Émilie du Châtelet
compare these ideas to the ideas of Woolstonecraft and Rousseau
"Judge me for my own merits, or lack of them, but do not look upon me as a mere appendage to
this great general or that great scholar, this star that shines at the court of France or that famed
author. I am in my own right a whole person, responsible to myself alone for all that I am, all that I
say, all that I do. it may be that there are metaphysicians and philosophers whose learning is
greater than mine, although I have not met them. Yet, they are but frail humans, too, and have
their faults; so, when I add the sum total of my graces, I confess I am inferior to no one."
excerpt from
"The Translator's Preface"
by Émilie du Châtelet (1735)
The prejudice that excludes us women so universally from the sciences weighs heavily on me. It
has always astonished me that there are great nations whose laws permit us to control their fate,
but there is not a single place where we are brought up to think. This is one of the great
contradictions of our times.
The theater is the only profession requiring some study and some cultivation of wit in which
women are allowed to participate. At the same time, it is a profession that has been declared an
improper one.
Just think for a moment. Why is it that for so many centuries not a single good tragedy, fine
poem, valued story, beautiful painting, or good book on physics has been produced by the hand of
a woman? Why do these creatures--whose understanding appears to be similar in every way to
that of men--seem to be held back by an insurmountable force? Let someone give me a reason for
it, if they can. I leave it to the naturalists to find a physical reason for it, but until they have found
one, women have a right to speak out for their education.
I confess that if I were king, I would conduct the following experiment. I would correct this abuse
that has cut short a full half of the human race. I would get women to participate in all the
privileges of humanity, especially those of the mind.
It's as though women were born only to flirt, so they are given nothing but that activity to exercise
their minds. The new education I propose would do all of humanity a great deal of good. Women
would be better off for it, and men would gain a new source of competition.
All too often, the way we currently conduct our daily affairs weakens and narrows women's minds
rather than improves them. With men and women as equal partners, such interactions would serve
to extend everyone's knowledge.
I'm convinced that most women are either ignorant of their talents, or they cover them up.
Everything I've experienced myself confirms this opinion. I've been lucky to know men of letters
who have included me in their circle. I saw with extreme astonishment that they held me in high
esteem. I then began to believe that I was a thinking creature.