Sexual Politics in the Enlightenment
Women Writers Read Rousseau
Published on 28. August 1997
Book
Paperback/Softback
422 pages
978-0-7914-3490-1 (ISBN)
Description
Explores the way seven women writers of the eighteenth century responded to Rousseau, and traces his crucial influence on their literary careers.
Sexual Politics in the Enlightenment constitutes the first book-length feminist study of Rousseau's sexual politics and the reception of his works by women readers. By today's standards, Rousseau's sexual politics appear reactionary, paternalistic, even blatantly misogynist; yet, among his female contemporaries, his works often met with enthusiastic approval and had tremendous impact on their values and behavior. To probe Rousseau's paradoxical appeal to eighteenth-century readers, Mary Trouille examines how seven women authors responded to his writings and sexual politics and traces his influence on their lives and works. The writers include six Frenchwomen (Roland, d'Epinay, Stael, Genlis, Gouges, and an anonymous woman correspondent who called herself Henriette) and the English feminist Mary Wollstonecraft.
The book constitutes an important contribution to French literature, women's studies, and eighteenth-century cultural studies. While a great deal has already been written on the individual women whom Trouille treats, what distinguishes this book is that it places multiple female subjects directly opposite Rousseau, and succeeds in showing that the relationship between mentor and student(s) is both multi-layered and fascinatingly complex.
Sexual Politics in the Enlightenment constitutes the first book-length feminist study of Rousseau's sexual politics and the reception of his works by women readers. By today's standards, Rousseau's sexual politics appear reactionary, paternalistic, even blatantly misogynist; yet, among his female contemporaries, his works often met with enthusiastic approval and had tremendous impact on their values and behavior. To probe Rousseau's paradoxical appeal to eighteenth-century readers, Mary Trouille examines how seven women authors responded to his writings and sexual politics and traces his influence on their lives and works. The writers include six Frenchwomen (Roland, d'Epinay, Stael, Genlis, Gouges, and an anonymous woman correspondent who called herself Henriette) and the English feminist Mary Wollstonecraft.
The book constitutes an important contribution to French literature, women's studies, and eighteenth-century cultural studies. While a great deal has already been written on the individual women whom Trouille treats, what distinguishes this book is that it places multiple female subjects directly opposite Rousseau, and succeeds in showing that the relationship between mentor and student(s) is both multi-layered and fascinatingly complex.
Reviews / Votes
"Other studies have discussed the sexual politics of Rousseau's writings, but this is the first book-length work to consider the influence and criticism of Rousseau's ideas specifically among his female readers. Also welcome are Trouille's discussion of the diverse reactions to Rousseau and her explanation of how historical and socio-economical forces helped condition such responses. The author does an admirable job of combining historical context analysis with close textual readings." - Julia Douthwaite, University of Notre Dame"The author is in total command of her material: she has produced a thoroughly researched and very interesting book. By bringing under one cover the responses of seven exceptional women to one of the greatest and most controversial figures of the eighteenth century, Trouille offers insights into how and why these women-all very strong individuals in their own right-could admire a man considered by most twentieth-century feminists to be a misogynist. In so doing, she offers a straightforward and fascinating story." - Suellen Diaconoff, Colby College
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Albany, NY
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
US School Grade: College Graduate Student and over
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
24 Illustrations, black and white
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 23 mm
Weight
608 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-7914-3490-1 (9780791434901)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Mary Seidman Trouille is Associate Professor of French at Illinois State University. She is translator of The Writing of Melancholy: Modes of Opposition in Early French Modernism and of Les Lieux de Memoire.
Content
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Rousseau and His Women Readers
1 Rousseau's Views on Women
Rousseau's Views on Women's Nature, Role, and Destiny
The Rousseauian Ideals of Motherhood and Enlightened Domesticity
Women's Education: Rousseau and les femmes savantes
Discontinuities in Rousseau's Portrayal of Women: The Paradox of Sophie and Julie
Rousseau's Sexual Politics in the Context of His Period: Traditionalist Undercurrents in His Works
Feminist and Reformist Undercurrents in Julie
Women's Response to Feminist and Reformist Undercurrents in Julie
Pseudo-Feminist and Misogynic Aspects of Rousseau's Writings on Women
Conflicting Interpretations of Rousseau during the Revolutionary Era
2 The Failings of Rousseau's Ideals of Domesticity and Sensibility: The Plight of Henriette
Henriette's First Letter to Rousseau
Henriette's Challenge to Emile
Rousseau's Stern Reply: A Case of Mistaken Identity
Henriette's Contradictory Protest
Rousseau's Blindness to Henriette's Dilemma
Rousseau's Repression of Henriette's Vocation as a Writer
Going Public: Henriette's Ironic Tribute to Her Mentor
3 La Femme Mal Marine: Madame d'Epinay's Challenge to Julie and Emile
The Life behind the Works
Madame d'Epinay and Rousseau: Les Affaires del'Ermitage
Histoire de Madame de Montbrillant as a Literary Response and Challenge to Julie
Histoire de Madame de Montbrillant as an Ideological Challenge to Julie
D'Epinay's Response to Rousseau's View of the Ideal Mother
Emilie vs. Emile: d'Epinay's Views on Women's Education
Rousseau's Response to d'Epinay
An Eagle in a Cage of Gauze: d'Epinay's View of Herself as a Writer
Breaking out of the Cage: The Emergence of a Feminine Voice in Histoire de Madame de Montbrillant
4 Revolution in the Boudoir: Madame Roland's Subversion of Rousseau's Feminine Ideals
A Passionate Disciple of Rousseau
Roland's Early Writings: The Specter of Emile and the Proper Lady
The Revolution's Impact: Breaking out of the Domestic Mold
Madame Roland's Revolutionary Salon: The Fusion of Public and Private Spheres
The Virtuous Martyr: Reliving Julie's Passion
Roland's Subversion of Rousseau's Feminine Ideals
On Trial: Misogynic Attacks by the Press and Revolutionary Leaders
Roland's Memoirs: The Influence of Rousseau's Confessions
Critical Response to Roland's Memoirs: Sainte-Beuve's Ambivalence
Rousseau's Paradoxical Influence on Roland's Life and Writings
5 Toward a Bold New Vision of Womanhood: Stall and Wollstonecraft Respond to Rousseau
Stael's Lettres sur Rousseau: A Self-Serving Encomium to Genius?
Conflicting Images of Rousseau in Stael's Lettres
Stael's Response to the Two Discourses and the Lettre a d'Alembert
Stael's Response to Julie
Stael's Response to Emile and Les Solitaires
Stael's Ambivalence toward Rousseau
The Second Preface of 1814
Wollstonecraft's Review of Staeel's Lettres sur Rousseau
Wollstonecraft's Attack on the Sexual Politics in Emile
Wollstonecraft's Second Response to Stall
Ironic Parallels
6 The Influence of Class and Politics on Women's Response to Rousseau: Steephanie de Genlis and Olympe de Gouges
Gouges's Paradoxical Tributes to Rousseau
Genlis's Challenge to Rousseau's Views on Female Education
Genlis's Ambivalence toward Rousseau and His Works
Genlis's Unlikely Friendship with Rousseau
Genlis's Later Writings on Rousseau
Genlis's and Gouges's Insecurity as Writers
The Challenge to Rousseau in Gouges's Declaration des droits de la femme
Women's Role in the Public Sphere through the Eyes of Genlis and Gouges
Genlis's Ambivalence toward Literary Women
Reluctant Admirer and Unlikely Disciple
Conclusion Engendering a Self: Rousseau's Influence on Women and Their Writing
Differences in Outlook: The Impact of Upbringing and Class
Rousseau's Influence on Women's Writing
The Stumbling Block of Sensibility
Strategies of Self-Representation: The Influence of Rousseau's Confessions and the Woman Autobiographer's Double Bind
Toward an Ecriture Feminine
From Passionate Disciples to Resisting Readers
Notes
Index
Introduction: Rousseau and His Women Readers
1 Rousseau's Views on Women
Rousseau's Views on Women's Nature, Role, and Destiny
The Rousseauian Ideals of Motherhood and Enlightened Domesticity
Women's Education: Rousseau and les femmes savantes
Discontinuities in Rousseau's Portrayal of Women: The Paradox of Sophie and Julie
Rousseau's Sexual Politics in the Context of His Period: Traditionalist Undercurrents in His Works
Feminist and Reformist Undercurrents in Julie
Women's Response to Feminist and Reformist Undercurrents in Julie
Pseudo-Feminist and Misogynic Aspects of Rousseau's Writings on Women
Conflicting Interpretations of Rousseau during the Revolutionary Era
2 The Failings of Rousseau's Ideals of Domesticity and Sensibility: The Plight of Henriette
Henriette's First Letter to Rousseau
Henriette's Challenge to Emile
Rousseau's Stern Reply: A Case of Mistaken Identity
Henriette's Contradictory Protest
Rousseau's Blindness to Henriette's Dilemma
Rousseau's Repression of Henriette's Vocation as a Writer
Going Public: Henriette's Ironic Tribute to Her Mentor
3 La Femme Mal Marine: Madame d'Epinay's Challenge to Julie and Emile
The Life behind the Works
Madame d'Epinay and Rousseau: Les Affaires del'Ermitage
Histoire de Madame de Montbrillant as a Literary Response and Challenge to Julie
Histoire de Madame de Montbrillant as an Ideological Challenge to Julie
D'Epinay's Response to Rousseau's View of the Ideal Mother
Emilie vs. Emile: d'Epinay's Views on Women's Education
Rousseau's Response to d'Epinay
An Eagle in a Cage of Gauze: d'Epinay's View of Herself as a Writer
Breaking out of the Cage: The Emergence of a Feminine Voice in Histoire de Madame de Montbrillant
4 Revolution in the Boudoir: Madame Roland's Subversion of Rousseau's Feminine Ideals
A Passionate Disciple of Rousseau
Roland's Early Writings: The Specter of Emile and the Proper Lady
The Revolution's Impact: Breaking out of the Domestic Mold
Madame Roland's Revolutionary Salon: The Fusion of Public and Private Spheres
The Virtuous Martyr: Reliving Julie's Passion
Roland's Subversion of Rousseau's Feminine Ideals
On Trial: Misogynic Attacks by the Press and Revolutionary Leaders
Roland's Memoirs: The Influence of Rousseau's Confessions
Critical Response to Roland's Memoirs: Sainte-Beuve's Ambivalence
Rousseau's Paradoxical Influence on Roland's Life and Writings
5 Toward a Bold New Vision of Womanhood: Stall and Wollstonecraft Respond to Rousseau
Stael's Lettres sur Rousseau: A Self-Serving Encomium to Genius?
Conflicting Images of Rousseau in Stael's Lettres
Stael's Response to the Two Discourses and the Lettre a d'Alembert
Stael's Response to Julie
Stael's Response to Emile and Les Solitaires
Stael's Ambivalence toward Rousseau
The Second Preface of 1814
Wollstonecraft's Review of Staeel's Lettres sur Rousseau
Wollstonecraft's Attack on the Sexual Politics in Emile
Wollstonecraft's Second Response to Stall
Ironic Parallels
6 The Influence of Class and Politics on Women's Response to Rousseau: Steephanie de Genlis and Olympe de Gouges
Gouges's Paradoxical Tributes to Rousseau
Genlis's Challenge to Rousseau's Views on Female Education
Genlis's Ambivalence toward Rousseau and His Works
Genlis's Unlikely Friendship with Rousseau
Genlis's Later Writings on Rousseau
Genlis's and Gouges's Insecurity as Writers
The Challenge to Rousseau in Gouges's Declaration des droits de la femme
Women's Role in the Public Sphere through the Eyes of Genlis and Gouges
Genlis's Ambivalence toward Literary Women
Reluctant Admirer and Unlikely Disciple
Conclusion Engendering a Self: Rousseau's Influence on Women and Their Writing
Differences in Outlook: The Impact of Upbringing and Class
Rousseau's Influence on Women's Writing
The Stumbling Block of Sensibility
Strategies of Self-Representation: The Influence of Rousseau's Confessions and the Woman Autobiographer's Double Bind
Toward an Ecriture Feminine
From Passionate Disciples to Resisting Readers
Notes
Index