Declaration of the Rights of Woman, 1791: Declaration of the Rights of Woman, List 3

The full title of this declaration includes a focus on citizenship, and it was published two years after the declaration of rights for men and immediately after the National Assembly of France rejected a proposal to extend the rights to women. With an ironic tone, the writer and activist Olympe de Gouges dedicated it to Marie Antoinette, who — as a woman — was not seen as an equal. And, as a queen, she did nothing to promote gender equality (yet she was eventually given a trial and death sentence equal to that of King Louis XVI). While a postscript and form for a social contract are also included, the main structure and contents of this declaration parallel and parody its male counterpart.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. assessment
    an amount determined as payable
    The citizenesses can only agree to them upon admission of an equal division, not only in wealth, but also in the public administration, and to determine the means of apportionment, assessment, and collection, and the duration of the taxes.
  2. accountable
    responsible for one's actions
    15. The mass of women, joining with men in paying taxes, have the right to hold accountable every public agent of the administration.
  3. guarantee
    written assurance that a product or service will be provided
    16. Any society in which the guarantee of rights is not assured or the separation of powers not settled has no constitution.
  4. patrimony
    an inheritance coming by right of birth
    17. 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 as a true patrimony of nature, except when public necessity, certified by law, obviously requires it, and then on condition of a just compensation in advance.
  5. barrier
    any condition that makes it difficult to make progress
    Whatever the barriers set up against you, it is in your power to overcome them; you only have to want it.
  6. recourse
    act of turning to for assistance
    What force has taken from them, ruse returned to them; they have had recourse to all the resources of their charms, and the most irreproachable man has not resisted them.
  7. cupidity
    extreme greed for material wealth
    in short everything that characterizes the folly of men, profane and sacred, has been submitted to the cupidity and ambition of this sex formerly considered despicable and respected, and since the revolution, respectable and despised. . . .
  8. amiable
    disposed to please
    A woman only had to be beautiful and amiable; when she possessed these two advantages, she saw a hundred fortunes at her feet
  9. feeble
    pathetically lacking in force or effectiveness
    An unmarried woman has only a feeble right: ancient and inhuman laws refuse her the right to the name and goods of her children's father; no new laws have been made in this matter.
  10. consistency
    uniformity or stability in arrangement, behavior, or quality
    If giving my sex an honorable and just consistency is considered to be at this time paradoxical on my part and an attempt at the impossible, I leave to future men the glory of dealing with this matter
  11. conjugal
    relating to the relationship between a wife and husband
    but while waiting, we can prepare the way with national education, with the restoration of morals and with conjugal agreements.
  12. mutual
    common to or shared by two or more parties
    We, ________ and ________, moved by our own will, unite for the length of our lives and for the duration of our mutual inclinations under the following conditions
  13. communal
    for or by a group rather than individuals
    We intend and wish to make our wealth communal property, while reserving the right to divide it in favor of our children and of those for whom we might have a special inclination, mutually recognizing that our goods belong directly to our children, from whatever bed they come [legitimate or not]
  14. obligate
    force somebody to do something
    We likewise obligate ourselves, in the case of a separation, to divide our fortune equally and to set aside the portion the law designates for our children.
  15. appropriate
    suitable for a particular person, place, or situation
    In the case of a perfect union, the one who dies first will give up half his property in favor of the children; and if there are no children, the survivor will inherit by right, unless the dying person has disposed of his half of the common property in favor of someone he judges appropriate.
Created on Tue Jun 03 12:18:01 EDT 2025 (updated Tue Jun 03 12:21:34 EDT 2025)

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