Olympe de Gouges

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Olympe de Gouges was one of the most radical, militant and defying female activists of the French Revolution. She is perhaps one of the most significant women in the French Revolution. Unfortunately, Olympe De Gouges is also one of the most ignored and forgotten historical figures of that time. In the eighteenth century, men believed that women did not have the capacity or intellect to fully participate in public affairs like men did. However, women like de Gouge did find a way to participate. Olympe de Gouges found a way to broadcasting her political beliefs through writing. De Gouges is one example of a woman who challenged eighteenth century gender limitations through writing. De Gouges dedicated her life to her political beliefs by working to achieve representation and full political participation in the Republic for women.
De Gouges was born in the south of France, in 1748, and her original name was Marie Gouze (whoislog.info). She is the daughter of Pierre Gouze, a butcher, and Anne Olympe Moisset, a maid and servant. It is rumored that her mother had an affair with a person of high social rank, Marquis Lefranc de Pompignan. Some people claim that Marquis was de Gouges’ real father. However, this cannot be proven to be true (findbiography.org).
Olympe de Gouges married at a young age and had one son. However, the marriage was short and ended after her husband’s death (britannica.com). After her husband’s death she wanted to become a playwright and moved to Paris to follow her dream. De Gouges went to Paris in 1770 to pursue it. She then changed her name. She chose Olympe de Gouges. She chose this because it is a simple variation of both her mother and father's names (dadalos.org). The next step after changing her name is to ...

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...://www.constitution.org/fr/fr_drm.htm>.

"Olympe De Gouges." LES DROITS DE LA FEMME. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2014. .

"OLYMPE DE GOUGES." OLYMPE DE GOUGES Biography. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2014. .
"Olympe De Gouges." - Biography and Facts. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Apr. 2014.

The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. "Olympia De Gouges (French Writer)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 3 Apr. 2014. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/850593/Olympia-de-Gouges

"Olympe De Gouges." Olympe De Gouges. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2014.

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