How Did Catherine The Great Influence Women

Catherine the Great was the Empress of Russia, ruling from 1762 up until her death in 1796. Catherine was born a Prussian noble, but married Peter III the heir to Empress Elizabeth of Russia. Catherine was an important woman in Russian history whose ideals and contributions truly embodied those of the Enlightenment period. Catherine the Great was an important figure in the Enlightenment and feminist movement because of her contributions to human rights activism and because she single-handedly broke gender stereotypes, both of which positively affected the lives of Russians for centuries.

Through her transformation from a lowly Prussian noble girl to the empress of Russia, Catherine the Great showed the power of ambition and proved to the world

Although people sided with Catherine when she became ruler, many had doubts as to her abilities because of her gender. At the time, most women were neither given the education nor the opportunity to succeed. As a result, stereotypes about the ability for women to do certain things such as run a country were questioned, especially given that there was practically no precedent. When a man would fail at something, the man’s abilities would be questioned. However, when a woman failed at something it could also be her skills that were in question, but often, her gender was blamed for her failure. Catherine faced this gender based discrimination for most of her time as Empress. This being said, as people saw how capable she was, their attitude not only towards her but towards the capabilities of females in general also changed. At first, Catherine was thought of as lacking because of her gender. An ambassador to Russia at the time wrote, “Her majesty has a masculine force of mind, obstinacy in adhering to a plan, and intrepidity in the execution of it; but she wants the more manly virtues of deliberation… which leads to excesses that would debase a female character in any sphere of life”. The ambassador clearly had little faith in Catherine or the abilities of the female sex. Although he does mention some positive qualities that she has, he attributes that to her “masculine force of mind”. The ambassador then excuses all of her negative qualities, saying that they “would debase a female character in any sphere of life”. The ambassador reinforces the gender stereotypes of the time by attributing all of Catherine’s positive qualities to her masculinity and excusing all her faults as he claims that they are problems that plague all women. Over time, the public opinion of Catherine changed. Written later, a Russian