Abigail Christensen

Professor Lolene Blake

History 1510 - Document Analysis Essay
30 March 2015
Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen
The Declaration of the Rights of Woman is a document that was written by Olympe de
Gouges in September of 1791. It was written during the French Revolution after the writing of
the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, which was heavily based on the
American Declaration of Independence. Olympe de Gouges, as a woman herself, was very
concerned for the rights of women in revolutionary France and around the world. She felt that
women paid an equally important part in society, and that not only were women courageous
and maternal, but individuals who could enforce powerful change as they so recently showed
in the French womens march on Versailles. She strongly vents her frustrations in the postscript
of the declaration, asking men, ...What gives you the sovereign power to oppress my sex? Your
strength? Your talents? She continues on, Man alone has raised his exceptional circumstances
to a principle. Bizarre, blind, bloated with science and degenerated in a century of
enlightenment and wisdom into the crassest of ignorance, he wants to command as a despot, a
sex which is endowed with all intellectual faculties; he pretends to enjoy the Revolution and
reclaim his rights to equality, in order to say nothing more about it. The declaration includes 17
articles defining basic rights for all women that should be recognized and enforced. The
Declaration of the Rights of Woman is a sort of response to the Declaration of the Rights of Man,
and argues that women are equal and no less than men. It also supports the right of women to
their own independent thoughts and opinions and asserts that women should have the same

opportunities and advancements as males, including the right to hold public office and universal
suffrage.
A prevalent and recurring theme of the Declaration of the Rights of Woman is that all
women are equal to and are of no less worth than men. In the first and second articles of the
document, de Gouges states that, Woman is born free and remains equal to man in rights The
purpose of all political association is the preservation of the natural and imprescriptible rights of
woman and man. These rights are liberty, property, security, and especially resistance to
oppression. She asserts what most revolutionary Frenchmen already believed they were fighting
for, but includes women to be a part of this in no lesser degree.
de Gouges goes on to insist on equality for women in all areas of life. In article 4, De
Gouges writes that, The exercise of the natural rights of woman has no other limits than those
that the perpetual tyranny of man opposes to them; these limits must be reformed according to
the laws of nature and reason. She writes that, No woman is an exception; she is indicted,
arrested and detained in the cases determined by the law. Women like men obey this rigourous
law Taxation of women and men is equal, she takes part in all forced labor service, in all
painful tasks; she must therefore have the same proportion in the distribution of places,
employments, offices, dignities, and in industry. The last article states that, Property belongs to
both sexes whether united or separated; it is for each of them an inviolable and sacred right, and
no one may be deprived of it. These articles call for a complete equal and fair treatment of
both sexes, no matter the circumstances, enforcing the message of de Gouges womenempowering document.
Another important message in the Declaration of the Rights of Woman is that women
should have the same opportunities and advancements as males, including the right to public

office and universal suffrage. She writes in the sixth article that, All citizenesses and citizens
should take part, in person or by their representatives, in its [the laws] formation. It must be
equally admissible to all public dignities, offices and employments, according to their ability, and
with no other distinction than that of their virtues and talents. These words strongly call for
equal opportunities for women to take part in the formation of laws and other government jobs, a
right denied by women in this time period practically all over the world.
In conclusion, the Declaration of the Rights of Woman is a document calling for the equal
representation of women in French society. It simply states ordinary truths today; However,
when it was written, it was widely dismissed as ridiculous and radical. To so publicly fight for
equality and representation made Olympe de Gourges a very brave woman. This and other
actions infuriated the leaders of the French Revolution, and de Gourges was sent to the guillotine
for rights now widely accepted, almost all around the world. During the American Revolution,
no move this bold was made by any woman. Therefore, although de Gourges is writing in
response to the French Revolution, her powerful document stood for women worldwide.
Although throughout the document she calls for women to stand behind these words and wake
up, this Declaration, describing the rights of women, was meant to be read by men as much as
it was meant to be read by women. De Gourges wanted women to be equals to men in society,
not overpower them. And as men held all of the power, a peaceful resolution could only be
achieved by reaching out to them. Her sixteenth article sums up her feelings about the
Declaration of the Rights of Man and provides her main reason for writing the document: Any
society in which the guarantee of rights is not assured or the separation of powers has not settled
has no constitution. The constitution is null and void if the majority of individuals composing the
nation has not cooperated in its drafting.