Which of the following was authored by Olympe de Gouges after the French…
2023
Which of the following was authored by Olympe de Gouges after the French Revolution as a critique of the ‘Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen’ for having excluded women from basic rights?
- A.
Declaration of the Rights of all French Citizens
- B.
Basic Rights to all the women of France
- C.
Declaration of the Rights of Women and Citizens
- D.
Vindication of the Rights of Women
Attempted by 82 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Correct answer: Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen (1791) by Olympe de Gouges.
Why this is correct: Olympe de Gouges wrote this declaration as a direct response to the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen because that declaration had excluded women from equal civil and political rights.
Date and purpose: Published in 1791 to demand legal and political equality for women, including rights related to marriage, property, education, and participation in public life.
Key distinction: This declaration explicitly frames women as full citizens and asserts that they should enjoy the same rights as men.
Common confusion: "Vindication of the Rights of Woman" is a different, influential work by Mary Wollstonecraft (1792); it is not by Olympe de Gouges.
Teaching tip: Look for the title that explicitly names women as citizens and remember the historical context—de Gouges wrote to correct the gender exclusion in the 1789 declaration.