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Elite Enlightenment Women

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The Freedoms of elite Enlightenment women Kelly Jo Mayer His 114 The Sun King, better known as Louis XIV reigned from his palace in Versailles through the days of the absolutist time frame from 1648 to 1740. He set the tone of an absolute monarch when he made himself the king. After assuming personal rule, he launched wars that added to France’s territory (Kidner, 466). In the absolutist setting, women were set in the ways of gender stereotypes and false misconceptions and were less free to be themselves. The sun is orbited by the Earth. That was one of the discoveries that came out of the Enlightenment. Before that, almost everyone thought that the sun orbited the Earth. This is just one of the many discoveries and ideas of that time …show more content…

These men attacked the despotism of kings and rejected the institution of slavery but endorsed the subordination of some human beings to others on the basis of gender (Kidner, 523). Mainly her argument was that if women had the same opportunities and education as men they would not be inferior to men. Even so, Wollstonecraft also believed that mothers should continue to be the nurturing factor in their children’s …show more content…

The elite women of the absolutist setting were able to partake in salons and courts and were engaged in the social aspects of life. They still needed to follow the strict social requirements developed by King Louis XIV and his court in France. Although they appeared to have opinions in matters of art and politics, they still were tied to a strict social hierarchy where their male family and husbands had the lead. Other elite women in monarchies had more power than the average elite women and seemed to expand the view of an elite woman’s place in society, although the “advisors” of the queens and empresses look to be men. As time went on the women in leadership were more compared to a mother figure than an Amazon. This was the stagnate lot of elite women of absolutist time but when contrasted with the period of Enlightenment, women had much more opportunity to strive and be heard. Most notable were elite women to have the freedom to be authors, scientists and in openings for them to make changes in the previous social culture. They were beginning to be able to stand up for themselves in all areas and have options never afforded before. To conclude, elite women of the Enlightenment setting enjoyed more freedoms and the right set of circumstances to

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