Author Description
The eighteenth-century text Work on Women by Louise Dupin (also known as Madame Dupin, 1706-1799) is the French Enlightenment's most in-depth feminist analysis of inequality--and its most neglected one. Angela Hunter and Rebecca Wilkin here offer the first-ever edition of selected translations of Dupin's massive project, developed from manuscript drafts. Hunter and Wilkin provide helpful introductions to the four sections of Work on Women (Science, History and Religion, Law, and Education and Mores) which contextualize Dupin's arguments and explain the work's construction--including the role of her secretary, Jean-Jacques Rousseau.Dupin's central claim in Work on Women is that French jurists have gradually disenfranchised women through reductive interpretations of Roman law. As a result, modern marriage is founded on an abusive, illegitimate contract that enriches one party and impoverishes the other. This manifest injustice is enabled by the "masculine vanity" that aggrandizes men, diminishes women, and distorts all realms of knowledge. Dupin shows how the most reputable scientists incorporate old notions of women's weakness into new understandings of the body, while historians denigrate female rulers or erase them altogether. Even in everyday conversation, men assert their entitlement to social dominance through casual misogyny. Thus, although Dupin advocates for meaningful education for girls, she insists that the upbringing of boys must also be reformed.This volume fills an important gap in the history of feminist thought and will appeal to readers eager to hear new voices that challenge established narratives of intellectual history.
Menrva's Summary
THE THESIS
This volume investigates the core question of how eighteenth-century French legal and social structures systematically disenfranchised women through the lens of Louise Dupin’s neglected manuscript, Work on Women. Editors Angela Hunter and Rebecca Wilkin present the first English-language selection of Dupin’s extensive project, utilizing her original manuscript drafts to reconstruct her critique of Enlightenment-era gender inequality. The editors argue that Dupin’s work provides a critical counter-narrative to the era’s dominant intellectual history, specifically challenging the role of figures like Jean-Jacques Rousseau in shaping gendered discourse.
THE SCOPE MAP
What You Will Find
- A thematic selection of translations covering Science, History and Religion, Law, and Education and Mores.
- Editorial introductions that contextualize Dupin’s arguments within the broader French Enlightenment.
- Analysis of the collaborative and often contentious relationship between Dupin and her secretary, Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
Scope Limits
- The text does not provide a complete, unabridged translation of the entire original manuscript.
- The analysis focuses primarily on the French context and does not extend to a global comparative study of eighteenth-century feminist thought.
THE AUTHORITY PERSPECTIVE
Scholars and historians identify this volume as a significant contribution to the recovery of marginalized female voices in Enlightenment philosophy. Readers frequently note the clarity of the editorial introductions, which effectively bridge the gap between complex manuscript history and accessible political theory.
Page Count:
320
Publication Date:
2023-01-01
ISBN-10:
0190090103
ISBN-13:
9780190090104
Philosophy
French literature
Political Philosophy
Feminist Theory
Enlightenment History
Gender Studies