Chapter XIV

Women of the Nineteenth Century

Among the unusually large number of prominent French women which the nineteenth century produced, possibly not more than a half-dozen names will survive,—­Mme. de Stael, George Sand, Rosa Bonheur, Sarah Bernhardt, Mme. Lebrun, and Rachel.  This circumstance is, possibly, largely due to the character of the century:  its activity, its varied accomplishments, its wide progress along so many lines, its social development, its absolute freedom and tolerance—­all of which tended to open a field for women more extensive than in any preceding century.

The salon, in its old-time glory, became a thing of the past; and the passing of this institution lessened, to a large extent, the possibility of great influence on the part of women.  In short, the mode of life became, in the nineteenth century, unfavorable to the absolute power exercised by woman in former times.  She was now on a level with man, enjoying more privileges and being looked upon more as the equal and possible rival of man.  It became necessary for woman to make and establish her own position, whereas, under the old regime, her power and position were established by custom, which regarded her vocation as entirely distinct from that of man.  The result was a host of prominent and active women, but few really great ones.  Undoubtedly by far the most important and influential was Madame de Stael, but her influence and work are so intimately associated with her life that any account of her which aims at giving a true estimate of her significance must necessarily involve much biography.

Her mother, the Mme. Necker of salon fame, endeavored to bring up her daughter as the chef d’oeuvre of natural art,—­pious, modest in her conversation, dignified in her behavior, without pride or frivolity, but with wide knowledge.  In this ambition she partly succeeded.  At the age of eleven the young girl was present at receptions, where she listened to discussions by such men as Grimm, Buffon, Suard, and others.  Her parents took her to the theatre, and she would subsequently compose short stories on what she had heard and seen.  Rousseau became her ideal, but she enjoyed all literature, showing an insatiable desire for knowledge.  From her early youth to her death, her conversation was ever the result of her own impulse; consequently, it was uncontrolled and lacked the seriousness imparted by deep reflection.

Interested in all things except Nature, which seemed mournful to her, while solitude horrified her, society was her delight.  At the age of twenty she wrote:  “A woman must have nothing to herself and must find all power in that which she loves.”  Her masculine ideal was a man of society, of success, a hero of the Academy, a superior genius, animated more by the desire to please than to be useful.  During these early years she wrote a great deal, her work being mostly in the form of sentimental utterances, but very little has survived her.