Olympe de Gouges

Marie-Olympe de Gouges (1748-1793) was a French author and political activist. She became a pioneer of feminism by advocating for women's rights during French Revolution.

Olympe de Gouges was born 31 December in southern France. Her birth background is rather vague, but her official parents were butcher Pierre Gouze and maidservant Anne Olympe Moisset. From young age, she showed signs of rebelliousness that would become a significant trait for her and her career.

At age 17, she married a significantly older Louis Aubrey and had a son with him. After Aubrey's death, she decided to never remarry, left her family and moved to Paris to make a career as a playwright. In Paris she formed contacts with many successful writers and philosphers and worked her way to the upper social classes. Her career as a writer, however, was modestly successful, at best.

During France's political turmoil in late 1780s that eventyually led to Revolution in 1789, de Gouges desired reforms without them destabilizing the society. She also had friends in the court and considered herself a royalist. However, after the king attempted to flee the country, resulting in the increased social and political turmoil, she sided more strongly with the revolutionaries.

During the years of the revolution, she wrote numerous works that advocated strongly for human rights, and particularly for equal rights of women. The socio-politically innovative environment of the revolution encouraged radical ideas such as feminism, and inspired de Gouges to write her most famous work, The Declaration of the Rights of Woman and Citizen (Déclaration des Droits de la Femme et de la Citoyenne) in 1791. She argued for complete legal equality of sexes, more job opportunities for women and better education for girls. She felt that despite women having played an important part in the revolution, they had gained little from it in terms of liberty and equality.

De Gouges' radical ideas were bound to bring her enemies: few revolutionaries were willing to go that much beyond the old social boundaries. She also heavily criticized the leader of National Convention (the new revolutionary government), radical Maximilien Robespierre. This together with hewr old support of monarchy led to her arrest in accuse of sedition.

She was found guilty in the trial and executed with guillotine on November 3, 1793.
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SOURCES

Biography
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