1 ,i repeat1 must be very audacious to impute it to them as a crime1 since they indulge themselves in worse2 as to women1 sustained and loved by these reformers1 let them imitate the pious conduct of ,shem and ,japhet2 one owes respect to his father1 whatever may be the idea or the wine with which he is drunken4 ,now that we have cited the master1 let us enumerate the principal points of the ,fourierist doctrine1 touching the liberty of woman and the equality of the sexes3 #a4 ,man and woman are composed of the same physical1 moral and intellectual elements2 there is1 therefore1 between the sexes1 identity of nature4 #b4 ,the proportion of these elements differs in the two sexes1 and constitutes the difference that exists between them4 #c4 ,this difference is so equalized that the value shall be equal4 ,where man is the stronger1 he takes precedence of woman2 where woman is stronger1 she takes precedence of man4 #d4 ,man belongs to the major mode3 he has the ascendency over woman in intellect1 in logic1 in the larger manufactures1 in friendship2 it belongs to him therefore to create positive science1 to connect facts1 to regulate commercial relations1 to bind together interests1 and to organize groups and series4 ,to all these things1 woman brings her indispensable aid1 but by reason of her aptitudes1 her services are only secondary therein4 #e4 ,woman belongs to the minor mode2 she has the ascendency over man in the kind of intellect that applies and adapts1 in the intuition that puts man on the track of the good to which masculine logic should attain2 in the sphere of maternity in which she presides over education1 for she comprehends the means to be employed to ameliorate the species in every respect better than man2 in the sphere of love in which she has the right and the power to civilize and refine the relations of the sexes2 and to stimulate man to conquest of the intellect1 to the amelioration of the physical conditions of the globe1 of industry1 of art1 of social relations1 etc4 ,woman intervenes to a certain point in the major mode1 so does man enter into the minor mode1 in which his coperation is indispensable4 ,thus1 in general1 in man the head predominates1 in woman1 the heart2 but as both have a heart and a head1 man1 through his heart1 becomes an aid in the minor mode1 and woman1 through her head1 becomes an aid in the major mode4 #f4 ,there are men who are women both in head and in heart2 women who are men both in heart and in head2 in humanity they form the eighth of an exception4 ,full liberty and right are granted to them4 #g4 ,each member of the ,phalanstery follows his vocation1 obeys his attractions1 for attractions are proportional to destinies4 ,therefore the eighth of an exception in both sexes1 having an attraction towards labors that belong more especially to the other sex1 is at liberty to yield to them4 #h4 ,all major men and women have an equal vote4 #i4 ,all matters are regulated by chiefs of both sexes1 chosen by the free vote of both sexes4 #aj4 ,all offices1 from the presidency of the group to that of the globe1 are filled jointly by men and women1 who divide between them the details of this common function4 #aa4 ,the mother is the instructress of her children2 they belong to her alone2 the father has no rights over them unless the mother chooses to confer these on him4 ,such is the summary of the ,fourierist doctrine on the subject of which we treat4 ,if the ,societary ,school has not reached perfect truth1 it must be at least acknowledged that it has taken the right way to attain it4 ,whether its theory of the classification and the predominance of faculties in conformity with the sexes be exact or not1 the error will not be productive of mischievous results in practice4 ,woman being free to follow her aptitudes1 being half in rights and functions1 could always place herself in the exceptional eighth1 without fear of encountering jealous individuals1 better fitted than herself to warble in the minor key1 who would send her back to the duties of the household4 ,i remember1 in this connection1 a certain advocate1 by no means feminine1 professing a superb disdain of the sex to which his mother belonged1 worthy in a word1 to be the disciple of ,p4 ,j4 ,proudhon2 would you know what this man had retained of all his lessons in law8 ,the art of sweeping a room properly1 of polishing furniture1 of hemming napkins and pocket handkerchiefs neatly1 and of compounding sauces4 ,do you not think1 illustrious ,proudhon1 that he might have been advised with more justice to go and iron his collars1 than certain women who write good articles on ,philosophy4 ,but let us return to ,fourier4 ,among the ,socialist ,schools1 that of ,fourier occupies a distinguished place2 it is the one most deserving of the gratitude of women through the principles that it has laid down4 ,be it understood1 we separate in this connection the principles of ,liberty and ,equality from all that relates to the question of ethics1 which we cannot resolve in the same manner as ,fourier1 any more for woman than man4 ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,,summary4 ,appear1 all ye modern innovators1 before your judge1 the public4 ,sum up your opinions4 ,,communist4 ,the two sexes differ1 do not perform the same functions1 but they are equal before the law4 ,for woman to be really emancipated1 society must be remoulded economically1 and marriage suppressed4 ,,philadelphian ,,and ,,icarian4 ,we are of your opinion1 brother1 except in what concerns marriage4 ,,orthodox ,,st4 ,,simonian4 ,if ,christianity has despised and oppressed woman1 it has been because1 in its sight1 she represented matter1 the world1 evil4 ,we1 who are come to give the true meaning of the ,trinity1 rehabilitate or explain what our predecessors have condemned4 ,woman is the equal of man1 because in ,god1 who comprises everything1 matter is equal to spirit4 ,with man1 woman forms the couple which is the social individual1 the functionary4 ,as woman is very different from man1 we do not take the liberty of judging her2 we content ourselves with summoning her that she may reveal herself4 ,notwithstanding we think that she can only be affranchised by being emancipated in love4 ,,pierre ,,leroux agitated4 ,take care6 ,it is not so much in sex that woman should be affranchised2 it is only in her quality of wife and human being4 ,she has sex only for him she loves2 to all other men she is what they are themselves3 sensation1 sentiment1 sense4 ,she must be free in marriage and in the commonwealth as man himself should be4 ,,fusionist interrupting him4 ,you are right1 ,pierre ,leroux2 yet neither is the previous speaker wholly wrong2 woman is free and the equal of man in everything1 because spirit and matter are equal in ,god2 because the man and the woman form together the human androgynus1 the derivation of the divine androgynus4 ,it is not so1 my dear sister8 ,,myself4 ,excuse me1 brothers1 from joining in your theological discussion2 my wings are not strong enough to follow you into the bosom of ,god1 in order to assure myself whether he is spirit or matter1 androgynus or not1 binary1 trinary1 quarternary1 or nothing of all these4 ,it is enough for me that you all grant that woman should be free1 and the equal of man4 ,i permit myself only a single observation2 that your notion of the couple or of the androgynus1 at the bottom one and the same thing1 tends fatally to the subjugation of my sex2 if1 by a metaphor1 a fiction1 we make of two beings1 endowed each with a separate will1 free-will and intellect1 a single unity2 in social practice1 this unity is manifested by a single will1 a single free-will1 a single intellect1 and the individuality that prevails in our society is that which is endowed with strength of arm2 the other is annihilated1 and the right given to the couple is in reality only the right of the stronger4 ,the use that ,m4 ,proudhon has made of androgyny ought to cure you of this fancy2 as the use which your predecessors made of the ternary ought to have preserved you from trinitary metaphysics4 ,be it said without offence to you1 gentlemen1 ,i have a decided antipathy to any trinities and androgynies whatsoever2 ,i am a sworn enemy to all metaphysics1 whether profane or sacred1--a constitutional vice1 aggravated in me by ,kant and his school4 ,,phalansterian4 ,for ,god's sake1 gentlemen1 let us quit this mysticism4 ,man and woman are different1 but the one is as necessary as the other to the great work that should be accomplished by humanity2 therefore they are equal4 ,as each individual has a right to develop himself integrally1 to manifest himself completely in order to perform the parcellary task which his attractions assign to him1 the liberty of one sex can no more be called in question than can that of the other4 ,man modulates in major1 woman in minor1 with an exceptional eighth2 but1 as in all the general functions1 the combination of the two modes is necessary1 it is evident that each of them ought to be double1 and that woman ought everywhere to be equal with man4 ,m4 ,,de ,,girardin somewhat abruptly4 ,gentlemen1 ,i agree with you that woman ought to be free and equal with man2 only ,i maintain that her function is to manage1 to economize1 and to rear her children1 while man labors and brings into the household the product of his industry4 ,as ,i wish woman to be freed from servitude and all children to be rendered legitimate1 ,i suppress civil marriage1 and institute universal dowry4 ,m4 ,,legouve smiling4 ,you go too fast and too far1 my dear sir1 you will frighten everybody4 ,at least1 ,i believe like you in the equality of the sexes through the equivalence of their functions1 but ,i take good care not to breathe a word of it4 ,i content myself with claiming for woman instruction1 diminution of conjugal servitude1 and offices of charity2 counting1 between ourselves1 that these victories obtained1 women will be in a position through their education and proved utility1 to affranchise themselves completely4 ,well6 despite my reserve and moderation1 you see that some call me effeminate1 others sans culotte4 ,m4 ,,michelet1 rising with tears in his eyes4 ,alas1 gentlemen1 you are all in the wrong road2 and ,i am very sorry1 my beloved academician ,legouv1 to see you employ your elegant pen in leading woman in so perilous and irrational a way4 ,as to you1 gentlemen1 who lay claim to liberty and equality of rights for woman1 you are not authorized by her to do so2 she demands no right1 what should she do with it--a being always feeble1 always sick1 always wounded4 ,poor creature6 ,what can be her rle here below1 if not to be adored by her husband1 whose duty it is to constitute himself her instructor1 her physician1 her confessor1 her sick nurse1 her waiting-maid2 to keep her in a hot-house1 and with all these multiplied cares to earn beside the daily bread2 for woman cannot1 ought not to work2 she is the love and the altar of the heart of man4 ,some among you have dared utter the vile word3 ,divorce4 ,no divorce6 ,the woman who has given herself away1 has received the imprint of man4 ,you should not abandon her1 however guilty she may be4 ,i thought in the beginning that after your death she ought to wear mourning to the tomb1 beyond which1 she and her husband would be fused into the unity of love4 ,but ,i have thought better of it2 you may appoint a successor4 ,while ,michelet is seating himself1 wiping his eyes1 the lid of a coffin is seen to rise1 and ,comte exclaims in a sepulchral tone3 ,worthily and admirably spoken1 illustrious professor6 ,what6 you here8 exclaims the assembly4 ,then one does not perish entirely1 as you taught your disciples8 ,,comte4 ,no1 gentlemen1 and ,i was very agreeably surprised to see myself mistaken4 ,but it is not to instruct you about the life beyond the tomb that ,i return2 that would not have been worth the trouble of disturbing myself4 ,it is to express to the great professor ,michelet all the satisfaction that ,i feel in seeing him so richly poetise the ideal that ,i set up1 and strew so many flowers over the admirable maxim of ,aristotle and the commandment of the great ,st4 ,paul4 ,yes1 thrice illustrious ,master1 you have rightly said3 woman is made for man1 she should obey him1 be devoted to him2 she is only a doll in private life1 absolutely nothing in public life4 ,yes1 men should labor for her2 yes1 marriage is indissoluble2 all this is irreproachable4 ,,auguste ,,comtism4 ,i regret but one thing--that you have not preserved the ejaculatory orisons of the wife to the husband1 and of the husband to the wife2 it would have been a good example and have made a fine effect to see them every morning kneeling face to face1 with clasped hands and closed eyes4 ,i hope that this is only forgetfulness1 and that you will restablish this detail in your next edition4 ,i congratulate you openly on the happy thought that you have conceived of justifying the absorption of woman by man by aid of a wound and the mysteries of impregnation2 this will have a great effect on the ignorant4 ,rebellious women1 and the madmen with corrupt hearts who sustain them1 say that you are a poetic and ingenuous egotist1 that our beloved ,proudhon is a brutal egotist2 that ,i am an egotist by ,a ,b4 ,let them say so2 ,i approve and bless you4 ,the apparition was preparing to lie down again in his coffin when1 having a passion for encountering phantoms1 ,i seized a corner of his winding sheet1 and1 notwithstanding an unequivocal sign from him of vade retro1 ,i had the courage to represent humbly to the defunct high priest that the brow of ,m4 ,proudhon deserved quite as much to be blessed as that of ,m4 ,michelet4 ,the defunct gravely crossed his fleshless fore finger and thumb over the haughty and irreverent head of the great critic1 who neither bowed nor seemed infinitely flattered4 ,it being his turn to speak1 ,proudhon rose and said3 ,gentlemen ,communists1 ,philadelphians1 ,fusionists1 ,phalansterians1 ,saint ,simonians1 and you1 ,,mm4 ,girardin and ,legouv1 as well as all of your adherents1 you are all effeminate1 men hardened in absurdity4 ,if my friend ,michelet has gilded1 perfumed and sugared the pill for you1 ,i cannot imitate his address and moderation1 for you know that in temperament ,i1 ,p4 ,j4 ,proudhon1 am neither tender nor poetical4 ,permit me then roughly to tell you the truth concerning a question of which you do not understand the first word4 ,the ,church1 ,st4 ,thomas d',aquinas1 ,st4 ,bonaventure1 ,st4 ,paul1 and ,auguste ,comte1 as well as the ,romans1 the ,greeks1 ,manu and ,mahomet teach that woman is made for the pleasure and use of man1 and that she should be subjected to him2 now ,i have sufficiently established these great truths by affirmations without reply4 ,it is demonstrated to-day1 therefore1 to all who believe in me that woman is a passive being1 having the germ of nothing1 who owes everything to man1 and that1 consequently1 she belongs to him as the work to the workman4 ,lest my solution might appear somewhat harsh to you1 or to savor too much of antiquity of the ,middle ,ages1 ,i have borrowed of the modern innovators their farce of ,androgyny2 ,i have made the couple the organ of ,justice2 in this couple1 woman1 transformed by man1 becomes a triple deity1 a domestic idol1 subject in everything to her priest4 ,i shut her up in the household1 and permit her to have only the superintendence of festivals and spectacles1 the education of children and maidens1 etc4 ,is it not evident1 gentlemen1 that woman1 because she is weaker than we1 is1 by justice1 condemned to obey us1 and that her liberty consists in experiencing no amorous emotion1 even for her husband8 ,is it not evident1 in consequence1 that you1 who do not think as ,i1 are effeminate1 absurd men1 and that the women who are no more willing to be slaves than we were in '#hi are insurgents1 impure women whom sin has rendered mad8 ,the majority of the assembly laugh2 ,de ,girardin shrugs his shoulders2 ,legouv bites his lip in order not to laugh2 ,michelet appears troubled at this sally which may spoil everything4 ,as1 in uttering the word insurgent1 the orator glances at me with marked design1 ,i cannot help saying yes1 ,i deserve the name of insurgent like our fathers of '#hi4 ,as to you1 if you do not amend1 ,i fear greatly that ,i shall see you die duly confessed and blessed with extreme unction 444 and you will have well deserved it6 ,now1 gentlemen1 let us ascertain the vote of your honorable assembly4 ,four schools1--the ,communists1 the ,st4 ,simonians1 the ,fusionians and the ,phalansterians1--with one publicist1 ,m4 de ,girardin1 who makes as much noise by himself alone as a whole school1 are for the liberty of woman and the equality of the sexes4 ,,mm4 ,comte1 ,proudhon and ,michelet are against the liberty of women and the equality of the sexes4 ,m4 ,legouv and his innumerable adherents wish liberty for woman1 and desire that she should labor to become equal to man through equivalence of functions4 ,which means that the great majority of those who think are1 in different degrees1 for our emancipation4 ,now that my readers are acquainted with your several opinions1 gentlemen1 it belongs to me1 a woman1 to speak myself in behalf of my right1 without leaning on anything but ,justice and ,reason4 ,,part ,,ii4 ,,objections ,,to ,,the ,,emancipation ,,of ,,woman4 ,,nature ,,and ,,functions ,,of ,,woman4 ,,love4 ,,marriage4 ,,legal ,,reforms4 ,,summary4 ,,objections ,,to ,,the ,,emancipation ,,of ,,women4 ,i4 ,what arguments do the adversaries of the emancipation of women use to refute the equality of the rights of the sexes8 ,some1 theosophists of the old school1 claim that one half of humanity is condemned by ,god himself to submit to the other half1 because1 they say1 the first woman sinned4 ,not wishing to depart from the firm ground of justice1 reason and proved facts1 we will not argue with this class of adversaries4 ,others1 who claim to be imbued with the modern spirit1 and pretend to be disciples of the doctrines of liberty1 condemn woman to inferiority and obedience because1 they say1 she is weaker physically and intellectually than man2 ,because she performs functions of an inferior order2 ,because she produces less than man in an industrial point of view2 ,because her peculiar temperament prevents her from performing certain functions2 ,because she is only fit for in-door life2 because her vocation is to be mother and housewife1 to devote herself entirely to her husband and children2 ,because man protects and supports her2 ,because man is her proxy1 and exercises rights both for her and himself2 ,because woman has no more time than capacity to exercise certain rights4 ,the rights of woman are in her beauty and our love1 add some1 gallantly4 ,woman does not claim her rights2 many women themselves are scandalized by the demands made by a few of their sex1 continue other men4 ,and they spare the courageous women who plead the cause of right1 and the men who sustain them neither calumnies1 nor mockery1 nor insult1 hoping to intimidate the former and disgust the latter4 ,vain hope6 the time in which we could be intimidated has gone by4 ,if it is justifiable to fear the opinion of those whom we deem juster and more intelligent than ourselves1 it would be folly to be disturbed by those whose irrationality and injustice we feel able to demonstrate4 ,this double demonstration we are about to attempt1 taking up one by one the arguments of these gentlemen4 #a4 ,woman cannot have the same rights as man1 because she is inferior to him in intellectual faculties1 you say4 ,from this proposition1 we have a right to conclude that you consider the human faculties as the basis of right2 ,that1 the law proclaiming equality of right for your sex1 you are all equal in qualities1 all alike strong and alike intelligent4 ,that1 lastly1 no woman is as strong and as intelligent as you2 ,i cannot say1 as the least among you1 since1 if right is founded on qualities1 as it is equal1 your qualities must be equal4 ,now gentlemen1 what becomes of these pretensions in the presence of facts that show you all unequal in strength and in intellect8 ,what becomes of these pretensions in the presence of facts that show us a host of women stronger than many men2 a host of women more intelligent than the great mass of men8 ,being unequal in strength and in intellect1 and notwithstanding declared equal in right1 it is evident therefore that you have not founded right on qualities4 ,and if you have not taken these qualities into account when your right has been in question1 why then do you talk so loudly of them when the question is that of the right of woman4 ,if the faculties were the basis of right1 as the faculties are unequal1 the right would be unequal2 and1 to be just1 it would be necessary to accord right to those who made good their claims to the necessary faculties and to exclude the rest2 by this standard many women would be chosen and an infinite number of men excluded4 ,see where we end when we have not the intellectual energy to take principles into consideration6 ,you have but one means of evicting us of equality2 namely1 to prove that we do not belong to the same species as you4 #b4 ,woman1 you add1 cannot have the same rights as man because1 as mother and housewife1 she performs only functions of an inferior order4 ,from this second proposition1 we have a right to conclude that functions are the basis of right2 ,that your functions are equivalent1 since your right is equal6 ,that the functions of woman are not equivalent to those of man4 ,you have to prove then1 gentlemen1 that the functions individually performed by each of you are equivalent2 that1 for example1 ,cuvier1 ,geoffroy ,st4 ,hilaire1 ,arago1 ,fulton1 ,jacquard1 and other inventors and scholars have not done more1 are not doing more for humanity and civilization than an equal number of manufacturers of pins' heads4 ,you have to prove next that the labors of maternity1 those of the household to which the workman owes his life1 his health1 his strength1 the possibility of accomplishing his task--that these functions without which there would be no humanity1 are not equivalent2 that is1 as useful to the social body as those of the manufacturer of jewels or of toys4 ,you have to prove lastly that the functions of the female teacher1 merchant1 book keeper1 clerk1 dressmaker1 milliner1 cook1 waiting-maid1 etc41 are not equivalent to those of the male teacher1 merchant1 accountant1 clerk1 cook1 tailor1 hatter1 footman1 etc42 ,i grant that it is embarrassing to your triumphant argument to encounter the thousands of facts which show us the real woman performing numerous functions in competition with you2 ,so it is1 and these facts must be taken into account4 ,but gentlemen1 ,i have you in a dilemma6 if functions are the basis of right1 as right is equal1 functions are equivalent2 in which case those performed by woman are not inferior1 since none are so4 ,the functions which she performs are therefore equivalent to yours1 and1 by this equivalence1 she again becomes equal4 ,or else functions are not the basis of right2 did you not take them into account when the establishment of your right was in question2 why then do you speak of functions when the question is the right of woman8 ,extricate yourself from this as you can2 ,i shall not help you4 ,,ii4 #c4 ,woman produces less than man industrially1 you say4 ,admitting this to be true1 do you count as nothing the great maternal function--the risks that woman runs in accomplishing it2 ,do you count as nothing the labors of the household1 the cares that are lavished upon you1 and to which you owe cleanliness and health8 ,if the quantity of the product be the origin of the equality of right1 why have those who produce little1 those who produce nothing1 and all of you who produce unequally1 equal right8 ,why are all those women who produce1 while their husbands and sons enjoy and dissipate1 destitute of the rights which the latter possess8 ,you do not admit the question of product into that of right when man is in question1 why then do you admit it when woman is in question8 ,you see that this is inconsiderate1 irrational1 unjust4 #d4 ,woman cannot be the equal of man1 because her peculiar temperament interdicts to her certain functions4 ,well1 then a legislator can1 without being unreasonable1 decree that all men who are unfitted by temperament for the profession of arms1 for instance1 are excluded from equality of right6 ,temperament1 the source of right8 ,if a woman had written anything so absurd1 she would have been cried down from one end of the world to the other4 ,why1 gentlemen1 do you not exclude from equality all men who are weak1 all those who are incapable of performing the functions that you prejudge woman incapable of performing8 ,when you are in question1 you admit indeed that the right to perform every function supposes neither the faculty nor the inclination to make use of it2 why do you not reason in the same manner when the question concerns us8 ,what would you think of women if1 having your rights while you were in subjection1 they should keep you in an inferior position because you could not accomplish the great functions of gestation and lactation4 ,man1 they would say1 being unable to be mother and nurse1 shall not have the right of being instructed like us2 of having1 like us1 civil dignity4 ,his coarser temperament renders him incapable of being a witness to a certificate of birth or death2 it is evident that his clumsiness excludes him judicially from diplomatic functions2 we cannot therefore recognize his right to solicit them1 etc4 ,ah6 gentlemen1 you reason in the same manner in excluding woman from equality under the pretext that1 in general1 she is of a temperament weaker than your own2 that is1 you reason absurdly4 #e4 ,woman cannot be the equal of man in right because he protects and maintains her4 ,if it is because you protect and maintain us1 that we ought not to have our right1 restore it then to unmarried women who are of age1 and to widows whom you neither protect nor maintain4 ,restore their right then to the wives who have no need of your protection1 since the law protects them1 even against you2 to the wives whom you do not maintain1 since they bring you either a dowry1 or a profession1 or services which you would be obliged to recompense if any other rendered them to you4 ,and if to be maintained by another1 suffices to deprive an individual of his right1 take it away from the host of men who are maintained by the incomes or the labor of their wives4 #f4 ,man1 in the exercise of certain rights1 is the proxy of woman4 ,gentleman1 a proxy is chosen freely1 and is not imposed on an individual2 ,i do not accept you as proxies3 ,i am intelligent enough to transact my business myself1 and ,i pray you to restore to me1 as well as to all the women who think as ,i do1 an authority which you use unworthily4 ,if married women1 to have peace1 are willing to continue you as their authority1 it is their business2 but none of you can legitimately retain that of widows and unmarried women who have attained majority4 #g4 ,woman has not the same rights as man1 because she has no more time than capacity to exercise them4 ,has woman less time and capacity than your working men1 pinned twelve hours a day to their petty and stultifying tasks8 ,affirm it if you dare6 ,does it need less time and capacity to make a deposition in a criminal suit1 as woman does1 than to witness a civil act or a notarial contract1 a right that woman has not4 ,does it need less time and capacity to be the guardian of sons and to administer their fortune1 as woman does1 than to be the guardian of a stranger or of a nephew1 and administer their property1 a right that woman has not4 ,does it need less time and capacity to superintend a manufactory1 a commercial establishment1 workmen1 as do so many women1 than to be at the head of an office1 or of a public administration1 and to superintend its officials1 a right that woman has not8 ,does it need less time and capacity to devote one's self to instruction in a large boarding school1 as do so many women1 than in the chair of a professorship1 as man alone has the right to do8 ,woman proves1 by her works1 that she lacks capacity and time no more than you4 ,facts stifle affirmations for which you should blush4 ,fie6 ,i am glad that ,i am not a man1 lest ,i might say like things and be led to pretend that an instructress1 a literary woman1 a woman artist1 an experienced female merchant has not the capacity of a porter or a rag-picker because she has not a beard on her chin4 #h4 ,the rights of woman are in her beauty and in the love of man4 ,rights1 based on beauty1 and on that fragile thing styled man's love6 ,what are these worth1 ,i ask you1 gentlemen8 ,then woman shall have rights if she is beautiful1 and as long as she shall continue so2 if she is beloved1 and as long as she shall continue so8 ,old1 ugly and forsaken1 she must be thrown into the car of the condemned to be transported to the guillotine8 ,if a woman should say such things1 what a universal hue and cry would be raised8 ,yet men pretend that they are rational6 ,we congratulate woman on having too much common sense ever to be so in this wise4 ,after all these arguments1 none of which will bear analysis1 comes at last the triumphant objection3 women do not claim their rights1 many among them are even scandalized by the demand made by a few in the name of all4 ,do not women demand them1 gentlemen8 ,what are a host of ,american women doing at the present time8 ,what have a number of ,english women done already8 ,what did ,jean ,deroin1 ,pauline ,roland and many others1 do here in #ahdh8 ,what am ,i doing to-day1 in the name of a legion of women of whom ,i am the interpreter8 ,all women do not make reclamations1 no2 but do you not know that every demand of right is made at first singly8 ,that slaves accustomed to their chains1 do not feel them until their instigators to revolt show them the bruises on their flesh8 ,a few only demand their rights1 you say2 but is it in accordance with principle or with numbers that you judge of the justice of a cause8 ,did you wait until all the male population demanded their right of universal suffrage in order to decree it to them8 ,did you wait for the revendication of all the slaves of your colonies before emancipating them8 ,yes1 it is true1 gentlemen1 that many women are opposed to the emancipation of their sex4 ,what does this prove8 ,that there are human beings abased enough to have lost all sentiment of dignity2 but not that right is not right4 ,among the blacks1 there are many who hate1 denounce1 and deliver up to the scourge and to death those among them who are meditating how to break their chains2 which is right1 which has the sentiment of human dignity1 the latter or the former8 ,we demand our place at your side1 gentlemen1 because identity of species gives us the right to occupy it4 ,we demand our right1 because the inferiority inwhich we are kept is one of the most active causes of the decay of morals4 ,we demand our right1 because we are persuaded that woman has to set her stamp on ,science1 ,philosophy1 ,justice and ,politics4 ,we demand our right1 lastly1 because we are convinced that the general questions1 the lack of solution of which threatens our modern civilization with ruin1 can only be resolved by the co-operation of woman delivered from her fetters and left free in her genius4 ,is it not a great proof of our insanity1 our impurity1 gentlemen1 that we feel this ardent desire to check the corruption of morals1 and to labor for the triumph of ,justice1 the coming of the reign of ,duty and ,reason1 the establishment of an order of things in which humanity1 worthier and happier1 shall pursue its glorious destinies without the accompaniment of cannon or the shedding of blood8 ,is it not because the advocates of emancipation are impure women whom sin has rendered mad1 beings incapable of comprehending ,justice and conscientious works8 ,,iii4 ,gentlemen1 we will conclude4 ,though that were true which ,i deny2 that woman is inferior to you2 though that were true which facts prove false2 that she can perform none of the functions which you perform1 that she is fit only for maternity and the household1 she would be none the less your equal in right1 because right is based neither on superiority of faculties nor on that of the functions which proceed from them1 but on identity of species4 ,a human being1 like you1 having1 like you1 intellect1 will1 free will and various aptitudes1 woman has the right1 like you1 to be free and autonomous1 to develop her faculties freely1 to exercise her activity freely2 to mark out her path1 to reduce her to subjection1 as you do1 is therefore a violation of ,human ,right in the person of woman--an odious abuse of force4 ,from the stand point of facts1 this violation of right takes the form of grievous inconsistency2 for we find many women far superior to the majority of men2 whence it follows that right is granted to those who ought not to have it1 according to your doctrine1 and refused to those who ought to possess it1 according to the same doctrine1 since they make good their claim to the qualities requisite4 ,we find that you accord right to qualities and functions1 because the individual is a man1 and that you cease to recognize it in the same case1 because the individual is a woman4 ,yet you boast of your lofty reason1--yet you boast of possessing the sense of justice6 ,take care1 gentlemen6 ,our rights have the same foundation as yours3 in denying the former1 you deny the latter in principle4 ,a word more to you1 pretended disciples of the doctrines of '#hi1 and we have done4 ,do you know why so many women took part with our ,revolution1 armed the men1 and rocked their children to the song of the ,marseillaise6 ,it was because they thought they saw under the ,declaration of the rights of men and citizens1 the declaration of the rights of women and female citizens4 ,when the ,assembly took it upon itself to undeceive them1 by lacking logic with respect to them1 and closing their meetings1 they abandoned the ,revolution1 and you know what ensued4 ,do you know why1 in #ahdh1 so many women1 especially among the people1 declared themselves for the ,revolution8 ,it was because they hoped that this ,revolution would be more consistent with respect to them than the former had been4 ,when1 in their senseless arrogance and lack of intelligence1 the representatives not only forbid them to assemble1 but drove them from the assemblies of men1 the women abandoned the ,revolution by detaching their husbands and sons from it1 and you know what ensued4 ,do you comprehend at last8 ,i tell you truly2 all your struggles are in vain1 if woman does not go with you4 ,an order of things may be established by a coup de main1 but it is only maintained by the adhesion of majorities2 and these majorities1 gentlemen1 are formed by us women1 through the influence that we possess over men1 through the education that we give them with our milk4 ,we have it in our power to inspire them from their cradles with love1 hatred or indifference for certain principles2 in this is our strength2 and you are blind not to comprehend that if man is on one side and woman on the other1 humanity is condemned to weave ,penelope's web4 ,gentlemen1 woman is ripe for civil liberty1 and we declare to you that we shall henceforth regard whoever shall rise against our lawful claim as an enemy of progress and of the ,revolution2 while we shall rank among the friends of progress and of the ,revolution1 those who declare themselves in favor of our civil emancipation1 ,,should ,,they ,,be ,,your ,,adversaries8 ,if you refuse to listen to our lawful demands1 we shall accuse you before posterity of the crime with which you reproach the holders of slaves4 ,we shall accuse you before posterity of having denied the faculties of woman1 because you feared her competition4 ,we shall accuse you before posterity of having refused her justice1 because you wished to make her your servant and plaything4 ,we shall accuse you before posterity of being enemies of right and progress4 ,and our accusation will remain standing and living before future generations who1 more enlightened1 more just1 more moral than you1 will turn away their eyes with disdain and contempt from the tomb of their fathers4 ,,nature ,,and ,,functions ,,of ,,woman ,i4 ,i think that we have sufficiently though summarily proved to all honest inquiries that social right is identical for both sexes since they are identical in species4 ,the question of right being placed beyond discussion1 we can now ask what use woman shall make of her right2 in other terms1 what functions she is qualified to perform in accordance with her whole nature4 ,let us first mark the profound difference that exists between right and function1 then define and divide the latter4 ,right is the condition sine qua non of the development and manifestations of the human being3 it is absolute1 general for the whole species1 because the individuals who compose it should be able lawfully to develop and manifest themselves4 ,function is the use of the faculties of the individual with a view to a purpose useful to himself and to others2 function is therefore a production of utility and1 in conclusion1 the manifestation of the aptitudes predominating in each of us1 whether naturally1 or in consequence of education and habit4 ,society1 having needs of every kind1 has functions of every nature and various scope2 these functions may be classified as follows3 #a4 ,scientific and philosophic functions2 #b4 ,industrial functions2 #c4 ,artistic functions2 #d4 ,educational functions2 #e4 ,medical functions2 #f4 ,functions for the preservation of safety2 #g4 ,judicial functions2 #h4 ,functions of exchange and circulation2 #i4 ,administrative and governmental functions2 #aj4 ,legislative functions2 #aa4 ,functions of solidarity or of social benevolence and of institutions for the prevention of crime4 ,this classification1 which would be very imperfect and insufficient1 were this a treatise on social organization1 being all that is needed for the use that we have to make of it1 we shall adhere to it in this place4 ,men1 and women after them1 have deemed proper hitherto to class man and woman separately2 to define each type1 and to deduce from this ideal the functions suited to each sex4 ,neither have chosen to see that numerous facts contradict their classification4 ,what6 exclaims the classifiers1 do you deny that the sexes differ8 ,do you deny that1 if they differ1 they should have different functions8 ,if our classification does not seem good to you1 criticise it1 we ask nothing more2 but replace it by a better one4 ,to criticise your classification1 ladies and gentlemen1 is what ,i intend to do2 but if the elements are wanting to establish a better1 can you1 ought you even to require me to present you one4 ,do you think me a man1 that you exact of me abuse of the priora1 and a startling arbitrary course of reasoning4 ,proudhon is right1 murmur these gentlemen2 woman is incapable of abstract reasoning1 of generalizing1 of knowing herself4444 ,really1 gentlemen1 do you think that it is through incapacity that ,i am unwilling to present to you a classification of the sexes1 a theory of the nature of woman8444 ,let us hasten then to prove the contrary3 instead of one theory1 we will give you four4 ,man and woman form a series only with respect to the reproduction of the species3 all the other characteristics by which it has been attempted to make a distinction between them are only generalities contradicted by a multitude of facts2 now1 as a generality is not a law1 nothing can be therefore concluded from these1 nothing absolute deduced from them in a functional point of view4 ,on the other hand1 the greatest radical difference of zoological species lies in the nervous system1 especially in the greater or lesser bulk and complexity of the encephalus2 now1 ,anatomy admits1 after numerous experiments1 that1 in proportion to the whole size of the body1 the brain of woman equals in volume that of man2 that the composition of both is the same1 and ,phrenology adds that the organs of the brain are the same in both sexes4 ,lastly1 it is a biological principle that organs are developed by exercise and atrophied by continued repose2 now1 man and woman do not exercise their encephalic organs in the same manner2 educational training1 manners1 prejudice1 enforced habits tend to develop in the masculine what becomes atrophied in the feminine head2 whence it follows that the differences empirically established are by no means the result of ,nature1 but of the accidental causes by which they have been produced4 ,conclusion3 the two sexes therefore1 when reared alike become developed alike1 and are fit for the same functions1 except those which concern the reproduction of the species4 ,here1 gentlemen1 is a theory complete in all its parts1 tenable in an anatomo-biologic point of view1 and which ,i challenge you to prove false1 for ,i shall find replies to all your objections4 ,,ii4 ,we admit the principle that the sexes form series in physical1 moral1 intellectual1 consequently functional respects4 ,we believe that they should become subordinate to each other in proportion to their relative excellence2 and we take the destiny of the species as the touchstone of their respective value4 ,if we compare the sexes with each other1 we prove in a general way1 that man is merely woman on a coarser scale2 we prove in the second place that he is far more animal than woman1 since his muscular system is more fully developed and since he respires lower2 so that he is most evidently a medium between woman and the higher species of apes4 ,woman alone contains and develops the human germ2 she is the creator and preserver of the race4 ,it is not quite certain that the co-operation of man is necessary for the work of reproduction2 this is the means chosen by ,nature1 but human science will succeed1 we hope1 in delivering woman from this insupportable subjection4 ,analogy authorises us to believe that woman1 the sole depositary of the human germ1 is equally the sole depositary of all the moral and intellectual germs1 whence it follows that she is the inspirer of all knowledge1 all discoveries1 all justice1 the mother of all virtue4 ,our analogous deductions are confirmed by facts2 woman employs her intellect in the concrete2 she is an acute observer2 man is only fit to construct paradoxes and to lose himself in the abyss of metaphysics2 science has only emerged from the limbo of priora without confirmation1 since the advent into this domain of the form of the feminine mind2 we shall affirm1 therefore1 that true scholars are feminized minds4 ,in moral respects1 man and woman differ greatly2 the former is harsh1 rough1 without delicacy1 devoid of sensibility and modesty2 his habitual relations with the other sex modify him only with great difficulty2 woman is naturally gentle1 loving1 feeling1 equitable1 modest2 to her1 man owes justice and his other virtues1 when he has any2 whence it follows that it is really to woman alone that social progress is due2 hence it is that every step made towards civilization is marked by an advance of woman towards liberty4 ,if we consider each of the sexes in their relation to human destiny1 we are forced to admit that1 if there was reason for the predominance of man in the necessity of hewing out this destiny1 the pre-eminence of woman is ensured in the future reign of right and peace4 ,it was necessary to struggle and fight in order to establish justice and to subject nature to humanity2 this belonged of right to man1 who represents muscular force1 the spirit of conflict2 but as we already foresee in the approaching future1 the coming of peace1 the substitution of pacific labor and negotiations for war1 it is clear that woman will take rightfully the direction of human affairs1 to which she will be called by her faculties1 found better adapted to the end henceforth to be pursued4 ,woman should be the last to develop and manifest herself socially1 for the same reason that the human species is the last creation of our globe2 the perfect being always appears after those that have served to pave the way4 ,as it is demonstrated1 on the other hand1 that1 in the scale of the various organisms1 the organ that is superadded to the others to constitute a change of species1 governs those which the individual derives from inferior species1 so woman1 fully developed in a social body organized for peace and pacific labor1 will be the new organ that will govern the social body4 ,does this signify that woman should oppress man8 ,by no means2 she would thus be ungrateful for the services rendered her1 and would trespass against her gentle nature2 but she will teach him to comprehend that his glory is to obey1 to become subordinate to the other sex1 because he is less perfect1 and because his qualities are no longer necessary to the general good4 ,you laugh1 gentlemen1 at this second theory2 you think it absurd4444 ,so it is2 for it is the counterpart of the thetic woman of ,proudhon4 ,let us proceed then to the third theory4 ,,iii4 ,every classification of the human species is a pure subjective creation2 that is1 one which exists only in the form given to the perception by the intellect2 the very conception of humanity with the enumeration of the characteristics which are reputed to distinguish it from the other species1 is stamped with subjectivity4 ,the truth is that not a single human being resembles his neighbor2 that there are as many different men and women as there are men and women composing the species4 ,classifications1 in all things1 are illusions of the mind1 for nature hates identity and never repeats herself3 there are not two grains of sand1 not two drops of water1 not two leaves alike2 and most probably the sun1 since the commencement of its existence1 has not appeared twice identically the same at its rising4 ,yet despite the evidence of these truths1 despite the conviction which we have attained of the illusion of the senses1 of the weakness of our intellect1 which can know nothing of the inmost nature of beings2 which can only seize upon a few fleeting traces of their personal characteristics2 yet despite all these things we dare establish series1 attribute to them characteristics which are speedily contradicted by facts1 and torture and do violence to the only beings that really exist2 namely1 individuals1 in the name of that other thing which exists only in our sick brain3 kind1 class6 ,the bitter fruits that have been produced by our mania for classification ought to cure us of this4 ,has not this malady1 impelling theocratists and legislators to divide humanity into castes and classes1 caused most of the calamities of our species8 ,have we not1 thanks to these execrable divisions1 a hideous past1 the echoes of which bring back to our shrinking ears naught but sobs1 cries of anger1 rebellion1 malediction and vengeance1 and sinister clanking of weapons and chains8 ,have we not also to thank them that1 on the pages of our history1 all stained with blood and tears and exhaling an odor of the charnel house1 we read nought but tyranny1 brutishness and demoralization8 ,have we not further to thank them that king and subject1 master and serf1 white and black1 man and woman become demoralized by oppression1 injustice and cruelty on one hand2 and intrigue1 baseness1 and vengeance on the other8 ,are not wrong and wretchedness found everywhere1 because inequality1 the offspring of insane classifications1 is found everywhere8 ,ah6 who shall deliver us from our infatuation6 ,let us class animals1 vegetables1 minerals if we will6 our errors do not influence and cannot disturb them2 but let us respect the human species which will escape all classification1 however reasonable the process may be1 because every human being is changeable1 progressive1 and differs far more from his fellows than the most intelligent animal from the rest of his species4 ,let us leave each one then to make his own autonomic law and to manifest himself in conformity with his nature1 and take care only that right shall be equal for all2 that the strong shall not oppress the weak2 that each function shall be entrusted to the one individual that is proved the best qualified to perform it2 this is all that we can do1 all that we should do1 if we seek to show ourselves wise and just4 ,harmony exists in nature1 because each being in it follows peaceably the laws that govern his individuality2 it will be the same in humanity1 when universal reason shall comprehend that human order is pre-established in the co-operation of individual faculties left free in their manifestations2 and that to establish a factitious1 wholly imaginary order2 that is1 true disorder1 is to retard the coming of order1 peace and happiness4 ,let us refrain then from all classification of faculties and functions according to the sexes3 besides being false1 they will lead us to cruelty2 for we shall oppress those1 whether men or women1 who are neither yielding enough to submit to it nor hypocritical enough to appear to do so2 and we shall do this without profit to human destiny1 but1 on the contrary1 to its detriment4 ,here1 gentlemen1 is a nominalistic theory which ,i challenge you to overthrow by sufficient reasons3 for1 as in the first1 ,i shall have answers to all your objections4 ,we now come to our last theory1 which is yours in the major and minor terms1 but the opposite in the conclusions4 ,,iv4 ,all the different parts of the same organism are modified by each other1 and in this manner the functions become mutually modified4 ,now1 man and woman differ from each other in important organs4 ,each of the sexes must therefore differ from the other not only through the organs that distinguish them1 but through the modifications produced by the presence of these organs4 ,this1 gentleman1 is my first syllogism3 ,i know that we shall not contest this point--it is classical ,biology4 ,let us investigate anatomically the organic differences to which sexuality subjects man and woman4 ,nervous ,system4 ,the so called nerves of feeling are more fully developed in woman than in man1 those of motion are less developed in the former than in the latter2 the cerebellum is more fully developed in the head of man than in that of woman2 in the latter1 the antero-posterior diameter of the brain preponderates over the bi-lateral1 which is greater in proportion in the masculine sex3 it is also observed that the organs of observation1 circumspection1 subtleness and philoprogenitiveness are more prominent in the head of woman than in that of man1 in which the reasoning organs1 with those of combativeness and destructiveness predominate4 ,locomotive ,system4 ,man is larger than woman1 he has more compact bones1 and larger and better developed muscles1 his thorax is the reverse of that of woman1 in which1 the greatest breadth is between the shoulders1 while1 with him1 it is at the base2 the pelvis is larger and broader in the female than the male sex4 ,epidermic and cellular systems4 ,man has a more hairy skin than woman2 what is called fat is less abundant in the masculine than in the feminine organism2 in general1 the skin of man is rougher1 and his form less round2 woman has longer and more silky hair4 ,splanchnic organs4 ,the cerebral mass is the same in proportion in both sexes1 as well as the organs of the brain1 with the exception of the predominances which we have pointed out2 the respiratory systems differ somewhat2 woman breaths higher than man2 in the latter1 the circulation is more active and energetic4 ,to these physical differences correspond intellectual and moral differences4 ,woman1 having the nerves of feeling more fully developed1 is more impressionable and more mobile than man4 ,being weaker and as persistent1 she obtains by address and stratagem what she cannot obtain by force2 her weakness gives her timidity1 circumspection1 the necessity of feeling herself protected4 ,the kinds of labor that require strength are repugnant to her4 ,her maternal destiny renders her an enemy of destruction1 of war2 and her more delicate organization makes her dread and shun contention4 ,this same maternal destination impresses a peculiar stamp on her intellect2 she loves the concrete1 and is always inclined to transform thought into facts1 to incarnate it1 to give it a fixed form2 her reasoning is intuition or quick perception of a general relation1 of a truth that man elucidates only with great difficulty1 by the aid of stilted logic4 ,woman is a better observer than man1 and carries induction farther than he2 she is consequently more penetrating1 and is a much better judge of the moral and intellectual value of those about her4 ,she has1 more than man1 sentiment of the beautiful1 delicacy of heart1 love of good1 respect for modesty1 veneration for everything superior4 ,more provident than he1 she has more order and economy1 and looks after administrative details with a carefulness which is often carried to puerility4 ,woman is adroit1 sedulous2 she excels in works of taste1 and possesses strong artistic tendencies4 ,gentler1 more tender1 more patient than man1 she loves everything that is weak1 protects everything that suffers2 every sorrow1 every calamity brings a tear to her eye and draws a sigh from her breast4 ,this is woman1 such as you paint her1 gentlemen4 ,you then add3 ,the vocation of woman therefore is love1 maternity1 the household1 sedentary occupations4 ,she is too weak for occupations that demand strength1 and for those of war4 ,she is too impressionable and too feeling1 too good1 too gentle to be legislator1 judge or juror4 ,her taste for household details1 a retired life1 and the grave functions of maternity indicate clearly that she is not made for public employments4 ,she is too variable to cultivate science with profit2 too feeble and too much occupied beside to pursue protracted experiments4 ,her kind of rationality renders her unsuited to the elaboration of theories2 and she is too fond of the concrete and of details to become seriously interested in general ideas2 which excludes her from all high professional functions and from those requiring serious study4 ,her place is therefore at the fireside to make man better1 to sustain him1 to care for him1 to procure him the joys of paternity1 and to fill the place of a good housewife4 ,such are your conclusions3 here are mine1 admitting as a hypothesis1 what ,i affirm with you of woman4 ,v4 #a4 ,woman carrying into ,philosophy and ,science her subtleness of observation1 her love of the concrete1 will correct the exaggerated tendency of man for abstract reasoning1 and demonstrate the falsity of theories constructed1 priori1 on a few facts alone4 ,then only will ontology disappear1 then will it be recognized that a hypothesis is merely an interrogation point2 that truth is always intelligible in its nature1 however unknown it may be2 we shall generalize nothing but known facts1 we shall carefully avoid erecting simple generalities into laws1 and we shall thus have veritable philosophy1 and true human science1 because they will bear the imprint of both sexes4 #b4 ,woman carrying her peculiar faculties into the arts and manufactures1 will increasingly introduce therein art1 perfection in details4 ,cultivated in the direction of her aptitudes1 she will find ingenious methods of application of scientific discoveries4 #c4 ,patient1 gentle1 good1 more moral than man1 she is the born educator of childhood1 the moralizer of the grown man2 the majority of the educational functions revert to her of right1 and she has her assigned place in special instruction4 #d4 ,by her quick intuition and her acuteness of observation1 woman alone can discover the therapeutics of nervous affections2 her dexterity will render her valuable in all delicate surgical operations4 ,on her should devolve the care of treating the diseases of women and children1 because she alone is capable of fully comprehending them2 she has her especial place in hospitals1 not only for the cure of disease1 but also for the execution and surveillance of the details of management and the care of the patients4 #e4 ,the presence of woman in judicial functions1 as juror and arbiter1 will be a guarantee of veritable human justice to all2 that is1 of equity4 ,woman alone through her gentleness1 her mercy1 her sympathetic disposition1 and her subtleness and observation1 can comprehend that society has its share of culpability in every fault committed2 for it should be organized to prevent wrong rather than to punish it4 ,this point of view1 especially feminine1 will transform the penitentiary system and raise up numerous institutions4 ,then only will the world comprehend that the punishment inflicted on the guilty should be a means of reparation and regeneration2 society will no longer slay its prisoners as if weak and fearful3 it will amend the assassin instead of imitating him2 it will force the thief to work to make restitution of what he has stolen2 it will no longer believe that it has the right by imprisoning a criminal to deprive him of his reason1 to drive him to despair1 to suicide by solitary confinement2 to deprive him completely of marriage2 to couple him with those more corrupt than himself4 ,conscious of its own share of culpability1 society will repair in penitentiaries the fault of its carelessness3 it will be firm1 yet kind and moralizing3 it will give in them the education which it ought to have given outside1 and will prepare work houses for the liberated convicts in order that the contempt and horror often shown toward them by men worse than they may not drive them to a second offence4 #g4 ,woman1 carrying into the social household her spirit of order and economy1 her love of details and abhorrence of waste and foolish expense1 will reform government3 she will simplify everything2 will suppress sinecures and the accumulation of offices1 and will produce much from little instead of1 like man1 producing little from much3 the purse of the tax-payers will not complain of the change4 #h4 ,under the direct influence of woman as legislator1 we shall have a reconstruction of all laws2 first and before everything1 we shall have preventive measures1 a compulsory education2 then the form of legal proceedings will be simplified1 the civil code recast1 and all laws concerning illegitimate children and the inequality of the sexes banished from it2 the laws concerning morals will be more severe1 and the penal code more rational and equitable4 ,by her administrative reforms born of the economical instinct of woman1 taxes will be diminished2 her abhorrence of blood and war will greatly reduce the fearful impost of blood-shed4 ,having a deliberative voice1 and knowing1 by her griefs and love the value of a man1 it will be only from sheer necessity that she will consent to vote bevies of citizens for the shambles called wars3 she will do this only when her country is menaced or when it is necessary to protect oppressed nationalities2 in all other cases1 she will employ the system of conciliation4 #i4 ,woman1 being much more economical and a better analyst than man1 when thoroughly instructed1 will soon perceive that nations1 like individuals1 differ in aptitudes1 and that the end of these differences is union and fraternity through exchange of products3 she will therefore deter her country from cultivating certain branches of the acts and manufactures in which other nations excel and which they can produce to better advantage2 she will cure it of the foolish pretension of being sufficient unto itself1 and will prevent it from sacrificing the interest of the mass of consumers to that of a few producers3 thus the barriers and custom duties that separate the different organs of humanity will fall by degrees2 there will be treaties of free trade1 and all will be gainers by the cheapness of products1 and the suppression of the expenses of maintaining a too often annoying department of customs4 ,the qualities and faculties of woman not only make her an educator1 but assure her preponderance in all functions arising from social solidarity2 she alone knows how to console1 to encourage1 to moralize with gentleness1 to comfort with delicacy2 she has the genius of charity2 to her therefore should revert the superintendence and direction of hospitals and prisons for women1 the management of charitable institutions1 the care of abandoned children1 etc4 ,she should create institutions to furnish employment to workmen out of work1 and to save liberated convicts from indolence and relapse into crime4 ,thus1 gentleman1 without departing from the data of your theory1 you behold woman placed everywhere by the side of man1 except in the hard labor from which you yourselves will soon be released by machinery1 and in the military institutions which1 in all probability1 will some day disappear4 ,hitherto institutions1 laws1 sciences1 philosophy have chiefly borne the masculine imprint2 all of these things are only half human2 in order that they may become wholly so1 woman must be associated in them ostensibly and lawfully1 consequently1 she must be cultivated like you2 culture will not make her like you1 do not fear it2 the rose and the carnation growing in the same soil1 under the same sky1 in the same sunshine1 with the cares of the same gardener1 remain rose and carnation3 they are more beautiful in proportion as they are better cultivated1 and as the elements which they absorb are more abundant3 if man and woman differ1 a similar education will only make them differ still more1 because each will employ it in the development of that which is peculiar to himself4 ,for the interest of all things and people it is necessary that woman should enter all the avocations of life1 that she should have her function in all the functions3 after the general interest of humanity1 comes that of the family2 it cannot go before it4 ,since woman now is generally mother and housewife while performing at the same time a host of other functions1 she will become none the less so in taking upon herself a few more2 besides1 the time of life at which an individual enters certain important functions is that at which woman has finished her maternal task4 ,a few women acting as public functionaries will not hinder the great majority of their companions from remaining in private life1 any more than a few men in the same position hinder the mass of men from continuing there4 ,,vi4 ,you admit a classification at last1 you say1 and still more you grant that there are masculine and feminine functions4 ,you are mistaken1 gentlemen3 you accused me of being incapable of giving you a complete theory1 ,i have given you the outlines of four--outlines which it would be easy for me to extend and perfect4 ,but ,i do not admit a single one of these theories as a whole4 ,are you eclectic1 then8 ,the gods forbid6 ,i have as much repugnance to eclecticism1 as to mystic trinitarianism and androgyny4 ,i do not admit the theory of the identity of the sexes1 because ,i believe with ,biology that an essential organic difference modifies the entire being2 that therefore woman must differ from man4 ,i do not admit the theory of the superiority of either sex1 because it is absurd2 humanity is man-woman or woman-man2 we do not know what one sex would be if it were not incessantly modified by its relations with the other1 and we know them only as thus modified3 ,what we know to a certainty is that they form together the existing condition of humanity2 that they are equally necessary and equally useful to each other and to society4 ,i do not admit my third theory because it is ultra-nominalism nominalism2 if it is really true that all the individuals of both sexes differ among themselves in a far more remarkable manner than those of the other species1 it is none the less true that a classification1 founded upon a constant anatomical characteristic1 is legitimate1 and that the principle of classification lies in the nature of things1 for if things appear to us classified1 it is because they are so2 the laws of the mind are the same as those of ,nature so far as knowledge is concerned2 we must admit this1 unless we are sceptics or idealists1 and ,i am neither the one nor the other2 neither am ,i a realist in the philosophic acceptation of the word1 for ,i do not believe that the species is something apart from the individuals in which it is manifested2 it is in them and through them2 this repeats the affirmation that there are individuals identical in one or several respects1 although different in all others4 ,lastly1 ,i do not admit the fourth theory1 although it may be true in principle1 because the numerous facts that contradict the distinguishing characteristics1 do not permit me to believe that these characteristics are laws established by sexuality4 ,in fact1 there are brains of men in heads of women1 and vice versa4 ,men mobile and impressionable2 women firm and insensible4 ,women large1 strong and muscular1 lifting a man like a feather2 men small1 frail1 and of extreme delicacy of constitution4 ,women with a stentorian voice and abrupt manners2 men with a soft voice and graceful manners4 ,women with short1 harsh hair1 bearded1 with rough skin and angular figures2 men with long1 silky hair without beard1 round and portly4 ,women with an energetic circulation of blood2 men in whose veins it courses feebly and slowly4 ,women frank1 inconsiderate and daring2 men strategic1 dissembling and timid4 ,women violent1 loving strife1 war and contention1 and wont to storm on every occasion2 men gentle1 patient1 dreading strife1 and exceedingly timid4 ,women loving abstract reasoning1 generalizing and synthetizing much1 and without intuition of any sort2 men intuitive1 acute observers1 good analysts1 incapable of generalizing4444 ,i know many such4 ,women insensible to works of art1 and without the sentiment of the beautiful2 men full of enthusiasm for both4 ,women immoral1 immodest1 respecting nothing or no one2 men moral1 chaste and reverential4 ,women extravagant and disorderly2 men economical and parsimonious to avarice4 ,women thoroughly selfish1 rigid1 disposed to take advantage of the weakness1 kindness1 folly or misery of others2 men full of generosity1 mansuetude1 and self-sacrifice4 ,what follows from these undeniable facts8 that the law of sexual differences is not manifested through the several characteristics which have been laid down4 ,that these characteristics may be only the result of education1 of the difference of prejudices1 of that of occupations1 etc4 ,that1 as these generalities may be the fruit of the difference of training and surroundings1 nothing can be legitimately deduced from them as to the functions of woman2 would it not be absurd1 in fact1 to pretend that a woman who is organized for philosophy and the sciences can not1 ought not to occupy herself with them because she is a woman1 while a man1 who is incapable of them but foolish and vain enough to be ignorant of his incapacity1 can and ought to engage in them because he is a man8 ,functions belong to those who prove their aptitude for them1 and not to an abstraction called sex1 for1 definitively1 every function is individual in its aggregate or in its elements4 ,,vii4 ,we have explained why we reject the theories that we have sketched2 we will now explain why we neither give nor wish to give a classification of the sexes4 ,we do not give a classification1 because we neither have nor can have one2 the elements for its establishment are lacking4 ,a biological deduction permits us to affirm that such a one exists2 but it is impossible to disengage its law in the present surroundings2 the veritable feminine stamp will be known only after one or two centuries of like education and equal rights3 then there will be no need of a classification1 for the function will fall naturally to the proper functionary under a system of equality in which the social elements classify themselves4 ,my belief and my hopes concerning the future1 ,i shall not confess2 for ,i may be in error1 since ,i have no facts to control my intuitions1 and everything that is purely ,utopian has always a dangerous side4 ,besides have ,i not said that1 had ,i formed a classification1 ,i should not give it8 ,why not8 ,because1 a detestable use would be made of it1 as usual1 if it were adopted4 ,hitherto1 have not men availed themselves of classifications based upon characteristics afterwards recognized as purely imaginary to oppress1 distort and calumniate those banished to the inferior ranks8 ,history is at hand to give us this salutary lesson4 ,where is now to-day the ville-pedaille1 the villains and base-tenants1 fit only to drain ditches and to be stripped to the skin8 ,inventing1 governing1 making laws for1 and gradually transforming our globe1 devastated by the superior and only capable species1 into a smiling and peaceful domain4 ,upon all classification of the human species1 whether in castes1 in classes1 or in sexes1 are based three wrongs4 ,the first is to make it a crime in the individual degraded into the lower series1 that he does not resemble the conventional type that has been formed of this series1 while the so called superior being is not required to resemble his type2 thus a weak1 cowardly1 unintelligent man1 a man milliner or an embroiderer1 is none the less a man1 while a virago1 a firm and courageous woman1 a great queen1 a woman philosopher are not women1 but men whom none love and who are given over as a prey to wild beasts1 jealous1 effeminate men1 to devour4 ,the second wrong is to take advantage of the conventional type to deform the being classed in the inferior series in order to kill his energies and to hinder his progress4 ,then1 to attain this end1 education1 social surroundings are organized1 prejudices are invented2 and so successfully is this done in general that the oppressed1 ignorant of himself1 believes himself really of an inferior nature1 resigns himself to his chains1 and is even indignant at the rebellion of those of his series who are too energetic and individual not to react against the part to which social imbecility has condemned them4 ,the third wrong is to take advantage of the state of debasement to which the oppressed has been reduced1 to calumniate him and deny his rights2 men exclaim1 ,look6 ,see the serf6 see the slave6 see the negro6 see the workingman6 see woman6 ,what rights would you grant these inferior and feeble natures8 ,they are incapable of knowing and ruling themselves3 we must therefore think for them1 wish for them1 and govern them4 ,ah no1 gentlemen1 these are not men and women2 they are the deplorable results of your selfishness1 of your frightful spirit of domination1 of your imbecility4444 ,if there were infernal gods1 ,i should devote you to them relentlessly with all my heart4 ,instead of calumniating your fellows that you may preserve your privileges1 give them instruction and liberty2 then only will you have the right to pass judgment on their nature3 for we can only know the nature of a human being when it has become freely developed in equality4 ,i think that ,i have justified my repugnance to give a classification of the sexes1 both by the impossibility of actually establishing a reasonable one1 and by the very legitimate fear of the bad use that would be made of it4 ,but it will be objected1 and not without reason1 that a classification is necessary for social practice4 ,i consent to it with all my heart1 since ,i have reserved my positions1 and proved the worthlessness of existing classifications4 ,as it is my principle that the function should fall to the functionary who proves his capacity1 ,i say that at present1 through the difference of education1 man and woman have distinct functions2 and that we must give to the latter the place that in general she deserves4 ,i add that it is a violation of the natural right of woman to form her with a view to certain functions to which she is destined2 she should in all respects enjoy the rights common to all2 it cannot rightfully be said to her any more than to man1 your sex cannot do that1 cannot pretend to that2 if it does it and pretends to it1 it is because the sex can do it and pretend to it2 if it could not1 it would not do it2 the first right is liberty1 the first duty1 the culture of one's aptitudes1 the development of his reason and his power of usefulness3 if a god should affirm the contrary1 not conscience1 but the god would speak falsely4 ,let woman take the place therefore that is suited to her present development1 but let her never cease to remember that this place is not a fixed point1 and that she should continually strive to mount upwards until1 her peculiar nature revealing itself through equality of education1 instruction1 right and duty1 she takes her rightful place by the side of man and on a level with him4 ,let her laugh at all the utopian follies elaborated concerning her nature1 her functions determined for eternity1 and remember that she is not what nature1 but what subjection1 prejudice1 ignorance has made her2 let her escape from all her chains1 and no longer permit herself to be intimidated and debased4 ,thus1 gentlemen1 all my ideas on the nature and functions of woman may be summed up in these few propositions3 ,i believe1 because a physiological deduction authorizes me to do so1 that general humanity common to both sexes is stamped by sexuality4 ,in fact1 ,i know not1 and you know no better than ,i1 what are the true characteristics arising from the distinction of the sexes1 and ,i believe that they can be revealed only by liberty in equality1 parity of instruction and of education4 ,in social practice1 functions should belong to those who can perform them3 woman therefore should perform those functions for which she shows herself qualified1 and society should become so organized that this may be possible4 ,what are these functions relative to her degree of present development8 ,i will tell you directly4 ,,love2 ,,its ,,function ,,in ,,humanity4 ,i4 ,you tell the child that lies1 it is wrong to deceive2 you would not wish others to deceive you4 ,you tell the child that pilfers1 it is wrong to steal2 you would not wish others to steal from you4 ,you tell the child that takes advantage of his strength and knowledge to torment his younger companion2 you would not wish others to do these things to you2 you are wicked and cowardly4 ,these are good lessons4 ,why then1 when the child has become a young man1 do you say3 ,young men must sow their wild oats8 ,to sow their wild oats is to deceive young girls1 to destroy their future1 to practice adultery1 to keep mistresses1 to visit brothels4 ,yet mothers1 women thus consent to the profanation of their sex6 ,those who forbade their child to steal a toy1 permit him to steal the honor and repose of human beings6 ,those who shamed their son for falsehood1 permit him to deceive poor young girls6 ,those who made it a crime in their son to oppress those weaker than themselves1 permit him to be oppressive and perfidious toward women6 ,then they complain later that their sons treat them ill2 that they dishonor and ruin themselves2 ,that they desire the death of their parents1 in order to enrich the usurers from whom they have borrowed money to maintain their mistresses in luxury4 ,they complain that they destroy their health1 and give their mothers puny grandchildren1 for whose existence they are in continual anxiety4 ,ah6 ladies1 you have only what you deserve2 bear the weight of a joint responsibility which you cannot escape4 ,you authorized your sons to sow their wild oats2 endure the consequences4 ,but a mother cannot be the confident of her son1 it is said4 ,why not1 madam1 if you have brought him up in such a way as to have no dishonorable confidence to make to you4 ,he would have none to make1 if you had accustomed him to conquer himself1 to respect every woman as though she were his mother1 every young girl as though she were his sister2 to treat others as he would think it right to be treated by them2 if you had fully inculcated on him that there is but one system of morality1 which both sexes are equally bound to obey2 if you had caused him to honor1 love and practice labor2 if you had told him that we live to improve ourselves1 to practise justice and kindness1 and to render back to humanity what it does for us in protecting us1 enlightening us1 rendering us moral1 surrounding us with security and comfort2 that in fine our glory lies in subjecting ourselves to the great law of ,duty4 ,if you had reared him in this manner1 madam1 on surprising in your son the first signs of the ardent attraction that man feels toward the other sex1 far from abandoning the education of this instinct to the chances of inexperience1 you would do for it what you did for the others2 you would teach the young man to subject it to a wise discipline4 ,instead of repeating the stupidly atrocious phrase2 young men must sow their wild oats1 you would have taken your son's hand affectionately in your own1 and1 looking in his face1 would have said3 ,my child1 ,nature decrees that a woman should henceforth attract you more strongly than ,i1 and should maintain or destroy what ,i have so laboriously built up3 ,i do not murmur at this2 it must be so4 ,but my affection and duty require me to enlighten you in this grave juncture4 ,tell me1 if a young man1 to satisfy the instinct which is now awakening in you1 should corrupt your sister1 should sacrifice her life1 what would you think of him8 what would you do8 ,the young man1 accustomed from childhood to practise ,justice1 would not fail to reply3 ,i should think him depraved and cowardly4 ,would he not be punished8 ,no1 my son1 the seducer is not punished by the law4 ,well6 ,i would kill him1 for my right of justice reverts to me when the law makes no provision4 ,right1 my child4 ,then you will be neither depraved nor cowardly with respect to any young girl2 you will not deserve the sentence which you have pronounced2 namely1 death4 ,you will respect all young girls and women as you would wish your sister1 your daughter to be respected4 ,another question3 what would you think of a man who should persuade me to betray your father2 who should rob him of my heart and cares2 who should draw me aside from the grave duties of maternity8 ,what would you think of the man who should act thus with respect to your own companion8 ,i would judge him like the former and would treat him no better4 ,right again4 ,then you will respect all married women as you would wish your mother and your wife to be respected2 and if you should meet any one towards whom you should feel attracted1 or who should be disloyal enough to seek to attract you1 you will shun her3 for flight is the sole remedy for passion4 ,a multitude of women1 innocent at first1 have been turned aside from the right path by men who do not think as you do4 ,they now avenge themselves upon your sex for the evil it has done them4 ,they corrupt and ruin men who1 in their company1 lose all sense of morality1 who learn to laugh at what you believe and venerate1 and undermine and destroy their health4 ,do you feel the deplorable courage to expose yourself to such risks8 ,the young man1 practised from childhood to subject his inclinations to reason and justice1 would reply3 ,no1 mother1 ,i will not do what ,i would not wish my companion to do2 ,i will neither degrade myself morally1 nor destroy my health1 nor contribute my share towards perpetuating a state of things which degrades the sex to which belongs my mother1 my sister1 my wife and my daughters1 should ,i be so happy as to possess them4 ,i acknowledge frankly that ,i foresee a violent struggle with myself1 but1 thanks to the moral training to which you have accustomed me1 thanks to the ideal of destiny which you have given me1 which ,i have accepted in the plenitude of my reason1 and which my duty marks out for me1 ,i do not despair of subduing myself4--,this victory will be less difficult to obtain1 if you employ yourself usefully and seriously2 for you will thus attract your vitality to the superior regions of the brain4 ,you will do wisely to add to this1 much physical exercise2 to abstain from too substantial a diet1 and especially from stimulating drinks6 you know the reaction of the physical upon the moral system4 ,carefully avoid licentious reading and improper conversation2 give a place in your mind to the virgin who will be united to you2 think and act as if in her presence2 it will guard you and keep you pure4 ,this sweet ideal will strengthen you against temptation1 and contribute greatly to render you insensible towards those women who should have no place in your heart4 ,love1 my child1 is a thing most serious in its results2 for the beings whom it unites become modified by each other2 it leaves its traces1 however short may be its duration4 ,its end is ,marriage1 one of the ends of which is the continuity of the species4 ,now1 you know the effects of solidarity of blood2 it is most important therefore that you should choose for your companion a woman whose character1 morals and principles are in unison with your own2 not only for your happiness1 but for the organization of your children1 the harmony of their nature and conduct4 ,if passion does not leave you sufficiently free in your judgment1 come to me3 ,i will see for you1 and if ,i say3 my son1 this woman will debase you1 will cause you to commit faults2 be sure that your children will have evil propensities2 she is not adapted to rear them according to your ideal1 which she will never accept1 because she is vain and selfish2 if ,i tell you this1 ,i know1 my son1 that whatever may be your suffering1 you will renounce a woman whom you would cease to love after a few months' union1 and will prefer a transient sadness to a life of unhappiness4 ,,ii4 ,the mother who has just shown her son why love should be subjected to ,reason and ,justice1 and has pointed out to him what he should do to subdue its animal phase1 perceives also the awakening of this instinct in her daughter4 ,she wins her attention and gains her confidence by revealing to her what is passing within her heart1 telling her that1 at her age1 she felt the same4 ,hitherto1 continues she1 you have been but a child2 your career as a woman is now commencing4 ,you desire the affection of a man1 and your heart is moved at the sweet thought of becoming a mother4 ,do not blush1 my daughter2 it is lawful1 on condition that your desires are made subject to ,reason and the law of ,duty4 ,many snares will be spread before your steps2 for men of all ages address to a young girl innumerable flattering speeches1 and surround her with homage which renders her vain and coquettish if she has the weakness to suffer herself to be intoxicated thereby4 ,persuade yourself fully that all this adoration is not addressed to you individually1 but to your youth1 to the brightness of your eyes1 to the freshness of your complexion1 and that1 were you far better than you are and far superior in intellect1 these men would be ceremoniously and frigidly polite1 were you thirty years older4 ,this thought present in your mind will make you smile at their frivolous and common-place jargon1 and will preserve you from many weaknesses1 such as rivalry of dress1 petty jealousies1 and the ridiculous blunder of playing the young girl at fifty4 ,as you can espouse but one man1 it is sufficient to be loved by one in the manner that you wish4 ,a woman who comports herself voluntarily so as to captivate the hearts of many men1 and leaves each to believe that she prefers him above all1 is an unworthy coquette1 who sins against ,justice and ,kindness3 against ,justice1 inasmuch as she demands a sentiment for which she can make no return2 as she acts towards others as she would think it unjust that others should act towards her2 against ,kindness1 inasmuch as she risks causing suffering to sincere hearts and sacrificing their repose to a pleasurable impulse of vanity3 such a woman1 my child1 is contemptible2 she is a dangerous enemy of her sex2 first1 because she gives a bad opinion of it2 next1 because she is an enemy to the repose of other women2 ,i know that you are too ingenuous1 too true and too worthy to fear that you will fall into such errors4 ,you have acknowledged to me that your young imagination had pictured to itself a man4 ,far from banishing this ideal1 let it be always present to your mind1 much less in its physical aspect than in that of intellect1 morality and industry4 ,this image will do more to keep you safe than all my counsels1 than all the surveillance that ,i might1 but never would exercise over you1 because this would be unworthy of us both4 ,do not forget however that an ideal is absolute2 that the reality is always defective2 do not therefore seek in the man to whom you shall give your heart1 a realization of the ideal1 but the qualities and faculties which1 with your aid1 will permit him to approximate to what you wish to see him4 ,you yourself are the ideal of a man1 not such as you are1 but such as he will aid you to become4 ,i dwell upon this point1 my daughter1 because nothing is more dangerous than to insist on finding the ideal in the reality2 this makes us over difficult and lacking in indulgence2 and1 if we have a lively imagination and little reason1 renders us unhappy and involves us in innumerable errors4 ,you know and feel that the end of love is ,marriage2 now one of your duties as lover and spouse is the improvement of the one to whom you shall be united4 ,you will stand with him in two different relations6 first as his betrothed1 afterwards as his wife4 ,your modifying power will1 in the first case1 be exercised in a direct proportion to his desire to please and to be worthy of you2 in the second1 in proportion to his confidence1 esteem and affection for you4 ,in the first case1 he will wish to modify himself2 in the second1 he will do so without knowing it4 ,what1 mother1 will he not always love me the same8 ,love1 my child1 undergoes transformations which we should expect and to which we should submit2 in the beginning it is a fever of the soul2 but fever is a condition which cannot last without destroying life4 ,your husband1 while loving you perhaps more deeply1 will love you less ardently than before ,marriage4 ,your love will become transformed1 why shall not his be the same8 ,you cannot imagine how much trouble results from the ignorance of women on this point1 and from the vain pursuit of the ideal in love4 ,many women1 believing that their husband loves them no longer because he loves them in a different manner1 become detached from him1 suffer1 and betray their duties2 others1 dreaming of perfection in the loved one1 fancy that they have found it1 and becoming disabused after the fever has past1 quit him1 accusing him of having deceived them2 they love others with the same illusion1 followed by the same disenchantment1 until age creeps on without curing them of the chimera4 ,lastly1 there are others who1 comprehending only the first period of love1 cease to love the man who has passed beyond it1 and pursue another love which will bring them the same fever2 these1 as you comprehend1 have not the slightest idea of woman's grave duties in ,love4 ,what ,i have just said of women is equally true of men4 ,you will avoid these dangers1 my daughter1 you who have been accustomed from childhood to submit to reason2 who know that all reality is imperfect1 that habit weakens sentiment1 you will therefore take the man who suits you1 as he is1 designing to improve him and to render him happy1 knowing in advance that his love will change without becoming extinguished1 if you succeed in gaining his affection1 confidence and esteem1 so that he will find in you good counsel1 peace1 assistance and security4 ,you are too pure1 my daughter1 to foresee all the snares that will be spread for you4 ,it belongs to me therefore to arm your youthful prudence3 ,you will perhaps encounter men married or betrothed who1 according to the common expression1 will pay court to you1 and will utter innumerable sophisms to justify their conduct4 ,their sophisms would fall to the ground before the simple answer3 ,sir1 as ,i should be driven to despair if another woman should rob me of him whom ,i loved1 as ,i should despise and hate her1 all your compliments cannot persuade me that it is right for me to do what ,i would not that others should do to me4 ,if you return to the subject1 ,i shall inform the person interested4 ,right1 my child3 but if a young man who was free should speak of love1 and urge you to write to him in secret8 ,might he not have good reason for acting in this manner8 ,none1 my child4 ,you must know that men are exceedingly corrupt2 that many among them eschew marriage1 flit from one woman to another1 take advantage of our credulity1 and make use of the most impassioned language to lead us in the way of shame and perdition4 ,now1 my child1 know besides that we bear the weight of men's faults as well as of our own2 the verbal and written promises of a man bind him to nothing4 ,if1 suffering yourself to be led astray1 you should become a mother1 the child would remain your charge2 and you could no longer hope for marriage2 ,i say nothing of our grief and shame1 nor of the terrible risks to which you would expose your brother1 who might perish in punishing the vile seducer whom the law does not touch4 ,if a man seeks you therefore unknown to us1 be sure that it is because his intentions are evil2 that he considers you as a toy which he purposes to break when it ceases to amuse him4 ,now1 my daughter1 you know that woman is created to be the worthy companion of man2 that she is not born to be sacrificed to him as an object of pleasure4 ,instead therefore of suffering yourself to be seduced1 profit by the influence over men which is given you by your beauty and grace1 to recall them to their duties3 in this manner1 you may be the means of saving many women2 you will give a favorable opinion of your sex1 and will prepare a good example for your daughter by setting one to your companions1 many of whom will follow it in order to share in the esteem that will surround you2 always remember that our acts not only injure ourselves1 but we have a joint responsibility with others1 and consequently no one can be lost or saved alone4 ,one word more1 my child4 ,in your uncertainties1 do not hesitate to confide your troubles to me2 do not say1 ,my mother is too reasonable to understand me in this4 ,was it not by becoming a child again in order to comprehend you1 that ,i fulfilled my sacred task of instructor8 be persuaded that it will not be more difficult for me to become a young girl again in order to comprehend1 while remaining a tender and experienced mother to advise you4 ,you are free3 ,i am not your censor1 but your elder sister1 who loves you with devotion and desires your happiness before all things4 ,as a recompense for my love and my long-continued cares1 ,i only ask to be your best friend2 that is1 the one in whose presence you will think and speak aloud4 ,is this asking too much of you1 who are my joy and crown4 ,this is the way1 ladies1 in which the woman who has attained majority1 strives to educate the world in ,love4 ,,iii4 ,the young girl and young man enter into society4 ,the prudent mother knows that it is gently insinuated to her son that she is a prude1 a dotard who knows nothing of the passions2 who does not suspect that everything in nature is good1 and should be respected2 and who has read the history of our species to so little purpose that she has not perceived that humanity has love in all forms3 the polygamic and polyandric1 and even 444 the ambiguous4 ,she knows also1 that he is told that the satisfaction of the animal instinct is necessary to the health of man1 and that brothels are places of public utility4 ,she knows1 lastly1 that young and giddy girls1 with lax principles1 make dangerous confidences to her daughter4 ,it is time1 in opposition to these lax doctrines and pernicious examples1 to give to her children the philosophy of ,love4 ,according to her method1 she suffers is to elucidate itself4 ,my son1 says she1 what is the end of the attraction of mineral molecules towards each other8 ,,son4 ,the production of a body having a determined form4 ,,mother4 ,what is the end of the attraction of the plant for heat1 light1 air1 the elements which it absorbs8 ,,son4 ,the production of its own body1 the development of its organs1 and of its properties1 its preservation4 ,,mother4 ,and do you know1 my daughter1 what is the end of the attraction of the pistil and stamens of the flower4 ,,daughter4 ,the production of a being resembling its parents4 ,,mother4 ,why do we as well as the animals experience an inclination or attraction for certain kinds of food8 ,,son4 ,it is evidently in order to incite to action the organs which procure to the organism the elements adapted to produce blood4 ,,mother4 ,why do both sexes of the same species experience an attraction towards each other8 ,,daughter4 ,for the production of young to perpetuate the species4 ,,mother4 ,why do the females1 and often males among animals experience an inclination or attraction to take care of the young8 ,,daughter4 ,in order to preserve them and to educate them as far as is in their power1 that they may be able to provide for themselves4 ,,mother4 ,are you quite sure1 my children1 that the end of these attractions is not the attraction itself1 the procurement of a pleasure8 ,,son4 ,the pleasure seems to me only the means of impelling the being to fulfill a necessary or useful function4 ,thus the end of our scientific1 artistic and industrial inclinations or attractions is not the pleasure which we take in their satisfaction1 but the production of science1 art and industry4 ,,daughter4 ,that is1 the increase and progress of our intellect through the knowledge of the laws of ,nature1 in order to modify this nature with a view to our wants and pleasures4 ,,mother4 ,to what inclination or attraction is ,society due8 ,,son4 ,to our attraction for our fellow beings4 ,,daughter4 ,this attraction is the father of ,justice and of ,goodness3 it produces them4 ,,mother4 ,will you generalize the character of this inclination or attraction in accordance with what we have just said8 ,,son4 ,the end of all attraction or inclination is the production1 progress and preservation of beings4 ,,mother4 ,are all instincts good which are merely inclinations or attractions8 ,,son4 ,for animals1 which are subject to fatality1 they are2 because they tend directly to their end1 without ever appearing to deviate from it4 ,in our species1 they are good in principle1 if we regard their end2 but they may become evil through the deviation to which our liberty subjects them4 ,,mother4 ,by what token can we know that our instinct has a right tendency8 ,,daughter4 ,by comparing its use with its end2 by assuring ourselves that this use is not prejudicial to the practice of justice1 that it does not detract from the right of any of our faculties2 that is1 that it disturbs neither our individual harmony nor that of others2 for it is on these conditions alone that it can coperate in the realization of the social ideal4 ,,mother4 ,very well4 ,now apply this general doctrine to human love1 my children4 ,,son4 ,since love is one of the forms of attraction1 and since the general end of attraction is the production1 progress and preservation of beings and species1 it is evident that human love should possess these characteristics4 ,its principal function appears to me to be the reproduction of the species4 ,,daughter4 ,it seems to me1 brother1 that this is not enough2 since true husbands and wives do not cease to love each other after this end has been fulfilled1 and since persons may love without having children4 ,,mother4 ,you are right1 my daughter2 our faculties being more numerous and more fully developed than those of the animals1 our love cannot be incomplete like theirs2 it cannot be of the same nature in our progressive species as in those species fatal and unprogressive of themselves4 ,in us1 each faculty1 properly employed1 aids in the improvement of all the rest1 wrongly employed1 it interrupts our harmony and lowers us2 it is the same with our love4 ,or rather this passion is the one that most of all causes us to grow or to decline4 ,you know1 my children1 that humanity advances only by forming itself an ideal and endeavoring to realize it4 ,every passion has its ideal1 which is modified by that of the whole4 ,in the beginning1 man1 in the animal state1 made the end of love the pleasure resulting from the satisfaction of a wholly physical want3 he cared nothing for the most evident aim--progeny4 ,a little later1 man less gross1 loved woman for her beauty and fruitfulness2 this was the patriarchal age of love4 ,later still1 the ,northern races wrought a change in this instinct2 love became decomposed1 as it were2 the lover possessed the love of the soul2 the woman was loved not only for her beauty1 but as the inspirer of lofty deeds2 the husband was the possessor of the body alone and the children were the fruit of marriage2 this was the chivalrous age of love4 ,since pacific labor has been organized and has gained a place in public opinion1 love has entered a new phase2 many among the moderns consider it as the initiative of labor4 ,some regard the attraction of pleasure as playing the chief part in industrial production1 and leave full liberty to the attraction1 however inconsistent it may be2 others preserve the couple1 and transform woman into the moving power of action2 the love that she inspires excites the efforts of the worker4 ,the progress hitherto made by humanity is therefore that love has now for its end the perpetuation of the species1 the modification of man by woman1 and the production of labor4 ,in a higher ideal of ,justice1 the sexes being equal in rights1 love will have a higher end2 the spouses will unite on account of conformity of principles1 union of hearts1 wedding of intellects1 common labor3 love will join them to double their strength1 to modify them by each other1 from the friction of their hearts will be struck out sentiments which neither would have had alone2 from the union of their intellects will be born thoughts which neither would have had alone2 from the aid that they will lend each other in their common labor will proceed works that neither would have accomplished alone1 as from the union of their whole being1 will be born new generations more perfect than the preceding because they will be the product of the greatest possible harmony4 ,it will be only when woman shall take her lawful place that humanity will see love in all its splendor1 and that this passion1 subversive to-day in inequality and incoherence1 will become what it should be2 one of the great instruments of ,progress4 ,we1 my children1 who are too rational to mistake the means by which ,nature impels us to accomplish her designs for the designs themselves1 will take care not to fancy that the end of love is pleasure2 on the other hand1 we have too much respect for equality to imagine that it is for the benefit of one sex alone4 ,we will remain faithful to the ideal of our lofty destinies1 in defining love as the reciprocal attraction of man and woman with the end of perpetuating the species1 of improving the partners mutually with respect to intellect and feeling1 and of advancing science1 art and industry by the labor of the pair4 ,,iv4 ,sophists have told you1 my son1 that all our inclinations are in ,nature2 that they are good and should be respected4 ,you asked them doubtless whether the inclinations to theft1 to assassination1 to violation1 to anthropophagy1 which are in ,nature1 are good1 and why1 instead of respecting them1 society punishes their manifestation4 ,you demonstrated to them1 ,i hope1 that there is nothing commendable in the exaggeration or the perversion of instincts4 ,you demonstrated to them1 ,i hope1 that ,nature is brutal fatality against which we are bound to struggle both within and without ourselves2 that our ,justice and virtue are composed only of conquests made over it in us1 as all that constitutes our physical well-being is only the result of conquests made over it outside of us4 ,these sophists have told you that love comes and goes without our knowing how or wherefore2 and that we can no more command it to spring up than to endure4 ,this is true1 my son1 of the brutal desires of the flesh1 which is the passion of animals alone1 and is extinguished by possession4 ,this is also true of that complex passion which has its seat in the imagination and the senses1 and ends with the illusion that is always of short duration4 ,but it is not true of genuine love2 this sees both the faults and the virtues of the loved one2 but softens the first and exalts the last1 and hopes by degrees to put an end to that which wounds it4 ,this sentiment which takes possession of the heart1 is patient2 it bears lest it become effaced1 it surrounds itself with precautions in order to remain constant2 if it becomes extinct1 it is not unconsciously3 for we suffer cruel tortures before resolving to cease to love4 ,you have been told that love is irrepressible2 are we then beings of fatality8 ,this sophism renders man cowardly and depraves him2 for what is the use of struggling against what we know to be unconquerable1 and why not sacrifice to it the best of our tendencies8 ,examine the conduct of the partisans of such a doctrine4 ,the human ideal requires that they shall not do to others what they would not think it just that others should do to them2 yet they seduce maidens1 make them mothers1 and abandon them without caring about the children born of these unions2 without caring whether the young mother commits suicide1 dies of grief1 or becomes depraved2 without caring whether the parents go down to the grave4 ,like deadly reptiles1 they glide to the domestic fireside of others1 rob their friend of the affection of his wife1 and force him to labor for the children of adultery4 ,the woman who believes in irrepressible love breaks her pledges to her husband2 lives a life of deceit2 brings trouble and sorrow into the houses of other women1 whose lives are blighted by her4 ,it is in this way that those who practice this sophistry fulfil their duty to be just1 not to afflict their fellows1 to labor for the happiness and improvement of those about them1 to preserve the weak from oppression and wrong4 ,to this pretended irrepressibility of love1 they sacrifice ,justice1 goodness1 the happiness1 repose and honor of others2 lead them into the path of dissipation2 bring dissolution into the family and society2 in a word1 offer up as a sacrifice to animal instinct1 moral sense and reason4 ,you have also been told that every species of love is found in ,nature2 the polyamic and polygandric1 as well as that of the constant pair4 ,yes1 my child1 every species of love is found in ,nature1 as is every species of vice and every species of virtue4 ,but you know that it is not enough that a thing exists within us to prove it to be good2 it must be in conformity with the ideal of our destiny1 with our harmony3 it is wrong in the opposite case4 ,love1 such as we have defined it1 needs duration and equality2 duration1 because we do not become modified in a few months2 because we do not accomplish great works in a few months2 because we do not rear children in a few months2 duration is so truly an aspiration of love1 that it imagines that eternity will hardly suffice for it4 ,it must have equality2 division is hateful to it2 it will therefore have a unit for a unit1 both male and female4 ,now polygamy and polyandria are the negation of equality1 of dignity in love4 ,let us consider the effects of these two deviations of instinct4 ,oriental polygamy renders human beings profoundly unequal1 transforms women into cattle1 mutilates thousands of men to guard the harems1 depraves the possessor of women by despotism and cruelty1 concentrates all his vitality upon a single instinct at the expense of intellect1 reason and activity2 whence it follows that he is lost to science1 art1 industry1 society according to right3 that he submits without repugnance to despotism1 and passively extends his neck to the halter4 ,there1 no influence is wielded by woman1 who is subjected to designed enervation1 who is depraved in as hideous a manner as the eunuch1 her keeper4 ,thus1 inequality in love and in right1 abandonment of art1 science and industry1 intellectual and physical enervation1 debasement of the moral sense--such are vices inherent to the polygamy of the ,east4 ,you see that this is far from the ideal of our destinies4 ,in our ,west1 polygamy de facto produces the cattle of the brothel1 legions of courtesans who ruin families4 ,as many of these women are diseased1 they infect those who associate with them with fearful maladies which undermine their constitutions1 and thus pave the way for puny offspring1 consequently1 for weak minds and feeble intellects4 ,i appeal for proof to the conscription2 never were so many exemptions seen as now on account of under size1 although the standard has been lowered1 never were so many exemptions seen as now for constitutional imperfections and acquired disease4 ,to vitiate the generation in its germ is not the only crime of our polygamy2 it enervates those who practice it1 for nothing leads to excess1 consequently to enervation1 so much as the change of relations4 ,on the other hand1 our polygamists become transformed into machines of sensation2 then intellect grows weak2 they become stupid and selfish4 ,look at the pitiable young men of the present time1 emaciated by their vices and by those of their sires2 scoffers1 faithless1 jesting at the most sacred things1 despising1 not only the corrupt women1 their worthy companions1 but also the whole sex to which their mothers belong2 look at them2 so gross as to sicken the observer1 nothing longer commands their respect2 they thrust aside gray haired women from the sidewalk into the gutter2 they are impertinent to old men2 they put young girls to the blush with their cynical speeches2 polygamy has rendered them ignoble1 and has destroyed our native urbanity as well as all dignity4 ,they will tell you that women are but little better than they4 ,but this result becomes inevitable in a country in which women are not kept in seclusion4 ,polyandria becomes the necessary companion of polygamy2 for since men consider themselves at liberty to have more than one woman1 why should women consider themselves forbidden to have more than one man8 ,finally1 my son1 the results of irrepressible love1 ,polygamy and ,polyandria in our ,western country are3 ,the seduction and corruption of women2 ,adultery1 debasement of character2 the moral and intellectual enfeebling of both sexes2 ,the enervation and degeneracy of the race2 ,falsehood1 deceit1 cruelty1 injustice of every kind1 the use of woman by man for her beauty1 that of man by woman for his money or position2 ,the dissolution and ruin of the family2 ,several thousand illegitimate children annually1 without counting abortions2 ,such is the value of these theories put in practice4 ,is this in conformity with our ideal of human love8 ,is it in conformity with our ideal of human destiny1 which requires that we shall progress and cause others to progress in good2 that we shall practice ,justice and ,goodness8 ,a word more1 and we have done4 ,when ,rome had ceased to believe in chastity1 in the sacredness of oaths2 when she wallowed in polygamic and polyandric customs2 when she took pleasure for her end1 tyranny appeared4 ,nothing was more natural3 man binds captive those only who have first suffered themselves to be bound under the yoke of bestial instinct3 he who knows how to govern himself does not yield obedience to man2 he bows only before the law when it is the expression of ,reason4 ,remember1 my son1 that we are powerful only through chastity2 only thus can we produce great works in science1 art and industry2 only thus can we practice ,justice1 be worthy of liberty4 ,outside of chastity1 there is nothing but degradation1 injustice1 impotence1 slavery2 and every nation that forsakes it falls from the arms of despotism into the grave4 ,do not suffer yourself therefore to be moved by modern sophisms1 have always before your thoughts your obligations as a moral and a free being1 your duties as a member of humanity2 subject all that is within you to ,reason1 to ,justice1 to the sentiment of your dignity1 and live like a man1 not like a brute4 ,,marriage1 ,a ,,dialogue4 ,,reader4 ,we are about to speak of ,marriage from the stand point of the modern ideal--how do you define it8 ,,author4 ,love1 sanctioned by ,society4 ,,reader4 ,do you consider ,marriage as indissoluble8 ,,author4 ,before the law1 ,i do not2 but at the moment of their union1 the spouses should have full confidence that the bond will never be dissolved4 ,i believe that ,marriage becomes indissoluble by the will alone of the spouses2 that it can be so only in this manner4 ,,reader4 ,what part do you assign to ,society in ,marriage8 ,,author4 ,you shall fix it yourself after recalling our principles4 ,if man and woman are free beings at any period of their life1 they cannot legally and validly lose their liberty4 ,if man and woman are beings socially equal in any of their relations1 the one cannot legally1 validly be subordinated to the other4 ,if the continual end of the human being is to become perfected through liberty1 and to seek happiness1 no law can legitimately1 validly turn him aside from its pursuit4 ,if the end of society should be to render individuals equal it cannot1 under penalty of forfeiting its mission1 constitute inequality of persons and of rights4 ,if ,society cannot without iniquity enter the domain of individual liberty1 it cannot lawfully1 validly prescribe duties that pertain only to the jurisdiction of the conscience1 and annul moral liberty4 ,now draw your conclusions4 ,,reader4 ,from these principles1 it follows that man and woman should remain free and equal in ,marriage2 that ,society has no right to intervene in their association except to render them equal2 that it has no right to prescribe to them duties which proceed only from love1 nor consequently to punish their violation1 that it cannot in principle grant or refuse divorce1 because it belongs to the husband and wife alone to know whether it is useful for their happiness and progress to be separated from each other4 ,,author4 ,your conclusions are right1 but if ,society has no right over the body or the soul of the husband and wife in their capacity of spouses1 if it cannot without abuse of power interfere in any of their intimate relations1 it is its right and duty to intervene in ,marriage as regards interests and children4 ,,reader4 ,in fact1 in the union of the sexes1 there is not merely an association of two free and equal persons1 but also a partnership of capital and labor2 then1 from the marriage1 children are born for whose education1 occupation and subsistence it is necessary to provide4 ,,author4 ,now1 the general protection of material interests and of the rising generation devolves of right upon ,society4 ,in the sight of the law1 the husband and wife ought to be regarded only as partners1 engaging to employ a certain share of capital1 together with their labor1 for a definite purpose4 ,society takes note only of a contract of interests1 the execution of which it guarantees like that of any other contract1 and the breach of which it makes public1 should it take place by the wish of the parties interested4 ,on the other hand1 the education of the rising generation is a question of life and death to ,society4 ,the children being free with respect to development1 and liable to be useful or injurious to their fellow citizens according to the training which they have received1 society has a right to watch over them1 to secure their material support1 their moral future1 to fix the age of marriage1 to entrust the children to the more deserving parent in case of separation1 and if both are unworthy1 to take them away entirely4 ,,reader4 ,do you not go a little too far2 on the one hand1 do not children belong to their parents1 on the other1 may not ,society err with respect to the choice of the principles to be instilled in them8 ,,author4 ,children do not belong to their parents because they are not ,,things3 to those who obstinately persist in believing them property1 we say that ,society has the right of dispossession for the public good4 ,then the social right over children is limited so far as principles are concerned to those of morality4 ,society has no right over religious beliefs which belong to the domain of spiritual jurisdiction4 ,the power that should take away children from their parents because they were not of a certain religious faith would be guilty of despotism1 and would merit universal execration4 ,if you say that ,society has no right to impose a dogma upon children1 you speak truly2 but ,i cannot conceive how you can entertain the thought of forbidding it the right to teach them1 even against the will of their parents1 enlightening science1 purifying morality4 ,is it not the duty of society to secure the progress of its members1 and can any one have a right to keep a human being in ignorance and evil8 ,,reader4 ,you are right1 and ,i condemn myself4 ,let us return to ,marriage4 ,i see with pleasure that you differ in opinion from a number of modern innovators who deny the lawfulness of social interference in the union of the sexes4 ,,author4 ,if the union were without protection1 who would suffer by it8 ,not men1 but rather women and children4 ,no one can compel a man to live with a woman whom he has ceased to love2 but he must be constrained to fulfill his duties with respect to the children born of this union1 and to keep his business engagements3 in wronging his companion and escaping from the burdens of paternity1 he takes advantage of his liberty to the detriment of others3 ,society has a right to prevent this4 ,,reader4 ,so you do not grant to ,society the right of binding souls or bodies2 but that of guaranteeing the contract of ,marriage1 and the obligations of the spouses towards their future children2 of forcing them1 in case of separation1 to fulfill this last obligation8 ,,author4 ,yes2 thus in case of the rupture of the marriage tie1 society has only to state publicly the responsibilities of the spouses1 the number of children1 and the name of the parent on whom their guardianship devolves1 either by mutual consent or by social authority4 ,and in confining itself to this part1 ,society would do more to prevent the separation of married couples than by all that it has hitherto foolishly invented for the purpose4 ,the parties would be free to marry again2 but what woman would be willing to unite herself to a man who was burdened with several children1 or who had treated his first companion unkindly8 ,what man would consent to wed a woman in the same position8 ,do you not think that the difficulty that would be experienced in contracting a new marriage would be a curb on the inconstancy and bad conduct that lead to a rupture8 ,,reader4 ,i believe indeed that marriage1 as you understand it1 would have more chances of duration than ours3 first1 because it is our nature to cling most closely to that which we may lose4 ,i have often asked myself why many men remain faithful to their mistresses and treat them kindly1 while they are disrespectful and unfaithful to their wives2 ,i have asked myself also why many couples who had long lived happily together when voluntarily united1 were unhappy and often driven to a legal separation when they had finally married2 and the only reason that ,i have been able to find is that we set the most value on that which we know may escape us4 ,man has more respect for a woman who is not his legal property1 his inferior1 than for her who is thus transformed by the law4 ,notwithstanding1 it must be acknowledged that your ideas appear eccentric4 ,,author4 ,yet they are nothing more than an application of our laws2 indeed1 do they not decree that covenants can have things only1 not persons for their object4 ,that ,society does not recognize vows1 and that proceedings cannot be instituted against their violation8 ,now the existing law of marriage alienates one of the partners in favor of the other2 the wife belongs to the husband2 she is in his power4 ,what is such a contract1 if not the violation of the principle which affirms that no covenant can be made involving persons8 can it be more lawful to alienate one's person by a contract of slavery8 ,some say that we are at liberty to dispose of our freedom as we choose1 even though it be to renounce it4 ,indeed1 we may do this1 as we may commit suicide1 but to make use of our liberty to renounce it or to commit suicide is much less to use aright than to violate the laws of moral or physical nature2 these are acts of insanity which we should pity1 but which we are not at liberty to erect into a law4 ,why does ,society refuse to recognize vows and to punish their violation1 if not because it admits that it is forbidden to penetrate into the jurisdiction of the conscience8 if not because it does not admit that an individual may alienate his moral and intellectual being any more than his body1 and devote himself to immobility when it is his duty1 on the contrary1 to go forward8 ,i ask then if this same ,society is not inconsistent in exacting perpetual vows from the husband and wife1 in exacting from the wife a vow of obedience1 a tacit vow to deliver up her person to the desires of the husband8 ,is not the moral liberty of the spouses as worthy of respect as that of nuns1 priests and monks8 ,have married persons more right in ,nature and ,reason1 to alienate their moral and intellectual being1 their liberty and their person than the celibates of the ,church8 ,another inconsistency of the law is that it declares ,marriage an association2 the contract of ,marriage is therefore a contract of partnership4 ,now ,i ask whether1 in a single contract of this kind1 it is enjoined by law on one of the partners to obey1 to be subjected to a perpetual minority1 to be absorbed8 ,i doubt not that the law would declare such a contract between independent partners void2 why then does it legalize such a monstrosity in the partnership of husband and wife8 ,it is a relic of barbarism1 as you will see if you reflect on it4 ,,reader4 ,i hope that1 through reason and necessity1 the law will be reformed sooner or later3 but a reformation which will not take place is that of the forms of religious marriage1 which prescribe to the spouses the same oaths as the code1 and like it1 subject the wife to the husband4 ,,author4 ,well1 what matters it to us1 since1 thanks to liberty1 the religious marriage is merely a benediction with which we can dispense4 ,those who have a disposition to go to the ,church1 the ,temple1 or the ,synagogue should have full liberty to receive the blessing of their respective priests6 this does not concern ,society4 ,what we need is that1 if afterward their vows should not seem to them binding1 social authority should not make them obligatory2 they have a right to be absurd1 but society has no right to impose absurdity on them4 ,its duty is1 on the contrary1 to enlighten them1 and to render them free4 ,,iv4 ,,reader4 ,those who subordinate woman in marriage rest on the assertion that unity of direction1 consequently a ruling power1 is needed in the family2 now1 your theory evidently destroys this ruling power4 ,,author4 ,what is the ruling power8 ,practically1 it is manifested through the function of government4 ,formerly1 it was based upon two principles1 now recognized as radically false3 ,divine right and inequality4 ,it was the right of those who exercised it to call themselves kings1 autocrats1 priests1 men2 it was the duty therefore of the people1 the church1 woman to obey the elect of ,god1 their superiors by the grace of right delegated from on high4 ,but in modern opinion1 the ruling power is nothing more than a function delegated by the parties interested in order to execute their will4 ,it is not our business to inquire here whether this modern interpretation has become incarnated in facts2 whether the old principle is not still struggling with the new2 whether the holders of political and familial authority are not still making insane pretensions to divine right2 we have only to show what the notion of the ruling power has become in the present state of thought and feeling4 ,what will be the ruling power in marriage1 in accordance with modern opinion1 if not the delegation by one spouse to the other of the management of business and of the family--a delegation of function2 no longer a right8 ,and if man and woman are socially equal in principle1 if the aptitudes1 upon which all functions are based1 are not dependent on sex1 by what right does society interfere to give the authority either to the husband or the wife8 ,if there is need of a ruling power in the household1 are not the parties themselves best capable of bestowing it on the one who can best and most usefully exercise it8 ,but among partners1 is there really room for a ruling power8 ,no1 there is room only for division of labor1 mutual understanding with respect to common interests4 ,to consult each other1 to come to an agreement1 to divide the tasks1 to remain master each of his own department2 this is what the spouses should do1 and what they do in general4 ,the law has so little part in our customs that to-day things happen in this wise3 many rich women translate two articles of the ,code as follows2 the husband shall obey his wife1 and shall follow her wherever she sees fit to dwell or sojourn4 ,and the husbands obey1 because it would not do to offend a wife with a large dowry2 because it would make a scandal to thwart their wife2 because they need her1 being unable1 without dishonoring themselves1 to keep a mistress4 ,husbands in the great centres of population escape obedience through love outside of marriage2 they lay no restrictions on their part2 ,madame is free4 ,among the working classes of the citizens and the people1 it is practically admitted that neither shall command1 and that the husband shall do nothing without consulting his wife and obtaining her consent4 ,in all classes1 if any husband is simple enough to take his pretended right in earnest1 he is cited as a bad man1 an intolerable despot whom his wife may hate and deceive with a safe conscience2 and it is a curious fact that the greater part of the legal separations are for no other cause at the bottom than the exercise of the rights and prerogatives conceded to the husbands by law4 ,i ask you now1 what is the use of maintaining against reason and custom1 an authority which does not exist1 or which is transferred to the spouse condemned to subjection4 ,,reader4 ,on this point1 ,i am wholly of your opinion2 not a single woman of modern times takes the rights of her husband in earnest4 ,but your theory not only attacks his authority2 it also wages war against the indissolubility of marriage1 which it is affirmed1 is necessary to the dignity of this tie2 to the happiness and future of the children1 to the morality of the family4 ,,author4 ,i claim1 on the contrary1 that my theory secures1 as far as is humanly possible1 the perpetuity and purity of marriage4 ,at present1 when the knot is tied1 the spouses1 no longer fearing to lose each other1 find in the absence of this fear the germ of a mutual coolness2 they may quarrel1 be discourteous or unfaithful to each other2 there will be scandal1 a legal separation perhaps1 but they are riveted together2 they can never become strangers4 ,contrast with this picture a household in which the bond is dissoluble2 all is changed2 the despotic or brutal husband represses his evil propensities1 because he knows that his companion1 whom after all he loves1 would quit him and transfer to another the attentions she lavishes on him2 and that no honest woman would be willing to take her place4 ,the husband disposed to be unfaithful would continue in the path of duty1 because his abandonment and offences would alienate his wife1 blast his reputation1 and prevent him from forming an honorable alliance4 ,the worn out profligate would no longer espouse the dowry of a young girl1 because he would know that1 promptly disenchanted1 the young wife1 instead of having recourse to adultery1 would break the ill assorted union4 ,the woman who should take advantage of her dowry1 of the necessity of her husband to remain faithful1 to tyrannise over him1 would fear a divorce which would throw the blame on her and condemn her to a life of solitude4 ,a shrewish wife would no longer dare to inflict suffering on her husband1 or a coquette to deceive or torment him2 who would marry them after a separation8 ,do you not see that free marriages are happier and more lasting than any others8 ,have you not yourself admitted that to separate the parties in these unions1 it often suffices to join them legally8 ,i know myself of a voluntary union that was very happy during twenty-two years1 and was dissolved by separation at the end of three years of legal marriage2 ,i have known of many others of a shorter duration which legality contributed to dissolve instead of rendering eternal4 ,you would hardly believe how many married couples reformed in their treatment of each other in #ahdh1 when they feared that the law of divorce might be accepted4 ,if the simple expedient of divorce has power to produce good results1 what may not be expected from a rational law4 ,we need only to reflect in order to comprehend that voluntary dissolubility1 without social intervention1 would render unions better assorted1 for it would be for one's interest1 for his own reputation1 to enter into them only with the moral conviction of being able to preserve them2 then only would no excuse be found for infidelity2 loyalty would make part of the relations of the spouses4 ,the law of perpetuity has perverted everything1 corrupted everything2 on the side of the woman1 it favors1 yes1 necessitates stratagem2 on the side of the man1 it favors brutality and despotism2 it provokes on both sides adultery1 poisoning and assassination2 and leads to those separations which are daily increasing in number1 and which1 by giving the lie to the indissolubility of marriage1 place the partners in a painful and perilous situation1 and bring in their train a host of irregularities4 ,in fact1 if the spouses are separated while young1 concubinage is their refuge4 ,the man in this false position finds many to excuse him2 but the woman is forced to conceal herself1 to tremble at the thought of a pregnancy and to make it disappear4 ,legal separation leads the spouses not only to concubinage1 to mutual hatred1 but causes the birth of thousands of children whose future is compromised1 destroyed by the fact of their illegitimacy4 ,let the spouses be free in accordance with their right1 and all will fall into its proper order1 for all will be done openly and truly4 ,,reader4 ,but the future of the children8 ,,author4 ,the morality of the children is better insured under the system of liberty than under that of indissolubility1 for they will not be witnesses for years of the bitter contention and licentiousness which now render them deceitful and vicious1 and inspire them with contempt or hatred for one of the authors of their being1 sometimes of both1 when they do not take them for models2 if life in common becomes impossible to the parents1 which will be more rare under the law of liberty1 the children will not be subjected to the power of those who violate the law of received morality2 they may see these parents contract a new alliance as now1 but this alliance will be honored by all4 ,from these unions children may be born as now1 but these children1 instead of being cast into the hospital1 will share with the first the affection and inheritance of their father or mother4 ,the so-styled legitimate children will lose in fortune1 it is true2 but they will gain in good examples2 many children who are now in the category of the illegitimate will be ranked among the former1 and will be no longer condemned by desertion to die young1 or else to grovel in ignorance1 vice and misery2 to see their brow branded with the fault of their parents as of their own by a host of imbeciles and men without heart1 who have no other guarantee for what they call their legitimacy than the presumption accorded them by the law4 ,,iii4 ,,reader4 ,it will be long yet1 perhaps1 before collective ,reason comprehends liberty in the union of the sexes as you do1 and men will ascribe to themselves the right not only of binding the interests1 but the souls and bodies of the spouses4 ,,author4 ,as far as we can foresee1 ,society must necessarily8 pass through two stages to realize our opinion2 it must first grant divorce for a declared cause2 later it will grant divorce decreed in private on the petition of one or both of the spouses4 ,we will not take up this last form of the rupture of the conjugal tie1 but that which is nearest us--divorce for a declared cause4 ,what are the reasons which you would consider valid for a petition for divorce8 ,,reader4 ,first1 those which now give rise to separation from bed and board3 adultery of the wife1 cruelty1 grave abuses1 condemnation of one of the spouses to punishment affecting the liberty or person1 the fraudulent management of the property by the husband2 next1 infidelity of the husband1 qualified adultery1 incompatibility of temper1 notable vices1 such as drunkenness1 gaming1 etc4 ,,author4 ,very well2 these causes suffice4 ,,reader4 ,during the proceedings for divorce1 the wife should be as free as the husband4 ,the child that should be born to her after more than ten months' separation should be reputed natural1 even though the divorce had not been pronounced2 and should bear her name and inherit from her like one of her legitimate children4 ,,author4 ,who should take custody of the children and the property during the proceedings8 ,,reader4 ,the court should decide who should have the care of the children1 in accordance with the causes for the petition for divorce and the testimony of the parents1 friends and neighbors4 ,,author4 ,but if the spouses ask to be divorced only on account of incompatibility of temper1 and are both honorable8 ,,reader4 ,they should be requested to agree mutually either to share the children1 or to entrust them to one of the two1 or to give the younger children to the mother1 leaving the sons over fifteen to the father4 ,the court1 besides1 should appoint from the family of the mother1 a guardian to watch over the conduct of the father towards the children left in his care2 and from the family of the father1 a similar guardian to the mother and the children remaining with her4 ,this guardianship1 which should be strictly moral1 should continue till the children had attained majority4 ,,author4 ,and in case the parents should be alike unworthy8 ,,reader4 ,in such a case1 which would seldom happen1 the judge1 in behalf of society1 should deprive them of the custody of the children1 and entrust it to a member of the family of one of the parents1 appointing a guardian to watch over his conduct and protect the interests of his ward from the family of the other4 ,,author4 ,very well2 ,i see with pleasure that you are cured of the erroneous belief that the children belong to the parents1 and that you comprehend the high function of society as the protector of minors4 ,during the suit for divorce1 who shall have the control of the property8 ,,reader4 ,if the contract has been made under the system of separation of property1 and for paraphernalia1 there is no need of putting the question2 each one will manage his own4 ,but ,i am somewhat puzzled how to answer you in case of communion of goods1 or in case the capital is embarked in a common business1 carried on solely by one of the parties4 ,the present law does not seem to me sufficiently to protect the interests of the wife in case of separation4 ,,author4 ,without entangling ourselves in a host of individual cases which modify or contradict each other1 let us provide that in case of communion of goods1 the administration of the property shall be taken from the spouse holding it if the petition for divorce be based on his bad management1 his dissipated habits1 or his condemnation to a penalty affecting his liberty or person2 that in all other cases1 he shall make an inventory of the property and the condition of the business2 and a person shall be appointed from the family of the spouse excluded from the management to watch over the conduct of the spouse to whom it is entrusted1 who shall be bound to pay alimony to the other until the divorce shall be decreed4 ,,reader4 ,and if there is no fortune8 ,,author4 ,until the spouses become strangers1 they owe assistance to each other3 the court should therefore require the spouse that earns the more to aid the other4 ,,reader4 ,how long a time should elapse between the admission of the petition and the judgment of divorce8 ,,author4 ,a year1 in order that the parties may have time for reflection4 ,,reader4 ,the divorce being granted1 and the ex-partners restored to liberty1 would you permit them to marry others8 ,,author4 ,most assuredly2 else what signifies our arguments against separation8 ,,reader4 ,what6 the adulterous and brutal spouse1 he who has inflicted suffering on his partner1 who has been wholly in the wrong1 should enjoy like the other the privilege of marrying again8 ,i confess that this shocks me4 ,,author4 ,because you are not sufficiently imbued with the doctrines of liberty and the sentiment of right4 ,marriage is the natural right of every adult2 society has no right therefore to prohibit it or to make it a privilege2 on the other hand1 in every divorce1 there is wrong or the lack of something on either side with respect to the other2 the man or woman who commits adultery may be a model of fidelity to a partner better suited to his or her temperament and disposition2 he who has been brutal and violent may be wholly different with a wife possessing a different character2 in short1 we repeat1 to prohibit marriage is to permit libertinism1 and it is not the interest of society to pervert itself4 ,both partners therefore should have a right to marry1 but the law should take care that all should be informed of the burdens resting upon them by reason of their first marriage1 and know that they are divorced4 ,consequently1 society has a right to publish the bill of divorce1 and to require that the parties divorced should provide for the necessities of their minor children1 and that the bill of divorce1 joined to the one setting forth this obligation1 should accompany the publication of the bans of a new marriage2 in this1 there is neither injustice nor abuse of power2 for each one will submit to the consequence of what he has done in perfect freedom4 ,,reader4 ,and would you not fix the number of times that a divorced person might re-marry8 ,,author4 ,why fix it8 do you fix the number of times that a widow or widower may marry again8 ,,reader4 ,but a libertine1 a bad man might marry ten times1 and thus render ten women unhappy4 ,,author4 ,what are you talking of6 do you seriously believe that there would be a woman insane enough to marry a man nine times divorced1 a man obliged to accompany the publication of his bans with nine bills of divorce1 with nine judgements compelling him to pay so much yearly for the support of seven1 eight or nine children4 ,do you seriously believe that a woman would consent to become the companion of such a man6 ,this man might indeed marry twice--but three times6 do you think that it would be possible8 ,,reader4 ,you are right1 and on reflection1 the measures which you advocate appear perhaps severe4 ,,author4 ,i know it2 but our aim is not to favor divorces nor subsequent unions2 but1 on the contrary1 to prevent the former as far as possible by the difficulties of forming the latter4 ,now for this it is not necessary to restrict the liberty of the individual1 but to render him responsible for his acts1 and to rivet the chain that he has forged for himself in such a manner that he can neither cast it aside nor lay the burden of it on others unless they are duly warned of it and consent thereto4 ,,iv4 ,,reader4 ,ought society to permit unions disproportioned in age8 ,is it not to expose a woman to adultery1 to marry her at seventeen or eighteen to a man of thirty1 forty or even fifty years of age8 ,what harmony of sentiments and views can exist at that time between the spouses8 ,the wife sees in her husband a sort of father1 whom notwithstanding she can neither love nor respect like a father1 and she remains a minor all her life4 ,,author4 ,these unions are very prejudicial to woman and the race1 and they would be for the most part averted1 if the law should fix the marriageable age at twenty-four or twenty-five for both sexes4 ,at seventeen1 we marry to be called ,madame1 and to wear a bridal dress and a wreath of orange flowers2 we certainly should not do this at twenty-five4 ,if the flower is not called on to form its fruit until it is fully matured1 neither should man and woman3 now1 in our climate the organization of neither is complete until twenty-four or twenty-five4 ,woman gives more to the great work of reproduction and wears out faster in it2 to render her liable to become a mother prematurely is therefore to expose her to greater sufferings4 ,in the first place1 she is forced to share between herself and her offspring the elements necessary to her own nutrition1 which weakens both her and the child4 ,her development is checked1 her constitution is changed1 she becomes predisposed to uterine affections1 and runs the risk of becoming an invalid at the age when she ought to enjoy robust health4 ,the enervation of the body brings with it that of the mind3 the woman becomes nervous1 irritable1 and often capricious2 she cannot nurse her children2 she will not be capable of rearing them properly1 she will make dolls of them1 and will favor the development of faults which afterwards becoming vices1 will afflict the family and society4 ,this woman1 a mother before her time1 not only will never become the thoughtful companion and counsellor of her husband who1 being much older than she1 will amuse himself with her as with a child1 but will be his ward for her whole life1 and will have recourse to artifice to have her own way4 ,thus to weaken woman in every respect1 to shorten her life1 to put her under guardianship1 to prepare the way for puny and badly reared offspring1--such are the most obvious results of her precocious marriage4 ,to hold women in voluntary subjection and to organize the harem among us1 we need only take advantage of the permission of the law authorising their marriage at the age of fifteen4 ,that woman may not be in subjection2 that she may be able to become a mother without detriment to her health and under circumstances favorable to the good organization of her children2 that she may be a worthy and earnest wife1 prepared to fulfill all her duties1 she must not be married1 ,i repeat1 before twenty-four or twenty-five2 and she must not marry a man older than herself4 ,,reader4 ,but it is claimed that the husband ought to be ten years older than the wife1 because the latter grows old faster1 and because it is necessary that the husband should have had experience in life in order to appreciate his wife and to render her happy4 ,,author4 ,errors and prejudices all4 ,woman grows old sooner than man only through premature marriage and maternity2 a well preserved man and woman are alike old at the same age4 ,but the woman consents to grow old while the man is much less willing to do so1 since he does not blush when gray haired1 to marry a young girl1 and to set up the ridiculous pretention of being loved by her for love4 ,men must be broken of the habit of believing themselves perpetually at the age of pleasing2 of imagining that they are quite as agreeable to our eyes when they are old and ugly as if they were ,adonises4 ,they must be told unceasingly that what is unbecoming in us is equally so in them2 and that an old woman would be no more ridiculous in seeking the love of a young man1 than an old man in pretending to that of a young girl4 ,the husband and wife should be nearly of the same age2 first1 to treat each other more easily as equals2 next1 because there will be more harmony in their feelings and views1 as well as in their temperaments1 all things very necessary to the organization of children4 ,it is necessary besides1 in order that the woman may not be tempted to infidelity2 you know how many troubles arise from unions disproportioned in age4 ,the husband must have seen life1 it is said2 this is the opinion of those who permit their sons to sow their wild oats2 who believe that man is at liberty to wallow in the mire of dens of infamy1 and that there are two kinds of morality4 ,we do not belong to this class4 ,you would not give your daughter to a man who had seen life1 because he would be blas1 because he would pervert her or expose her1 through the disenchantment that would follow1 to seek in another what she did not find in her husband4 ,what we have said as regards your daughter applies also to your son2 he must not marry a woman younger than himself2 for you would no more desire a disadvantageous position for your daughter-in-law than for your daughter2 both are dear to you and worthy of respect before the solidarity of sex4 ,,reader4 ,i shall educate my son to comprehend that the form of marriage prescribed by the ,code is merely a relic of barbarism1 that his wife owes obedience only to ,duty1 that she is a free being and his equal2 and that he has no rights over her person but those which she herself accords to him4 ,i shall tell him that love is a tender plant which must be tended carefully to keep it alive2 that it is blighted by unceremoniousness and slovenliness2 that he should therefore be as careful of his personal appearance after marriage as he was to be pleasing to the eyes of his betrothed4 ,i shall say to him3 ask nothing except from the love of your wife2 remember that more than one husband has excited repulsion by the brutality of the wedding night4 ,marriage1 my son1 is a grave and holy thing2 purity is its choicest jewel2 know that many men have owed the adultery of their wife to the deplorable pains that they have taken to deprave her imagination4 ,far from using your influence over her who will be the half of yourself in order to render her docile to your wishes1 and to make her your echo1 develop reason and character in her2 in elevating her1 you will become better1 and will prepare for yourself a counsel and stay4 ,i have married you under the system of separation of goods in order that your wife may be protected against you1 should you depart from your principles2 and should you ever grieve me by straying from them1 your wife will became doubly my daughter4 ,i shall be her companion and consoler1 and shall close my arms and my doors on you4 ,,author4 ,right1 and you will do well to add3 interest your wife in your occupation2 take care that she is always busy1 for labor is the preserver of chastity4 ,,reader4 ,to my daughter ,i will say3 the social order in which we live requires1 my child1 that you shall superintend your house2 the state of ,society is still far distant in which our sex will be relieved from this function4 ,do not forget that the prosperity of the family depends on the spirit of order and economy of the wife4 ,what your fortune or special business exempts you from executing1 superintend and direct4 ,extravagance of dress and furniture now surpasses all bounds4 ,luxury is not wrong in itself1 but in the existing state of things1 it is a great relative evil1 for we have not yet resolved the problem of increasing and varying products without at the same time increasing the wretchedness and debasement of their producers4 ,be simple therefore3 this does not exclude elegance1 but only those piles of silks and laces which trail in the dust of the streets1 those diamonds and precious stones which make the fortune of the few at the expense of the morality of the many1 and which are only dead capital1 the liberation of which would be productive of great good4 ,do not suffer yourself to be ensnared by the sophism that honest women must adorn themselves to hinder men from passing their time with courtesans4 ,would you not be ashamed to compete in dress with women whom you do not esteem1 and would the man who could be retained by such means be worth the trouble8 ,i have instructed you in your legal position as wife1 mother and property holder2 ,i marry you under the system of separation of goods in order to spare your husband the temptation of regarding himself as your master2 in order that he may be obliged to take your advice and to look upon you as his partner4 ,despite these precautions1 you will be a minor1 since the law thus decrees4 ,but our law is not ,reason3 never forget that you are a human being2 that is1 a being endowed like your husband with intellect1 sentiments1 free will1 and inclination2 that you owe submission only to ,reason and your conscience2 that if it is your duty to make sacrifices to the peace in little things1 and to tolerate the faults of your husband as he should tolerate yours1 it is none the less your duty resolutely to resist a brutal--,i will have it so4 ,you will be a mother1 ,i hope2 nurse your children yourself1 rear them in the principles of ,right and ,duty which ,i have instilled into your intellect and heart1 in order to make of them1 not only just1 good1 chaste men and women1 but laborers in the great work of ,progress4 ,you understand the great destiny of our species2 you understand your rights and duties2 ,i need not therefore repeat to you that woman is no more made for man than man for woman2 that consequently woman cannot1 without failing in her duty1 become lost and absorbed in man2 for with him1 she should love her children1 her country1 humanity2 she owes more to her children than she does to him2 and if forced to choose between family interests and generous sentiments of a higher order woman should no more hesitate than should man to sacrifice the former to justice4 ,,author4 ,it will be said that you instruct your daughter in a very manly way4 ,,reader4 ,since in our days men play the mandolin1 is it not necessary that women should speak seriously8 ,since men1 in the name of their nave selfishness1 claim the right to confiscate woman to their use1 to extol to her the charms of the gyneceum1 to suppress her rights1 and to preach to her the sweets of absorption1 must not women re-act against these soporific doctrines1 and recall their daughters to the sentiment of dignity and individuality4 ,,author4 ,i endorse you with all my heart6 ,now that we are nearly agreed on all points1 we have only to sum up what we have said1 and to give an outline of the principal reforms necessary to be wrought in order that woman my be placed in a position more in conformity with ,right and ,justice4 ,,summary ,,of ,,proposed ,,reforms4 ,i4 ,,author4 ,identity of right being based on identity of species1 and woman being of the same species as man1 what ought she to be before civil dignity1 in the employment of her activity and in marriage8 ,,reader4 ,the equal of man4 ,,author4 ,how will she become the equal of man in civil dignity8 ,,reader4 ,when she shall hold a place on the jury and by the side of all civil functionaries2 shall be a member of boards of trade and mercantile associations2 and shall be a witness in all cases in which the testimony of man is required4 ,,author4 ,why ought the testimony of woman to be admitted in all cases in which that of man is required8 ,,reader4 ,because woman is as credible as man2 because she is1 like him1 a civil personage4 ,,author4 ,why ought woman to have a place on the jury8 ,,reader4 ,because the ,code declaring her the equal of man as regards culpability1 misdemeanor1 crime and punishment1 she is thus declared capable like him of comprehending wrong in others2 ,because the jury being a guarantee for the male culprit1 the female culprit should have a similar guarantee2 ,because if the male criminal is better comprehended by men1 the female criminal will be better comprehended by women2 ,because society in its aggregate being offended by the crime1 it is necessary that this society1 composed of two sexes1 should be represented by both to judge and to condemn it4 ,because1 lastly1 where the moral sense is concerned1 the feminine element is the more necessary inasmuch as men claim that our sex is in general more moral and more merciful than their own4 ,,author4 ,why ought woman to hold a place among civil functionaries8 ,,reader4 ,because society1 represented by these functionaries1 is composed of two sexes2 ,because even now in a number of public functions1 there is a department more especially belonging to woman2 ,because1 in the ceremony of the marriage celebration for instance1 if woman does not appear as magistrate1 not only is society insufficiently represented1 but the wife may regard herself as delivered up to the power of a man by all the men of the country4 ,,author4 ,why ought woman to have her place in boards of trade and mercantile associations8 ,,reader4 ,because she shares equally in industrial production2 ,because she shares equally in commerce2 ,because she understands business transactions and contracts as well if not better than man2 ,because1 in all questions of interests1 she should be her own representative4 ,,author4 ,when will woman become the equal of man in the employment of her activity and of her other faculties8 ,,reader4 ,when she shall have colleges1 academies and schools for special instruction1 and when all vocations shall be accessible to her4 ,,author4 ,why ought women to receive the same national education as men8 ,,reader4 ,because they exercise a vast influence over the ideas1 sentiments and conduct of men1 and because it is for the interest of society that this influence should be salutary2 ,because it is for the interest of all to enlarge the views and elevate the sentiments of women1 in order that they may use their natural ascendency for the advancement of progress1 of truth1 of good1 of moral beauty2 ,because woman has a right1 like man1 to cultivate her intellect1 and to acquire the knowledge bestowed by the state2 ,because1 lastly1 as she pays her part of the expenses of national education1 it is robbery to prohibit her from participating in it4 ,,author4 ,why ought woman to be admitted to academies and professional schools8 ,,reader4 ,because ,society1 not having a right to deny the existence of any aptitude among its members1 has consequently no right to prevent those who claim to possess them from cultivating them1 nor to lock up from them the treasures of science and practice which are at its disposal4 ,because there are women who are born chemists1 physicians1 mathematicians1 etc41 and because these women have a right to find in social institutions the same resources as man for the cultivation of their aptitudes2 ,because there are professions practised by women who need the instruction that is interdicted them4 ,,author4 ,why ought every field of occupation to be accessible to woman8 ,,reader4 ,because woman is a free being1 whose vocation no one has a right to contest or to restrict2 ,because she1 no more than man1 will enter vocations forbidden her by temperament1 lack of aptitude or want of time2 and it is therefore quite as unnecessary to interdict them to her as to those men who are unfit to enter them4 ,,author4 ,do you not even interdict to her those vocations in which strength is needed1 or which are attended with danger8 ,,reader4 ,women are not forbidden to be carpenters or tilers1 yet they do not become such1 because their nature opposes it2 it is precisely because nature does oppose it1 that ,i think society unreasonable in meddling with the nature4 ,there is no need to prohibit what is impossible2 and if what has been declared impossible is done1 it is because it is possible3 now society has no right to prohibit what is possible to any of its members2 this appears even absurd where vocation is in question4 ,,author4 ,let each one follow his private occupation at his own risk and peril1 then2 but are there not certain public functions which are not suitable for women8 ,,reader4 ,no one knows this1 since they are not open for her admission2 and1 were it so1 the prohibition would be useless3 competition would show the falsity of ill-founded pretentions4 ,,author4 ,when will woman become the equal of man in marriage8 ,,reader4 ,when the person of the wife is not pledged in marriage2 when the engagements are reciprocal1 and when the wife is not treated as a minor and absorbed in the husband4 ,and this should be so3 ,because it is not allowable to alienate one's personality1 such an alienation1 being immoral and void of itself2 ,because the wife being a distinct individual1 cannot be actually absorbed by the husband1 and a law is absurd when it rests on a fiction and supposes an impossibility2 ,because1 in fine1 woman1 being the equal of man before ,society1 cannot1 under any pretext1 lose this equality by reason of a closer association with him4 ,,author4 ,there are two questions in marriage1 aside from that of the person--property and children4 ,do you not think that the married woman ought1 like the unmarried woman who has attained majority1 to be mistress of her property1 to be free to exercise any profession that suits her1 and to be at liberty to sell1 to buy1 to give1 to receive1 and to institute suits at law8 ,,reader4 ,the married man having all these rights1 it is evident that the married woman ought to have them under the law of equality4 ,are you not of the same opinion8 ,,author4 ,in all partnerships1 we pledge a portion of our liberty on certain points agreed upon4 ,now the husband and wife are partners2 they cannot therefore be as perfectly free with respect to each other as though they were strangers2 but it is necessary1 we repeat1 that their position should be the same and their pledges mutual4 ,if the wife can neither sell1 nor alienate1 nor give1 nor receive1 nor appear in court without the consent of the husband1 it is not allowable for the husband to do these things without the consent of the wife2 if the wife is not permitted to practise a profession without the consent of the husband1 the husband is not at liberty to do so without the consent of the wife2 if the wife cannot pledge the common property without authority from the husband1 the husband cannot pledge it without the consent of the wife4 ,i go further2 ,i would not willingly permit the wife1 before the age of twenty-five1 to give her husband authority to alienate anything belonging to one of the two2 the husband has too much influence over her for her to be really free before this age4 ,,reader4 ,but what if one of the parties through caprice or evil motives is unwilling that the other should do something that is proper and advantageous8 ,,author4 ,arbiters are frequently chosen in the differences that arise between partners in business2 society1 represented by the judicial power1 is the general arbiter between the husband and wife2 still we think that it would be well to establish between them a perpetual arbiter1 holding the first degree of jurisdiction3 this might be the family council1 organized differently from the present4 ,before this confidential tribunal1 better fitted than any other to understand the case1 the husband and wife should carry1 not only the differences arising between them concerning questions of interests1 but those relating to the education1 profession and marriage of the children4 ,this tribunal should give the first judgment1 and much scandal would be avoided by its decisions1 from which besides one could always appeal to the social court4 ,i need not add that the right of the father and the mother over the children is absolutely equal1 and that1 if the right of either could be contested1 it would not be that of the mother1 who alone can say1 ,i know1 ,i am certain that these children are mine4 ,,reader4 ,in fact1 it is odious that the plenitude of right should be found on the side of the mere legal presumption1 the act of faith1 uncertainty4 ,regarding marriage as a partnership of equals1 do you not think that it would be well to mark this equality and the distinction of personalities in the name borne by the spouses and their children8 ,,author4 ,certainly1 on the day of marriage each of the spouses should join his partner's name to his own2 this is done already in certain cantons of ,switzerland1 and even in ,france1 among a few individuals4 ,the children should bear the double name of their parents until marriage1 when the daughters should keep the mother's name1 and the sons the father's2 or else1 if we wish to bring into the question the system of liberty1 it might be decreed that1 on attaining majority1 the child himself should choose which of the two names he would bear and transmit4 ,,ii4 ,,reader4 ,now1 let us take up the political right4 ,,author4 ,a nation is an association of free and equal individuals1 co-operating1 by their labor and contributions1 to the maintenance of the common work2 they have an incontestible right to do whatever is necessary to protect their persons1 their rights and their property from injury4 ,man has political rights because he is free and the equal of his co-partners2 according to others1 because he is a producer and a tax-payer2 now1 woman being1 through identity of species1 free and the equal of man2 being in point of fact1 a producer and a tax-payer2 and having the same general instincts as man1 it is evident that she has the same political rights as he4 ,such are the principles1 let us proceed to the application4 ,we have said elsewhere1 that it is not enough that a thing should be true in an absolute sense2 it is necessary under penalty of transforming good into evil1 to take into account the surroundings into which we seek to introduce it2 this men too often forget1 the practical truth in our question is that it is profitable to recognize political rights only to the extent to which it is demanded1 because those who do not demand it are intellectually incapable of making use of it1 and because if they should exercise it1 in a majority of cases1 it would be against their own interests2 ,prudence exacts that we should be sure that the possessor of a right is really emancipated1 and that he will not be the blind tool of a man or a party4 ,now1 in the existing state of affairs1 women not only do not demand their political rights1 but laugh at those who address them on the subject2 they pride themselves on being thought unfit for that which regards general interests2 they recognize themselves therefore as incapable4 ,on the other hand1 they are minors civilly1 slaves of prejudice1 deprived of general education1 submissive for the most part to the influence of their husbands1 lovers or confessors1 clinging as a majority to the ways of the past4 ,if therefore they should enter without preparation into political life1 they would either duplicate men or cause humanity to retrograde4 ,you comprehend now why many women who are more capable than an infinite number of men of coperating in great political acts1 choose rather to renounce them than to compromise the cause of progress by the extension of political right to all women4 ,,reader4 ,personally1 ,i am of your opinion2 but it is necessary to foresee and to refute the objections that may be made to you by very intelligent women2 these women will say1 ,reflect1 the negation of right is iniquitous1 for it is the negation of equality and of human nature4 ,it is as false as dangerous to lay down the principle of the recognition of right only to the extent in which it is claimed2 for it is notorious that slaves are not the ones in general to demand their own rights2 your affirmation therefore condemns the emancipation of slaves and serfs1 and universal suffrage4 ,the objection that you raise against the right on account of the incapacity of women and the low use which they would make of it1 might apply quite as well to men who are scarcely more fully emancipated than they2 who are often the duplicate of their wife or confessor1 or who have no other opinion than that of their electoral committee4 ,in right1 as in everything else1 an apprenticeship is necessary3 woman will make use of it at first badly1 then better1 then well2 for we learn to play on an instrument much more quickly by using it than by learning its theory4 ,the exercise of right gives elevation and dignity1 elevates the individual in his own esteem1 and causes him to study questions which he would have neglected had he not been obliged to examine them in order to concur in and resolve them4 ,do you wish women to take to heart matters of general interest8 ,then give them political right4 ,these objections1 may be raised against you4 ,,author4 ,they were raised against me in #ahdh by a number of eminent women1 and by many men devoted to the triumph of the new principles4 ,i answered them then and ,i answer them again to-day3 ,we should speedily agree1 if our modern society were not the scene of conflict between two diametrically opposite principles4 ,the question is not to decide whether political right belongs to woman1 whether she would develop it1 enlarge it1 etc41 but rather whether she would use it to ensure the triumph of the principle that says to humanity1 ,advance6 or of that which gives as the word of command1 ,retreat6 ,what is the end of political right8 ,evidently1 to accomplish a great duty in the direction of progress4 ,well1 is it not dangerous to accord it to those who would employ it against this end8 ,what6 you struggle for right1 in order to obtain the triumph of a holy cause1 yet feel no hesitation in according it to those who would certainly make use of right to kill right6 ,you reproach me for acting like the ,jesuits1 who value justice much less than expediency4 ,well1 gentlemen1 if you had had half their ability1 you would have been successful long ago4 ,like true savages1 you would think yourselves dishonored by possessing prudence and practical sense1 by offering yourselves to battle otherwise than with naked bodies2 this may be very fine1 very courageous--but as to being sensible1 that is another thing4 ,i am not guilty of the crime of denying right1 since ,i do not deny it2 ,i only desire that it shall not be demanded since this would be suicidal1 ,i do not lay down the principle that every kind of right should be recognized only to the extent in which it is claimed1 since ,i speak to you of political rights alone2 there are rights which make their own demand1 such as those of living1 of development1 of enjoyment1 of the fruit of one's labor1 and it is shameful for society not to recognize them to their full extent4 ,but we awaken later to the sentiment of civil right1 and still later to that of political right2 take the logical advance of humanity into account therefore and do not remain in the absolute4 ,i know that my objection on the score of the incapacity of women is quite as applicable to that of men2 but is it a reason1 because you have admitted the right of the ignorant masses of men who had not demanded it1 to show yourselves equally unwise with respect to women who are in the same position8 ,i will correct myself1 gentlemen1 of what you term my aristocratic spirit1 when ,i see your political freedmen comprehending the tendencies of civilization1 and making use of their right to drive the abettors of the past to despair by promoting the triumph of liberty and equality4 ,until then1 permit me to keep my opinion4 ,and ,i have kept my opinion1 which is this3 the exercise of political right is a means of reform and progress1 only if those who enjoy it believe in progress and are anxious for reforms3 in the opposite case1 the popular vote can be nothing but the expression of prejudices1 errors and passions--instead of learning to exercise it through the use of it1 as it is urged1 they employ it simply to cut their own fingers4 ,,reader4 ,may it not be objected that1 in accordance with your theory of right1 all being equal1 no one can arrogate to himself the function of distributing rights8 ,,author4 ,theory is the ideal towards which practice should tend2 if we had not this ideal1 we could not know by what principle to guide ourselves2 but in social reality1 there are individuals who have attained majority1 and others who1 being minors1 are destined to attain it4 ,if ,i should assert that those who have attained majority can rightfully accord or refuse right to the minors1 ,i should depart essentially from my principles2 it is by the law1 which is the expression of the conscience of those most advanced1 while waiting till it shall be the conscience of all1 that political majority is decreed and that its conditions are established4 ,the right is virtual in each of us2 no one therefore has the right to give it1 to take it away1 or to contest it2 it is recognized when we are in a condition to exercise and to demand it2 and we prove that we are in a condition to exercise it when we satisfy the conditions fixed by the law4 ,,reader4 ,what should be these conditions for the enjoyment of political right1 in your opinion8 ,,author4 ,twenty-five years of age2 and a certificate attesting that the individual knows how to read1 write and reckon1 that he possesses an elementary knowledge of the history and geography of his country2 together with a correct theory with respect to ,right and ,duty1 and the destiny of humanity upon earth4 ,the knowledge of a small volume would be sufficient1 as you see1 to enable every man and woman1 twenty-five years of age and healthy in mind1 to enjoy political rights1 after having been subjected to an initiation by the enjoyment of civil rights4 ,but1 ,i ask you1 what could those do with political right who confound liberty with license1 who scarcely know the meaning of the words ,right and ,duty1 and who are even incapable of writing their own vote6 ,men have their rights1 let them keep them6 a right once admitted cannot be taken away3 let them render themselves fit to exercise them4 ,as to women1 let them first emancipate themselves civilly and become educated3 their turn will come4 ,,reader4 ,it is very important that men should comprehend that you do not deny1 but merely postpone the political rights of our sex4 ,,author4 ,be easy2 they will comprehend it rightly2 they will not mistake counsel dictated by prudence for an acknowledgement of inferiority and a resignation of functions4 ,,iii4 ,,reader4 ,will you now state the legal reforms which we should demand successively4 ,,author4 ,so far as civil life is concerned1 we should ask3 ,that a woman who is a foreigner may be able to become naturalized in a country otherwise than by marriage4 ,that woman shall not lose her nationality by the same sacrament4 ,that woman be admitted to sign1 as a witness1 all certificates of social condition1 with all others that have been hitherto interdicted to her4 ,you know that already1 in derogation of the law1 midwives sign certificates of birth of unacknowledged natural children1 and that1 in certain notarial documents1 drawn up by justices of the peace1 to attest to a fact in the absence of written evidence1 the testimony of women is admitted4 ,we demand that tradeswomen and merchant women shall form a part of the boards of trade2 that in every criminal trial1 women shall be placed on the jury3 that to women shall be entrusted the management and superintendence of hospitals1 prisons for women1 and charitable associations4 ,that in every district1 a woman shall be appointed to superintend girls' schools1 infant asylums1 and nurses4 ,you know that women are already filling public employments in derogation of the law1 since the teaching and inspection of girls' schools1 and other asylums1 are entrusted to them1 and since women keep post-offices1 stamp offices1 etc4 ,,reader4 ,this regards civil ,right in general2 what reforms shall we demand concerning married women8 ,,author4 ,that the conjugal abode shall be that which is inhabited by the husband and wife together1 no longer by the man alone4 ,that the articles shall be suppressed which command the wife to obey her husband1 and to follow him wherever he sees fit to reside4 ,that the prohibition to sell1 mortgage1 receive1 give1 appear in law1 etc41 without the consent of the husband or court1 shall be extended to the husband as far as to the wife4 ,that marriage under the system of separation of goods shall become the public law4 ,,reader4 ,what reforms do you demand with respect to the family council and guardianship8 ,,author4 ,we demand that the family council shall be composed of twenty persons2 ten men and ten women1 parents1 relatives and friends1 chosen by the spouses4 ,that the powers of this council1 presided over by the justice of the peace1 shall be so determined that it shall give the first judgment in differences arising between the spouses as to children1 property1 guardianship1 etc4 ,we demand that every woman may be qualified to be appointed guardian or to watch over the conduct of the guardian towards the ward4 ,that the guardianship of the spouse interdicted shall be always confessed by the family council4 ,that the wife like the husband1 may name a definitive guardian and a council of guardianship for her surviving spouse4 ,that the spouses may name during their lifetime1 the father1 a male inspecting guardian from his family1 the mother1 a female inspecting guardian from hers1 that in case of pre-decease1 the children may be always under the influence of both sexes4 ,that this superior guardianship1 in the absence of any expressed desire1 belongs of right to a member of the family of the defunct1 who must be of the same sex4 ,that in case of a second marriage1 if the child is maltreated or unhappy1 the inspecting guardian1 whether male or female1 can have it adjudged to him by the family council1 without excluding the appeal of the guardian to the courts4 ,that in case of the death of the father or mother1 the guardianship belongs of right to the nearest ancestor1 and the inspecting guardianship to the nearest ancestor of the other line4 ,if there be competition between the two lines1 the family councils shall choose the guardian from one family and the inspecting guardian from the other1 and of opposite sex4 ,that the duties of guardianship and inspecting guardianship shall comprehend1 not only the material1 but also the moral and intellectual interests of the wards4 ,that the father who is guardian1 shall lose the right of guardianship over the children if he re-marries without first having had it continued to him by the family council4 ,that lastly1 the ,state shall so organize a board of guardianship for abandoned children that the boys shall be under the superintendence of the men and the girls under that of the women2 this board will form a great family council4 ,,reader4 ,i like your system better than that of the law1 not only because woman is the equal of man therein1 but because wards will be better protected by it2 ,i have known men to cause their wives1 over-excited by their ill treatment1 to be placed under interdict1 in order to remain masters of their property2 on the other hand1 you know how many children are wronged or made unhappy by the second marriage of their father4 ,a step-mother has full power to inflict suffering on the little unfortunates4 ,but you have said nothing of the authority of parents over their children4 ,,author4 ,the authority of the parents over the children is the same2 the expression1 paternal authority1 is incomplete2 the true phrase would be parental authority4 ,on this head1 we demand that if there be dissension between the father and mother with regard to the children1 the family council shall decide in the first instance4 ,that neither the father nor the mother shall have power to shut up the child unless both are agreed4 ,that the father or the mother acting as guardian shall not have power to have recourse to this measure except with the concurrence of the inspecting guardian1 or1 in case of difference1 with the approbation of the family council1 always reserving the right of appeal to the court4 ,that the marriageable age shall be fixed at twenty-five for both sexes4 ,,reader4 ,shall we demand the suppression of separation from bed and board8 ,,author4 ,no2 but we must demand that divorce shall be established4 ,that divorce may be obtained for the adultery of one of the parties1 cruelty1 grave abuses1 condemnation to punishment affecting the liberty or person1 notorious vices1 incompatibility of temper1 mutual consent4 ,that1 during the suit for separation or for divorce1 the guardianship of the children shall be given to the most deserving parent2 and that1 if both are alike unworthy1 a guardian and inspecting guardian of different sexes shall be appointed4 ,that1 if both are deserving1 they shall settle it amicably between themselves before the family council4 ,that parties married under the dotal system or under that of the separation of goods1 shall have control of their own property4 ,that if the petition for divorce be on account of the bad management of the common property1 the administration shall be taken away from the husband and entrusted to the wife4 ,that if the petition be on account of the condemnation of one of the parties to punishment affecting the liberty or person1 the other shall remain administrator4 ,that1 in all other cases1 an inventory shall be made and the spouse best fitted to the task be appointed guardian under the surveillance of one or two members of the family of the other spouse1 with the obligation of furnishing estovers to the other4 ,that the decree granting the divorce or separation shall bear the number1 name and age of the children born of the marriage1 together with the annual sum that each party is bound to furnish for their maintenance and education4 ,that this decree shall state to whose custody the children are entrusted1 whether by natural consent or by familial or judicial authority4 ,that it shall be placarded publicly in the courts1 and inserted in the leading journals of the vicinity4 ,that this instrument shall accompany the publication of the bans of a subsequent marriage1 under pain of heavy penalties4 ,,reader4 ,these measures are severe2 if it would be easy to become divorced1 it would not be easy to marry afterwards4 ,,author4 ,i do not deny it2 but it is better to prevent divorce by the difficulty of marrying afterwards1 than by placing restrictions upon it2 in the first case1 the difficulty comes from the fetters which the individual has forged for himself2 he makes his own destiny2 in the second1 individual liberty is infringed upon by social authority1 which is an abuse of power4 ,,reader4 ,let us enter upon the legal reforms concerning morals4 ,,author4 ,we demand that every promise of marriage which is not fulfilled shall be punished with a fine and damages4 ,that every man whom an unmarried mother can prove by witnesses or letters1 to be the father of her child1 shall be subject to the burdens of paternity4 ,that the investigation of paternity shall be authorized like that of maternity4 ,that the seduction of an unmarried woman under twenty-five shall be severely punished4 ,that no unmarried woman can be registered among the public women before twenty-five years old1 and that she shall be put into the house of correction if she abandons herself to prostitution before this age4 ,that every abandoned woman who receives a man under twenty-five years of age shall be punished with fine and imprisonment1 and that the penalty shall be terrible if she is diseased4 ,,reader4 ,it will be said that paternity cannot be proved4 ,,author4 ,i do not deny that it may be possible that the father attributed to the natural child will not be the true one2 but it will be necessary to establish by proofs that he has rendered himself liable to be reputed such3 it is the probability of paternity in marriage extended to paternity out of marriage4 ,so much the worse for men who suffer themselves to be caught6 it is shameful to attach impunity to the most disorderly and subversive of selfish desires2 women must no longer bear alone the burden of natural children1 and no longer be tempted to abandon them4 ,,reader4 ,but what if it be proved that a married man has rendered himself liable to become a father outside his household4 ,,author4 ,this should be first a case of divorce2 next1 of punishment for him and his accomplice4 ,as to the child1 the man should bear the charge of it in concert with the mother4 ,,reader4 ,these are indeed ,draconian laws6 ,,author4 ,do you not see that corruption is shutting us in1 body and soul2 and that if we do not create a vigorous reaction against it by the severity of the laws1 the reform of education1 and the awakening of the ideal1 our society will be1 ere long1 only an immense brothel8 ,,reader4 ,alas6 it is but too true4 ,,author4 ,let us demand then1 not only a rational reform of the national education1 but also that the number of lyceums shall be doubled for girls4 ,that all the institutions of higher instruction dependent on the state shall be open to them as to boys4 ,that they shall be admitted to receive the same university degrees1 and the same diplomas of capacity as men4 ,that every field of occupation shall be opened to them as to men2 ,so that1 elevated in public opinion by equality1 their activity shall no longer be nominally compensated2 that they may live by their labor1 and that want1 discouragement and suicide may no longer terminate their life when they do not make choice of the sad part of elements of demoralization4 ,i4 ,,appeal ,,to ,,women4 ,progressive women1 to you1 ,i address my last words1 ,listen in the name of the general good1 in the name of your sons and your daughters4 ,you say3 the manners of our time are corrupt2 the laws concerning our sex need reform4 ,it is true2 but do you think that to verify the evil suffices to cure it8 ,you say3 so long as woman shall be a minor in the city1 the state and marriage1 she will be so in social labor2 she will be forced to be supported by man2 that is to debase him while humbling herself4 ,it is true2 but do you believe that to verify these things suffices to remedy our abasement8 ,you say3 the education that both sexes receive is deplorable in view of the destiny of humanity4 ,it is true2 but do you believe that to affirm this suffices to improve1 to transform the method of education8 ,will words1 complaints and protestations have power to change any of these things8 ,it is not to lament over them that is needed2 it is to act4 ,it is not merely to demand justice and reform that is needed2 it is to labor ourselves for reform2 it is to prove by our works that we are worthy to obtain justice2 it is to take possession resolutely of the contested place2 it is1 in a word1 to have intellect1 courage and activity4 ,upon whom then will you have a right to count1 if you abandon yourselves8 ,upon men8 ,your carelessness and silence have in part discouraged those who maintained your right2 it is much if they defend you against those who1 to oppress you1 call to their aid every species of ignorance1 every species of despotism1 every selfish passion1 all the paradoxes which they despise when their own sex is in question4 ,you are insulted1 you are outraged1 you are denied or you are blamed in order that you may be reduced to subjection1 and it is much if your indignation is roused thereby6 ,when will you be ashamed of the part to which you are condemned8 ,when will you respond to the appeal that generous and intelligent men have made to you8 ,when will you cease to be masculine photographs1 and resolve to complete the revolution of humanity by finally making the word of woman heard in ,religion1 in ,justice1 in ,politics and in ,science8 ,what are we to do1 you say8 ,what are you to do1 ladies8 ,well6 what is done by women believing4 ,look at those who have given their soul to a dogma2 they form organizations1 teach1 write1 act on their surroundings and on the rising generation in order to secure the triumph of the faith that has the support of their conscience4 ,why do not you do as much as they8 ,your rivals write books stamped with supernaturalism and individualistic morality1 why do you not write those that bear the stamp of rationalism1 of solidary morality and of a holy faith in ,progress8 ,your rivals found educational institutions and train up professors in order to gain over the new generation to their dogmas and their practices1 why do not you do as much for the benefit of the new ideas8 ,your rivals organize industrial associations1 why do not you imitate them8 ,would not what is lawful to them be so to you4 ,could a government which professes to revive the principles of '#hi1 and which is the offspring of ,revolutionary right1 entertain the thought of fettering the direct heirs of the principles laid down by '#hi1 while leaving those free to act who are more or less their enemies8 ,can any one of you admit such a possibility8 ,what are we to do8 ,you are to establish a journal to maintain your claims4 ,you are to appoint an encyclopedic committee to draw up a series of treatises on the principal branches of human knowledge for the enlightenment of women and the people4 ,you are to found a ,polytechnic ,institute for women4 ,you are to aid your sisters of the laboring classes to organize themselves in trades associations on economical principles more equitable than those of the present time4 ,you are to facilitate the return to virtue of the lost women who ask you for aid and counsel4 ,you are to labor with all your might for the reform of educational methods4 ,yet1 in the face of a task so complicated1 you ask3 what are we to do8 ,ah1 ye women who have attained majority1 arise1 if ye have heart and courage6 ,arise1 and let those among you who are the most intelligent1 the most instructed1 and who have the most time and liberty constitute an ,apostleship of women4 ,around this ,apostleship1 let all the women of ,progress be ranged1 that each one may serve the common cause according to her means4 ,and remember1 remember above all things1 that ,union is strength4 ,,the ,,end4 ,,new ,,books ,and ,new ,editions ,recently ,issued by ,,carleton1 ,,publisher1 ,,new ,,york4 #dah ,,broadway1 ,,corner ,,of ,,lispenard ,,street4 ,n4,b4--,,the ,,publisher1 upon receipt of the price in advance1 will send any of the following ,books1 by mail1 ,,postage ,,free1 to any part of the ,united ,states4 ,this convenient and very safe mode may be adopted when the neighboring ,booksellers are not supplied with the desired work4 ,state name and address in full4 ,victor ,hugo4 ,,les ,,miserables4--,the only unabridged ,english translation of the grandest and best ,novel ever written4 ,one large octavo vol41 paper covers1 #a4jj1 or cloth #a4ej ,,les ,,miserables4--,a superior edition of the same ,novel1 in five octavo vols4--,fantine1 ,cosette1 ,marius1 ,st4 ,denis1 and ,valjean4 ,cloth1 each vol41 #a4jj ,,the ,,life ,,of ,,victor ,,hugo4--7,understood to be an ,autobiography47 ,as charming and interesting as a ,novel4 octavo1 cloth #a4ej ,by the ,author of ,rutledge4 ,,rutledge4--,a deeply interesting novel4 #abmo4 cloth1 #a4ej ,,the ,,sutherlands4-- #a4ej ,,frank ,,warrington4-- #a4ej ,,louie',s ,,last ,,term ,,at ,,st4 ,,mary',s4-- #a4ej ,a ,,new ,,novel4--,in press4 ,hand-,books of ,good ,society4 ,,the ,,habits ,,of ,,good ,,society2 with ,thoughts1 ,hints1 and ,anecdotes1 concerning nice points of taste1 good manners1 and the art of making oneself agreeable4 ,reprinted from the ,london ,edition4 ,the best and most entertaining work of the kind ever published4 #abmo4 cloth1 #a4ej ,,the ,,art ,,of ,,conversation4--,with directions for self-culture4 ,a sensible and instructive work1 that ought to be in the hands of every one who wishes to be either an agreeable talker or listener4 #abmo4 cloth1 #a4be ,mrs4 ,mary ,j4 ,holmes' ,works4 ,,darkness ,,and ,,daylight4--,just published4 #abmo4 cl4 #a4ej ',,lena ,,rivers4-- ,a ,novel4 #a4ej ,,tempest ,,and ,,sunshine4-- #a4ej ,,marian ,,grey4-- #a4ej ,,meadow ,,brook4-- #a4ej ,,english ,,orphans4-- #a4ej ,,dora ,,deane4-- #a4ej ,,cousin ,,maude4-- #a4ej ,,homestead ,,on ,,the ,,hillside4-- #a4ej ,artemus ,ward4 ,,his ,,book4--,an irresistibly funny volume of writings by the immortal ,american humorist and showman2 with plenty of comic illustrations4 #abmo4 cloth1 #a4be ,miss ,muloch4 ,,john ,,halifax1 ,gentleman4 ,a novel4 #abmo4 cloth1 #a4ej ,a ,,life ,,for ,a ,,life4-- #a4ej ,charlotte ,bronte 7,currer ,bell74 ,,jane ,,eyre4--,a novel4 #abmo4 cloth1 #a4ej ,,shirley4-- #a4ej ,,villette4-- #a4ej ,edmund ,kirke4 ,,among ,,the ,,pines4--,a thrilling work4 #abmo4 cloth1 ,,my ,,southern ,,friends4-- ,,down ,,in ,,tennessee4--,just published4 ,cuthbert ,bede4 ,,verdant ,,green4--,a rollicking1 humorous novel of student life in an ,english ,university2 with more than #bjj comic illustrations4 #abmo4 cloth1 #a4ej ,richard ,b4 ,kimball4 ,,was ,,he ,,successful8-- ,a novel4 #abmo4 cloth1 #a4ej ,,undercurrents4-- #a4ej ,,saint ,,leger4-- #a4ej ,,romance ,,of ,,student ,,life4-- #a4ej ,,in ,,the ,,tropics4--,edited by ,r4 ,b4 ,kimball4 #a4ej ,epes ,sargent4 ,,peculiar4--,one of the most remarkable and successful novels published in this country4 #abmo4 cloth1 #a4ej ,miss ,augusta ,j4 ,evans4 ,,beulah4--,a novel of great power4 #abmo4 cloth1 #a4ej ,a4 ,s4 ,roe's ,works4 ,a ,,long ,,look ,,ahead4-- ,a novel4 #abmo4 cloth1 #a4ej ,,to ,,love ,,and ,,to ,,be ,,loved4-- #a4ej ,,time ,,and ,,tide4-- #a4ej ,i',,ve ,,been ,,thinking4-- #a4ej ,,the ,,star ,,and ,,the ,,cloud4-- #a4ej ,,true ,,to ,,the ,,last4-- #a4ej ,,how ,,could ,,he ,,help ,,it4-- #a4ej ,,like ,,and ,,unlike4-- #a4ej ,a ,,new ,,novel4--,in ,press4 #a4ej ,walter ,barrett1 ,clerk4 ,,old ,,merchants ,,of ,,new ,,york4--,being personal incidents1 interesting sketches1 bits of biography1 and gossipy events in the life of nearly every leading merchant in ,new ,york ,city4 ,two series4 #abmo4 cloth1 each1 #a4ej ,t4 ,s4 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#abmo4 cloth1 #a4ej ,,religious ,,history ,,and ,,criticism4-- #hvo4 cloth1 #b4ej ,charles ,reade4 ,,the ,,cloister ,,and ,,the ,,hearth4--,a magnificent new novel1 by the author of ,hard ,cash1 etc4 #hvo4 cloth1 #a4ej ,the ,opera4 ,,tales ,,from ,,the ,,operas4--,a collection of clever stories1 based upon the plots of all the famous operas4 #abmo4 cl41 #a4be ,j4 ,c4 ,jeaffreson4 ,a ,,book ,,about ,,doctors4--,an exceedingly humorous and entertaining volume of sketches1 stories1 and facts1 about famous physicians and surgeons4 #abmo4 cloth1 #a4ej ,fred4 ,s4 ,cozzens4 ,,the ,,sparrowgrass ,,papers4--,a capital humorous work1 with illustrations by ,darley4 #abmo4 cloth1 #a4be ,f4 ,d4 ,guerrazzi ,,beatrice ,,cenci4--,a great historical novel4 ,translated from the ,italian2 with a portrait of the ,cenci1 from ,guido's famous picture in ,rome4 #abmo4 cloth1 #a4ej ,private ,miles ,o',reilly4 ,,his ,,book4--,rich with his songs1 services1 and speeches1 and comically illustrated4 #abmo4 cloth1 #a4be ,the ,new ,york ,central ,park4 ,a ,,superb ,,gift ,,book4--,the ,central ,park pleasantly described1 and magnificently embellished with more than #ej exquisite photographs of the principal views and objects of interest4 ,a large quarto volume1 sumptuously bound in ,turkey morocco1 #be4jj ,joseph ,rodman ,drake4 ,,the ,,culprit ,,fay4--,the most charming faery poem in the ,english language4 ,beautifully printed4 #abmo4 cloth1 #j4ge ,mother ,goose for ,grown ,folks4 ,,humorous ,,rhymes for grown people2 based upon the famous ,mother ,goose ,melodies4 #abmo4 cloth1 #a4jj ,stephen ,massett4 ,,drifting ,,about4--,a comic illustrated book of the life and travels of ,jeems ,pipes4 #abmo4 cloth1 #a4be ,a ,new ,sporting ,work4 ,,the ,,game ,,fish ,,of ,,the ,,north4--,one of the best books on fish and fishing ever published4 ,entertaining as well as instructive1 and full of illustrations4 #abmo4 cloth1 #a4ej ,balzac's ,novels4 ,,cesar ,,birotteau4--,from the ,french4 #abmo4 cloth1 #a4be ,,the ,,alchemist4-- #a4be ,,eugenie ,,grandet4-- #a4be ,,petty ,,annoyances ,,of ,,married ,,life4-- #a4be ,thomas ,bailey ,aldrich4 ,,babie ,,bell1 ,,and ,,other ,,poems4--,blue and gold binding1 #a4jj ,,out ,,of ,,his ,,head4--,a new romance4 #abmo4 cloth1 #a4jj ,richard ,h4 ,stoddard4 ,,the ,,king',s ,,bell4--,a new poem4 #abmo4 cloth1 #j4ge ,,the ,,morgesons4--,a novel4 ,by ,mrs4 ,r4 ,h4 ,stoddard4 #a4jj ,edmund ,c4 ,stedman4 ,,alice ,,of ,,monmouth4--,a new poem4 #abmo4 cloth1 #a4jj ,,lyrics ,,and ,,idyls4-- #j4ge ,m4 ,t4 ,walworth4 ,,lulu4--,a new novel4 #abmo4 cloth1 #a4ej ,,hotspur4-- in press4 ,author of ,olie4 ,,nepenthe4--,a new novel4 #abmo4 cloth1 #a4ej ,,together4-- in press4 ,quest4 ,a ,,new ,,romance4--,in press4 #abmo4 cloth1 ,victoire4 ,a ,,new ,,novel4--,in ,press4 #abmo4 cloth1 #a4ej ,red-,tape4 ,,and ,,pigeon-,,hole ,,generals1 as seen by a citizen-soldier in the ,army of the ,potomac4 #abmo4 cloth1 #a4be ,author ,green ,mountain ,boys4 ,,centeola4--,a new work1 in press4 #abmo4 cloth1 #a4ej ,c4 ,french ,richards4 ,,john ,,guilderstring',s ,,sin4--,a novel4 #abmo4 cloth1 ,j4 ,r4 ,beckwith4 ,,the ,,winthrops4--,a novel1 in press4 #abmo4 cloth1 #a4ej ,jas4 ,h4 ,hackett4 ,,notes ,,and ,,comments ,,on ,,shakspeare4-- #abmo4 cloth1 #a4ej ,miscellaneous ,works4 ,,alexander ,,von ,,humboldt4--,life and travels4 #abmo4 cl41 #a4ej ,,life ,,of ,,hugh ,,miller1 the ,geologist4 #a4ej ,,adam ,,gurowski4--,diary for #ahfc4 #a4be ,,doesticks4--,the ,elephant ,club1 illustrated4 #a4ej ,,husband ,,and ,,wife1 or human development4 #a4be ,,rockford4--,a novel by ,mrs4 ,l4 ,d4 ,umsted4 #a4jj ,,the ,,prisoner ,,of ,,state4--,by ,d4 ,a4 ,mahony4 #a4be ,,the ,,partisan ,,leader4--,by ,beverly ,tucker4 #a4be ,,sprees ,,and ,,splashes4--,by ,henry ,morford4 #a4jj ,,around ,,the ,,pyramids4--,by ,gen4 ,aaron ,ward4 #a4ej ,,china ,,and ,,the ,,chinese4--,by ,w4 ,l4 ,g4 ,smith4 #a4jj ,,wanderings ,,of ,a ,,beauty4--,mrs4 ,edwin ,james4 #a4jj ,,the ,u4 ,s4 ,,tax ,,law4--,government ,edition4 #j4ge ,,treatise ,,on ,,deafness4--,by ,dr4 ,e4 ,b4 ,lighthill4 #a4jj ,,lyrics ,,of ,a ,,day4--or newspaper poetry4 #a4jj ,,garret ,,van ,,horn4--,a novel by ,j4 ,s4 ,sauzade4 #a4be ,,the ,,national ,,school ,,for ,,the ,,soldier4-- #j4ej ,,fort ,,lafayette4--,a novel by ,benjamin ,wood4 #a4jj ,,the ,,yachtman',s ,,primer4--,by ,t4 ,r4 ,warren4 #j4ej ,,gen4 ,,nathaniel ,,lyon4--,life and ,writings4 #a4jj ,,philip ,,thaxter4--,a novel4 #a4jj ,,literary ,,essays4--,by ,george ,brimley4 #a4ej ,,haying ,,time ,,to ,,hopping4--,a novel4 #a4be ,,the ,,vagabond4--,essays by ,adam ,badeau4 #a4jj ,,edgar ,,poe ,,and ,,his ,,critics4--,by ,mrs4 ,whitman4 #j4ge ,,tactics2 or1 ,cupid in ,shoulder-,straps4 #a4jj ,,john ,,doe ,,and ,,richard ,,roe4--,a novel4 #a4be ,,lola ,,montez4--,her life and lectures4 #a4ej ,,debt ,,and ,,grace4--,by ,rev4 ,c4 ,f4 ,hudson4 #a4ej ,,husband vs4 ,,wife4--,a comic illustrated poem4 #j4ej ,,transition4--,edited by ,rev4 ,h4 ,s4 ,carpenter4 #a4jj ,,roumania4--,by ,dr4 ,jas4 ,o4 ,noyes1 illustrated4 #a4ej ,,vernon ,,grove4--,a novel4 #a4be ,,answer ,,to ,,hugh ,,miller4--,by ,t4 ,a4 ,davies4 #a4be ,,cosmogony4--,by ,thomas ,a4 ,davies4 #hvo4 cl41 #a4ej ,,national ,,hymns4--,by ,richard ,grant ,white4 #a4ej ,,twenty ,,years ,around the ,world4--,j4 ,guy ,vassar4 #c4ej ,,spirit ,,of ,,hebrew ,,poetry4--,by ,isaac ,taylor4 #b4ej