Feminism as humanism: Exploring a broader definition of feminism through the lives and writings of Madame Riccoboni, Olympe de Gouges and Sophie Germain

The feminist movement in France is an historically multifaceted topic that has resulted in cultural shifts in the areas of politics, literature and science. This study aims to explore a broad definition of feminism in the works of three eighteenth-century women: Marie-Jeanne Riccoboni, Olympe de Gouges, and Sophie Germain.; The introduction provides the background information necessary to fully understand the significance of these women's goals and successes.; Chapter One analyzes the promotion of humanist feminism in three of Madame Riccoboni's epistolary novels.; Chapter Two examines the feminist philosophy of Olympe de Gouges. Her fearless and imaginative self-promotion is revealed and is shown not to be militant behavior, as other historians have mistakenly assumed.; In Chapter Three, we trace the steps of self-realization, self-preservation, sincerity and compassion for humanity in Sophie Germain's Considérations générales sur l'état des sciences et des lettres aux différentes époques de leur culture and her Pensées diverses. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)...