Salons In The 16th Century

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Salons were a place where people would gather and communicate over topics that were occuring in their communities. Salons originated in the 16th century, and took place all over Europe. Many wealthy women helped run these salons, and were called salonnières. Much of the attendance and importance of salons was a direct result of the women hosting these intellectual gatherings. At the salons, the salonnière chose her guests. While men could decide whether or not they attended a salon, it was the salonnière who determined whether they would be invited at all. Salonnières were responsible for setting the agenda of topics and helping to run the conversation. This ability to control the content of discussions, as well as decide who can attend is …show more content…

These women also often determined the matters on which philosophers would focus. Many of the philosophes and encyclopedists were greatly influenced by these women, including Montesquieu, Buffon, and d’Alembert.As well, Salons became significant for the development of women’s rights as they became one of the only places where they were free to exchange ideas, read their own works and hear the works and ideas of other intellectuals, scholars and scientists. With Enlightenment thinking, women were able to obtain knowledge and gain literary support. Through Salons, women weren’t looked as “sexual objects” or “eye candy” rather they were seen as intellectual beings, who can hold conversations about subjects that were important. Yes, during the Enlightenment, women weren’t always given the same opportunities as men, but however through the use of salons, women were given an open platform for the discussion of ideas between men and women. They were able to liberate from the restriction of not being able to publish their own works by choosing the topics for discussion within their salons. This powerful ability to control the content of discussions also determined on which matters philosophers would focus, and

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