Chapter 9 Chapter 8 After the French Revolution: Employment and Politics

Chapter 8 After the French Revolution: Employment and Politics People may think that the French Revolution will change the fate of women, but in fact it didn't happen at all.This great bourgeois revolution honors middle-class institutions and values, almost exclusively by men.It is important to emphasize the fact that in the old regime working-class women always had the greatest independence as a sex.A woman has the right to operate and has all the legal powers necessary for her independent employment.She can work as a seamstress, laundry worker, sander, shopkeeper, etc., and can participate in productive activities.She works either at home or in a small shop; her material independence makes it possible for her to have great freedom of action: a working-class woman can go out to work, often in a small hotel, can Disposing of her body at will is almost the same as that of a man.She is her husband's partner, equal to him.She was oppressed economically, not sexually.In rural areas, a peasant woman plays a very important role in agricultural labor; she is treated as a servant; Add the burden of motherhood.But as in ancient agricultural societies, it was necessary for a man to make her respectable to him.Their goods, their interests, their concerns were all in common; she had great authority in the house.Because of the hardships of life, these women may be able to assert themselves and claim their rights; but the tradition of cowardice and submission weighs heavily on them.The cahicrs (petition letters) of parliament before the French Revolution included few claims for women's rights, and these petitions were limited to keeping men out of the literati professions. During demonstrations and riots, women were certainly seen standing beside their husbands. However However, the purpose of these women to Versailles is to go to the bakery to find "the baker, his wife, his apprentice." However, it is not these ordinary people who lead the revolution and enjoy its fruits.

As for middle-class women, some people are passionately devoted to the cause of freedom, such as Madame Roland (Mllle Robo) and Lucile Desmoulins, and Charlotte Corday (ccttecotany) is one of them who profoundly influenced the course of the Great Revolution. She assassinated Marat.There were also some people advocating feminism at the time.Olylnpede GoUgde Lu put forward the "Declaration of Women's Rights" in 1789, which competed with the "Declaration of Human Rights". In the declaration, she called for the abolition of all male privileges, but she was sent to the guillotine soon. short-lived publications, and a few women engaged in political activity in vain.

In 17op, primogeniture and male inheritance privileges were abolished in France, and girls and boys became equal persons in this respect. In 1792, a law was passed affirming the right to divorce, and thus the bondage of marriage was relaxed.But these are just unimportant victories.Middle-class women are too tightly bound to the family to have any clear sense of shared responsibility as a gender.They did not form an independent class that could push its own agenda: economically they lived a singular life.Thus, those women who would have been able to attend events regardless of their sex were not able to attend because of their class, and those women who belonged to the action class were forced to refrain from action and just be women.Once economic power falls into the hands of workers, working women may gain rights and privileges that parasitic women—noble or middle-class women—never had.

During the purge years of the Revolution, women had an anarchic freedom.But once society was reorganized, she was firmly tied to slavery again.From a feminist point of view, France is ahead of other countries.But unfortunately for the modern French woman, her status was decided long before the military dictatorship.The Napoleonic Code fixed her fate for a full century, greatly delaying her emancipation.Like all soldiers, Napoleon preferred women to be mothers only.And as heir to the bourgeois revolution, he did not destroy the social structure by giving the mother a distinctly superior position to the wife.He prohibited paternity investigations and imposed strict conditions for the identification of non-adulterative mothers and legitimate children.The married woman herself was not protected because of her dignity as a mother, and feudal contradictions still existed here. The eight girls and their wives were deprived of citizenship, and they could not exercise their legal rights to act as guardians.But while marriage maintained the old dependent status, celibate women and spinsters enjoyed full citizenship rights.A wife was obliged to submit to her husband, who could place her in solitary confinement for adultery and ask for a divorce.If a husband catches her on the spot and kills her, the law holds him to be pardonable.The husband should be punished only if he brought his concubine into the house, and only then could the wife ask for a divorce.Residence is determined by the man, who has far greater authority over his children than his wife.Unless the wife is in business, her obligations must be sanctioned by him.Her person and property are strictly controlled by marriage.

The legal system of the 18th century only intensified the harshness of the Napoleonic Code.Divorce was abolished in 1826 and was not restored until 1884, when divorce was still difficult.The middle class is by no means very powerful, its authority is still very unstable, and it has to seriously deal with the potential threat posed by the industrial revolution.Women, it is claimed, were made for family and not politics, for housework and not for social functions.Auguste Comte stated that there are fundamental differences, physical and mental, between males and females which separate them completely, especially among humans.Femininity is a "prolonged state of immaturity" that robs a woman of her "human ideals" and exhausts her spirit.He predicted that women's labor outside the home would be completely abolished in the future.A woman may be superior morally and romantically, but as long as she has no economic or political power in the family, the man remains superior.

Balzac expressed the same thought in a more ironic tone.He wrote in "The Physiology of Marriage": "Woman's destiny and her only glory is to win the heart of man... She is a chattel, or rather, an appendage of man." He was speaking against the eighteenth century Debauchery, against the dangerous progressive ideas of the time, was also a defense of the anti-feminist middle class.Balzac pointed out that bourgeois marriages that exclude love naturally lead to adultery.He exhorted husbands to keep a tight rein on their wives, to deny their wives any chance of education and culture, and to keep them as inconspicuous as possible.The bourgeoisie followed this procedure by shutting women up in the kitchen and in the house, keeping their every movement under close watch, and keeping them completely dependent.In compensation, women are respected and treated with the utmost delicacy.Balzac said: "A married woman is a slave who must help her to the throne." She must be consulted on small matters and put her first.She should not be burdened, as a primitive man should be, but should be quickly freed from all arduous tasks and cares—and at the same time from all responsibilities.Most bourgeois women accept this high-sounding restraint, and few complain.Bernard Shaw said that it is easier to keep men in chains than to free them from them, so long as the chains bring benefits.The middle-class woman is attached to her bondage because she is attached to her class privileges.If she is free from the shackles of men, she must work for a living.She has no common interests with working-class women, and she believes that the emancipation of bourgeois women will mean the demise of the class.

However, the development of history did not stop because of this stubbornness.The advent of machinery destroyed land ownership and gave impetus to the workers' liberation movement that arose alongside the women's liberation movement.All forms of socialism urge the woman out of the home, in favor of her emancipation: Plato envisioned a communal system in which women would enjoy the autonomy of the Spartan woman.Along with the utopian socialism of Saintsimon, Fourier, and Cabet came the utopia of the "free woman".This theory holds that slavery to workers and women should be abolished because women are as human as men.Unfortunately, this rational thought is not popular in the school of Saint-Simonism. For example, Fourier confuses the liberation of women with the restoration of sensuality, requires everyone to have the right to obey the call of lust, and hopes to replace marriage with love.He thinks that a woman is not a person but merely fulfilling her erotic function.Cabbe believed that full equality between men and women was possible, but he also imposed restrictions on women's participation in politics.Others demanded that women be educated, not emancipated.In the 19th century, thanks to the Reformation, there was always a high-minded view of woman, which also appeared in Victor Hugn.But the women's cause has been somewhat discredited by incompetent people who support women.club.Magazines and voluntary movements like the "Brummer Doctrine" were reduced to laughing stock.The most educated women of the day, like Madame de Stael (Minedestae) and George Sand (Geongsana), kept sidestepping these movements and waging their own struggles for freedom.But in general, the feminist movement was supported by the reform movement of the 19th century because it was a movement for equality and justice.The notable exception was Proudhon, who broke the feminist-socialist alliance.He relegates the decent woman to the home, to a position of dependence on the male, and he tries to justify her inferiority. "Either be a housewife or a prostitute", this is the choice he provides for women.But, like all opponents of women's rights, he prayed fervently for "the real woman," that is, the woman in slavery and the shadow of man.Despite this enthusiasm, Proudhon could not make his wife happy: Madame Proudhon's letters only reflect her grievances.

None of these theoretical debates affect the course of events; they are only vague reflections of what is happening.Woman regained her economic importance—a position lost from prehistoric times—because she emerged from the family and assumed a new role in industrial production.It was machinery that made this upheaval possible, for in machine production the physical differences between male and female workers were largely irrelevant.Industry requires a great deal of labour, which men alone cannot provide.With the rapid development of industry, women's cooperation has become inevitable.This is the most important revolution that happened in the 19th century. It changed the destiny of women and opened up a new era for her.Marx and Engels comprehensively assessed the scope of this revolution, and believed that women's emancipation might become part of the emancipation of the proletariat.In effect, says Bebel, "women and workers have this in common: they are both oppressed." As women's and workers' labor will take on significance through technological development, they will collectively be freed from oppression.Engels pointed out that the fate of women is closely related to the history of private ownership; the replacement of matriarchy by patriarchy is a disaster, which makes women enslaved by hereditary property.But the Industrial Revolution was the compensation for that loss, and it would lead to the emancipation of women.This conclusion has been cited earlier (see Chapter 3).

In the early 19th century, women were more shamefully exploited than male workers.Labor performed at home constituted what Engels called "sweat labour".Although the female worker is busy running around, the money she earns cannot meet her needs.These heinous evils were denounced in Jues Simon's The Ladies Labour, and in 1873 by the conservative Inap-Beaulieu in La Labor of Women in the Century.Leroy-Beaulieu said that there are more than 200,000 female workers in France, earning less than 50 centimes a day.They had to rush from home to work in the factory, and, until recently, they did only low-paying jobs outside the factory, such as sewing, laundry, and housework.Even the sash.Production such as female workers is also monopolized by factories.In compensation, there was ample employment in the cotton, wool and silk industries; women were especially employed in the textile mills.Factory owners often prefer to employ them rather than men. "They live well for their sons, and they demand less wages." This ironic statement reveals the drama of women's labor, because it is through labor that women win the dignity of being human, but this victory is not easy. , and long overdue.

Weaving labor is carried out under extremely unhealthy conditions.Blanqui said: "Some female workers in the ribbon factory almost had to hang themselves on the belt in order to use both hands and feet when they were working." From 5:00 am to 11:00 pm, I have to work several hours a day.As Nobel Truopin (Norbert Truopin) said: "The working environment in the factory is often unhealthy, where the sun is not seen all year round. Half of the young female workers have tuberculosis before their apprenticeship. They If they complain, they are accused of putting on airs." Moreover, male employees take advantage of younger female workers. The anonymous author of the book "The Truth of the Lyon Incident" said: "In order to achieve their goals, they used appalling means: poverty and hunger." Sometimes women are also engaged in agricultural labor in addition to industrial labor.They are cynically exploited.Marx made such a note in "Das Kapital": "Mr. Yi, the factory owner, told me that he only uses women to operate his mechanical loom; he likes to use married women, especially women who have to support their families; this Women of this kind are more attentive and obedient than unmarried women, and they have to do their best to obtain the necessary means of subsistence. Virtue, which is peculiar to women, is thus done to their own detriment, and their meek and submissive asexuality becomes Their means of slavery and misery." Summarizing Marx and commenting on Bebel, G. DerVille wrote: "Either as a pet or as a draft animal, that's all women can do today. They don't work to be supported by a man when he was working hard, and by him when he was working hard." The situation of women workers was so dire that Sismond and Blanqui demanded that women be denied access to the workshop. This situation was partly due to their initial Did not know how to defend itself, did not know how to organize itself through trade unions. Women's "associations" date back to 1848, and these associations began as industrial workers' associations. The movement was slow, as the following figures show:

In 1905, 781,392 workers joined trade unions, of which 69,405 were women; in 1908, there were 957,120 trade union members, of which 88,906 were women; in 1912, there were 1,064,413 trade union members, of whom 92,336 were women. In 1920, there were 1,580,967 workers, of whom 2,390l were women workers and employees who joined trade unions; only 36,193 of the total 1,083,957 female agricultural workers joined trade unions.There are a total of 3,076,585 trade union members, including 29M female members.The reason why they are so helpless in the face of new opportunities is because of the tradition of resignation and resignation, and because they lack a sense of shared responsibility and collective consciousness. The result of this attitude has been a slow and protracted adjustment to women's labor.The law only intervened in 1874.However, despite the Reich's campaign, there were only two regulations concerning women: night work was prohibited for underage women, and they had the right to rest on Sundays and shows; their working day was limited to 12 hours.As for women over the age of thirty, all that is done is that they are not allowed to work underground in mines and quarries. On November 2, 1892, the first charter concerning women's labor appeared. This charter prohibited night work and limited working hours in factories; but it left an opportunity for all kinds of fraud. In 1906, the working day was limited to 10 hours. In 1905, one day off a week became a legal right; in 1907, a female worker was allowed to freely control her income; in 1901, women were guaranteed maternity leave with wages; has been strongly reaffirmed. In 1913, detailed regulations were made on property rights, and women were prohibited from engaging in dangerous and heavy labor.Social legislation was gradually established, and women's labor health issues were also fully paid attention to. For example, female salespersons should sit on chairs and should not be exposed to the outside for a long time.The International Labor Office has also prompted some countries to reach international agreements on issues such as women's working environment and sanitation, and maternity leave rights. A second consequence of the resignation of the working women is in the wages with which they are compelled to be satisfied.There are various explanations for women's low wages, which are due to a combination of factors.It is not enough to say that women have lower needs than men: this is just an afterthought excuse.The reality is rather that, as we have seen, women cannot insulate themselves from their employers.They are bound to face the competition which threatens to deprive them of their liberty, and which makes the products which are thrown into the market produced without labor expended; and they also compete with each other.It must also be noted that woman pursues emancipation through labor in a society where the family still exists: she is bound by her father's or husband's family and is often content to bring extra money into the family.Although she works outside the family, it is for the family.Since a female worker does not have to fully consider her own livelihood, she readily accepts wages that are significantly lower than those of men.Since many women are content with low wages, the remuneration paid to women will of course be maintained at a level very favorable to their employers. According to a survey conducted in 1889-1893, when the daily workload of French women workers was equal to that of men, their income was only half of that of men.According to a survey in 1908, the wages of workers working at home did not exceed 20 centimes per hour, and were generally as low as 5 centimes.It is impossible for a woman who is so exploited to live without relief or a protector. In 1918, in the United States, women were paid half as much as men.In Germany, a female miner's salary is less than that of a man's Iwami when the amount of coal mined is equal.Between 1941 and 1943, French women's wages increased slightly more than men's, but their wages were still significantly lower. If employers welcome women warmly because they can accept low wages, this fact arouses opposition from male workers.Between the cause of the proletariat and the cause of women there is no such unity of interest as Bebel and Engels called it.The problem is somewhat similar to the problem of black labor in America and can be described in this way.In society the most oppressed minorities willingly serve as weapons of the oppressors against the whole class to which they belong.So these minorities are enemies first in the mind of his class.For the benefit of blacks and whites.It is imperative that the interests of women and men workers be aligned rather than opposed to one another.It is conceivable that in this competition to reduce prices, the first thing male workers see is a terrible danger, and they express hatred for this competition.Only by participating in trade union activities can women defend their own interests without harming the interests of the entire working class. Despite these difficulties, female labor continued to grow.In France in 1800 there were still 900,000 domestic workers making clothes, leather goods, wreaths, bags, rosaries and other small novelties, but the number has since declined dramatically. In 1801, 42% of working-age (18-60) women were employed in agriculture, industry, commerce, banking, insurance, and office work, as well as occupations requiring education.According to a census taken shortly before the Second World War, among all women between the ages of 18 and 60, we find that in France about 42 per cent are workers, in Finland 20 per cent, in Germany 34 per cent, and in India 20.7 per cent , the United Kingdom is 26.9%, the Netherlands is 19.2%, and the United States is 177%.But such high percentages in France and India are due to the large amount of agricultural labor included in the statistics.Excluding farmers, there were about 500,000 female shopkeepers, 1 million female employees, 2 million female workers and 1.5 million semi-employed or unemployed women in France in 1806.Among the female workers, 650,000 worked as domestic servants, and 1.2 million worked in the processing industry (Jiewan worked in the textile industry, 315,000 worked in the garment manufacturing industry, and Hu Wan was engaged in making women's clothing at home).With regard to women in business, learned occupations and social services, the situation in France, Great Britain and the United States is roughly the same. As we have seen, one of a woman's most fundamental problems is how to reconcile her procreative role with her productive role.The fundamental fact that woman is enslaved by the reproductive function has doomed her from the beginning of history to housework and prevented her from participating in shaping the world.In the female animal there exists a condition which guarantees an economical use of physical energy.Physiological and seasonal rhythms.In women, from puberty to menopause, natural functions do not impose any restrictions on the frequency of pregnancy.It is said that in some Indian tribes a woman is guaranteed an interval of at least two years between deliveries.But in general, the fertility of women has not been controlled for many centuries.Contraception has been around since ancient times and is usually used on women, such as potions, suppositories and vaginal plugs.But these methods are the secret of whores and doctors.Perhaps this secret was known to Roman women in declining times, whose sterility was attacked by satirists.But in fact medieval Europe did not know any method of contraception, until the 18th century has not found any clues in this regard.In those days, life for many women was constant pregnancy.Even the more slutty women paid the price for their slutty lovemaking by giving birth multiple times. In certain ages humanity felt strongly the need to reduce the size of its population, but at the same time the nation feared becoming weaker.In times of crisis and poverty, the birth rate may be lowered by later marriages, but it is still the general rule that early marriages and women have as many children as possible reduce the number of surviving children only because of the mass mortality of young children.Already in the first century, Abe de Peel opposed punishing women with the "bloat of love"; Madame de Sévigné advised her daughter not to become pregnant too much.But Malthusianism developed in France in the 18th century, when first the wealthy classes, and then the population as a whole, found it reasonable to limit the number of children according to the income of the parents, and contraception began to become a common practice.The demographer Mo Luoguan wrote in 1778: "It is not only rich women who regard reproduction as an old-fashioned demand on them; these secrets known only to humans have even spread to the countryside. People used to I think the peasants don't know these secrets." The method of sexual intercourse became popular first among the middle class and later among the peasants and workers.Some measures to prevent sexually transmitted diseases have also become a kind of contraception. After rubber was discovered shortly before 184o, condoms were widely used. Two inseparable functions - sexual and reproductive - were separated, and many methods were developed. Medical research in Vienna and elsewhere, precisely stated that the mechanism of pregnancy does not favor the conditions of pregnancy, and also pointed out that contraception In France, the promotion of contraception and the sale of diaphragms and other contraceptive products are not allowed, but "birth control" is still widely practiced. As for abortion, there is no official recognition in the laws of various countries.Roman law afforded no special protection to fetal life, and regarded the _[baby] to be born as part of the mother's body rather than as a person.In times of decline, abortion seems to be such a normal practice that even lawmakers who want to encourage births dare not ban it.When a wife abandons a baby against her husband's wishes, the husband may allow her to be punished for disobedience to him.Throughout the Eastern and Greco-Roman civilizations.Abortion has always been tacitly sanctioned by law. In this respect it was Christianity which revolutionized morality by endowing the fetus with a soul.Abortion then becomes a crime committed against the fetus itself.St. Augustus thought: "Any woman who has the capacity to bear many children but does not bear so many children is repeatedly guilty of murder, as is the woman who wants to kill herself after pregnancy." Entering into the endless discussion of such questions as the stock body, canon law was gradually developed.St. Thomas and others set the time when males acquire their souls at about the first day after conception, and at about the 80th day for females.In the Middle Ages, different sins were added according to the time and reason of the abortion: the confession says, "There is a great difference between the poor woman who destroys her baby because she cannot support her, and the woman who has no other purpose than to conceal the sin of adultery. A 1556 decree by Henry II provided the basis for making abortion a crime of murder and punishable by death; a 1791 statute condoned a woman who had an abortion but punished her accomplices. In the 19th century, the idea of ​​abortion as a crime of murder disappeared and it was seen as a crime against the state. A French law of 1810 absolutely prohibited abortion, punishable by severe penalties; but whenever it came to saving the life of the mother, doctors invariably performed it.The law was so severe that by the end of the century, few people were arrested and even fewer were convicted.New laws were passed in 1923 and 1939, making some changes in penalties. Abortion was made a crime against the state in 1941.Approaches to the crime and its penalties vary in other countries, but in general, laws and courts have punished a woman with an abortion far more leniently than her accomplices.Yet the church never softened its severity. In 1919, canon law required the excommunication of anyone involved in abortion.The Pope has recently declared again that if the choice is between the life of a mother and the life of her baby, the mother must make a sacrifice: a baptized mother can of course go to heaven (strangely enough, hell is never thought of by these musings) , the two fetuses are destined to be on the outer edge of hell forever.There was only a brief period when abortion was officially sanctioned, in pre-Nazi Germany and pre-1936 Russia.But despite religious and legal objections, abortion still has a place in nations.In France, between 800,000 and 1 million abortions are performed each year—nearly equal to the number of births.Two-thirds of abortion recipients are married women, and many have already had one or two children. Thus, while biased.Despite the existence of opposition and residual moral stereotypes, we are still witnessing a shift from free fertility to fertility controlled by the state or individual.Advances in obstetrical science have greatly reduced the risk of childbirth, and the pain of childbirth has gradually eased. In March 1949, British legislation authorized the use of certain methods of anesthesia that had become common in the United States and were beginning to be introduced in France.Artificial insemination completes evolutionary developments that allow humans to control their own reproductive functions.These changes are especially significant for a woman, allowing her to reduce the number of pregnancies and make them a legitimate and integral part of her life rather than being enslaved by them.By the 19th century, it was woman's turn to be liberated from her nature, and she took control of her own body.Now that she is largely free from reproductive servitude, she can assume the economic role given to her and guaranteeing her complete independence. This evolution of women's status should be explained by the combined effect of these two factors: participation in productive labor and liberation from reproductive slavery.As Engels foresaw, the socio-political status of women was bound to change.The feminist movement, outlined in France by Condorcet, in England by Mary Wollstonecraft in her Vindication of the Rights of Woman, was reintroduced in the nineteenth century by Saint-Simonism, but have failed to achieve significant results because it lacks a concrete basis.But now, as a woman moves into industry and out of the home, her demands begin to take on a very profound importance, possibly reaching to the heart of the bourgeoisie.Due to the rapid development of industrial civilization, landed property is no longer important for personal property, and the principle of the unity of family groups is no longer valid.The mobility of capital makes it possible for the owner of capital not to be owned by capital but to possess it. He does not need to consider ownership and can dispose of it at will.Due to the existence of hereditary property, women are extremely attached to their spouses; Compared with the solidity, link them together.So the individual may gain independence from the group. This process is particularly striking in the United States, where modern capitalism has triumphantly triumphed: Divorce is rampant across the country, and couples seem to be just a temporary couple.In France, where the agricultural population was an important component, the Napoleonic code placed married women under tutelage, so the evolution must have been slow.Divorce was restored in 1884, and wives could file for divorce if the husband committed adultery.However, gender differences in penalties remained: adultery was a crime only if it was committed by the wife.In lop years, trusteeship was admitted with reservations, and in 1917 it was fully taken. The recognition of illegitimate fathers was granted in 1912.To see a married woman change status, one had to wait until 1938 and 1943: the duty of obedience was abolished, but the father remained the head of the household.He had the right to decide where to live, although his wife could always object to his choice, always with valid reasons.Her legal powers were expanded, but the interpretation was confusing: "A married woman has full legal powers; these powers are limited only by the contract of marriage and the law," an inconsistent clause.Equality between husband and wife is not yet a fait accompli. As for political rights, we may say that they are hard won in France, England, and America.John Stuart Mill's speech to the British Parliament in 1867 officially proposed women's suffrage for the first time in history.In his writings, he urgently called for the full realization of equality between men and women in the family and society. "I believe that social arrangements made by law which subordinate one sex to the other are bad in themselves, and they are one of the chief obstacles to human progress. I believe they should give way to full equality." Continued After him, under the leadership of Mrs. Fawett, British women established political organizations, and Maria de Leisme was leading French women. Censored, a heated argument ensued with Dumas as he advised a husband who had been fooled by an unfaithful wife to "kill her".Leon Richier is the true initiator of the feminist movement. She proposed the concept of "feminist rights" in 1869 and organized an international conference held in 1878 to discuss this topic.The issue of suffrage had not yet been raised, and the women in attendance were limited to demanding civil rights. For 30 years, the movement has been timid, both in France and England.While many groups were formed, none took shape because, as we have noted, women lack a sense of shared responsibility as a sex. The Socialist Congress in 1879 announced the equality of men and women, but because it was generally believed that the women's liberation movement should be subordinate to the labor movement, the feminist movement was not taken seriously.In contrast, bourgeois women demanded new rights within the framework of the existing social system, and they did not want to be revolutionaries at all.They supported morally cleansing reforms such as banning alcoholism, pornography, and prostitution.The Feminist Congress, held in 1892, achieved little beyond naming the movement.The feminist movement made little headway, though Viviani raised the issue of women's suffrage for the first time in the National Assembly in 1900.The feminist movement grew in importance, with the rallies and marches organized by Mine Brunschwig, and the French Women's Suffrage League was formed in lop.The women's suffrage bill was passed by the National Assembly in 1919 and rejected by the House of Lords in 1922.The situation was complicated: when Pope Benedict XV declared support for women's suffrage in 1919, apart from revolutionary feminism and Mrs. Brunsweig's "independent" feminism, there was Christian feminism.Catholicism sees women as a conservative religious factor in France, but radicals worry about that precisely.As late as 1933, the House and the House of Commons were still debating endlessly, and all the anti-feminist views of the past half century were put forward: Those who court women believe that women are very respected and she should continue to be treated like this. Respect; and think that a "real woman" won't lose her electoral influence by staying home because she doesn't need to use her vote to dominate men.他们郑重强调，政治会瓦解家庭，女人毕竟是不一样的——她们不可以服兵役。他们问道：难道妓女应当有选举权吗？男人受过良好的教育；女人将会遵丈夫所瞩去投票，如果她们想有自由的话，还是让她们先从裁衣匠那里获得自由吧；不管怎么说，法国的女人比男人多！虽然这些论点贫乏无力，法国妇女还是要等到1945年才有参政权。 新西兰1893年给予了妇女一切权利，澳大利亚紧随其后，它是在1908年。但这个胜利在英美两国却是来之不易。维多利亚时代的英国把女人关在家中；简·奥斯汀把自己关在家里是为了写作。科学家们声称，女人是“一个只能用来生殖的亚种”。直到1903年女权运动还很缩手缩脚。这一年斑克赫斯特派在伦敦成立了妇女社会政治同盟，女权主义的鼓动表现出一种异乎寻常的好斗特性。在历史上人们可能首次看到女人作为女人而行动，这一行动对“参政”的冒险予以特别关注。15年来，她们一直在施加压力，最初未使用暴力，只是挥舞着旗帜游行，骚扰集会。她们被捕，绝食，和戴着毛巾的工人妇女及道地的贵妇一起列队向议会进军。她们举行集会，又导致了更大规模的逮捕，当参政权问题即将交付议会表决时，她们排成几里长龙游行。1912年采取的策略更为过激：她们焚烧房屋，捣毁画像，践踏花圃；她们向警察投掷石头，派代表反复围攻劳埃德·乔治和爱德华·格雷爵士，打断公众演说。在这期间爆发了战争。在1918年，英国妇女得到有限制的选举权，1928年得到了无限制的选举权。她们的成功基本上要归功于她们在战争中的服务。 美国妇女从一开始就比她的欧洲姐妹更为解放。19世纪初，女人不得不和男人一起参加艰苦的拓荒劳动，他们并肩奋斗。她们的人数比男人少得多，这使得她们受到重视。但逐渐地，她们的地位和旧世界的女人相差无几。她们在家中大权在握，但社会控制权仍完全掌握在男性手中。到1830年，一些女人开始要求有政治权利，从事支持黑人的运动。贵格派教徒卢克丽霞·莫特成立了美国女权协会，她在1840年的一次会议上发表了贵格派灵感宣言，从而为整个美国女权运动定下了基调。“男女生而平等，上帝赋予他们不可剥夺的权利…位立政府是为了保障这些权利……男人把已婚女人变成了一具政治僵尸……他在篡夺耶和华的特权，而只有耶和华才可以确定人们的活动范围。”三年后，哈里特·比彻·斯陀写了《汤姆叔叔的小屋》，唤起了支持黑人的公众舆论。埃默森和林肯都在支持女权运动。内战后，女权主义者徒劳地要求，给黑人以选举权的修正案也应当给妇女以选举权。苏珊·B·安东尼（SusanB．Anthony）和她的14个同志利用某种含糊在罗彻斯特参加选举，结果她被罚款100美元。1869年她成立了全国妇女争取参政协会，同年怀俄明赋予妇女选举权。此后科罗拉多州在1893年，爱达荷州和犹他州在1896年，也把选举权给予了妇女。 以后的进展非常缓慢，但在经济上女人取得了比欧洲更大的成就。1900年，美国有600万妇女参加工作，其中许多人从事商业和需要学问的职业。她们当中有女律师、医生和教授，还有多达3373人当了女牧师。玛丽·贝克·埃迪（MmpBekerEddy）成立了基督教科学教会。妇女俱乐部风靡一时，在1900年约有Zop万名成员。但只有9个州给了妇女选举权。1913年，参政运动以好斗的英国模式组织起来。领导这个运动的是两个女人：多丽丝·史蒂文斯和一个名叫埃丽丝·保罗（AlicePan）的费格派教徒。她们组织集会、游行以及其他这类政治示威。在芝加哥，女党首次成立。1917年，这个党的参政运动者站在白宫门前，拿着小旗，有时为了不被赶走，竟把自己栓在铁栅栏上。6个月后她们遭到了逮捕，但由于在狱中进行绝食，很快就被释放。在新的骚乱之后，众议院的一个妻员会接见了女党的一个成员，1918年1月8B宪法修正案被众议院通过。当时参议院经两次表决，都未通过这一修正案，但一年后又通过了它。1920年妇女参政成为美国法律。1933年召开的泛美会议，导致了19个与会的美洲共和国正式同意彻底给予妇女平等的权利。 在瑞典，也有一个很了不起的女权运动。女权主义者援引瑞典的古老传统，要求有“教育、工作和自由”的权利。女作家在这场斗争中尤其起了主导作用，她们最关心这一问题的道德方面。她们组成强有力的团体，赢得了自由党人的支持，但受到保守党人的敌视。挪威妇女在1907年赢得了参政权，芬兰妇女是在1910年，但瑞典妇女却等了好几年。 和东方国家一样，拉丁国家的妇女处于受支配地位也不是根据严格的法律，而是根据严厉的习俗。在意大利，法西斯主义有组织地阻止了女权运动的发展进程。法西斯意大利在设法与教会结盟，不使家庭受到触动，维持奴役女性的传统时，使女人面临着双重奴役：国家当局的奴役和她丈夫的奴役。1790年，一个叫希佩尔（Hippel）的大学生抛出了德国女权运动的第一个宣言。19世纪初，一种感伤的女权主义十分盛行，它和乔治·桑的女权主义相似。1848年，德国的第一位女权主义者路易斯·奥托（InuiseOttO），要求给予妇女参与民族主义性质的改革的权利，她在1865年成立了妇女团体。德国的社会主义者支持女权运动，克拉拉·蔡特金1892年是德国社会民主党的领导人之一。女工与社会主义者结成同盟。1914年，妇女积极参与了战争。德国战败后，妇女有了选举权，在政治生活中很活跃。除了李V克内西、罗莎·卢森堡也在斯巴达克斯小组进行战斗。她在1919年被暗杀。多数德国妇女站出来支持秩序党。有的人出席了国会会议。于是希特勒又把拿破仑的观念强加给被解放的妇女：“厨房，教堂，孩子”。他宣称，“女人的出席使帝国国会蒙受耻辱”。纳粹主义既反对天主教，也反对资产阶级，所以它给予母亲特权地位，使女人在很大程度上摆脱了婚姻的束缚。和在斯巴达一样，女人对国家的依附，大大超过了对任何男人的依附。因而和生活在资本主义制度中的中产阶级妇女相比，纳粹德国妇女所拥有的独立性既是更大的也是更小的。 女权运动的极其迅猛发展发生在苏俄。这个运动始于19世纪末的文学生和知识分子之中，甚至在当时就和暴力与革命有关。俄日战争哪间，女人取代了男人的许多种工作，并且有组织地要求享有平等权利。她们在1905年后参加政治罢工，设置路障。1917年革命爆发前夕，她们在圣彼得堡举行了群众示威，要求面包与和平，要求她们的丈夫重返家园。她们在十月起义和反对外国干涉的战斗中发挥了重要作用。由于忠于马克思主义传统，列宁让妇女解放运动附属于工人解放运动。他给予了她们政治和经济上的平等地位。 1936年宪法第122条说：“在苏俄，妇女在经济、职务、文化、社会和政治生活等一切方面，享有与男子同等的权利。”共产国际对此说得更加准确，它提出下列要求：“要实行男女在法律面前和实际生活中的社会平等；要在婚姻权利和家庭准则方面则收进行变革；承认母性是社会职能；要由社会承担抚养教育儿教和青少年的责任；要组织一场文明化的斗争，反对将女人变成以求的意识形态与传统。”苏俄妇女在经济领域取得了辉煌的成优。她们有平等的工资并大规模地参加生产，因此有举足轻重的社会'政治的地位。1939年，各级苏维埃都有很多女代表，300多名妇女出席了苏联最高苏维埃会议。近1000万妇女是工会会（约大占苏联职工的40％，许多女工成为斯达汉诺夫工作机众所周知，俄国妇女在二次世界大战发挥了重要作用，甚至进入了以前唯有男性才能进入的生产领域，如冶金、采煤、伐木和铁路行业。妇女还成为杰出的飞行员。伞兵；她们组织了游击队。 妇女在社会生活中的这种主动性提出一个令人费解的问题：女人在家庭生活中究竟应当扮演什么样的角色？苏俄整个一个时期所采取的措施，都是为了让女人摆脱家庭的束缚。 1924年11月16日，共产国际全体会议宣布：“只要家庭和亲属关系的观念继续存在，革命就是重要的。”自由结合因此受到尊重，离婚手续的简化和堕胎的合法化，保障了女人涉及男性的自由。有关产假、日托及全托幼儿园等的法律，减轻了母性负担。要透过热情而又矛盾的声明的迷雾发现女人的实际具体处境究竟怎样，这是很困难的。但可以肯定，如今国家对增加人口的需求导致了另一种家庭政策：家庭现在是社会的基本细胞，女人既是工人又是主妇。性道德是最严格的道德；1936年和1941年的法律禁止堕胎，几乎对离婚进行压制；通奸受到习俗的谴责。俄国女人和所有工人一样，严格从属于国家——她还严格受制于家庭。但她有机会参与政治生活和获得生产劳动所赋予的尊严，所以她的地位是独特的。本来应当对这种地位进行详细研究，可惜环境不允许我这样做。 在最近召开的会议上，联合国妇女地位妻员会要求各国承认男女的平等权利，通过了有助于具体实现这一法规的一些动议。看来这场比赛是赢了。未来只能导致女人越来越深地融于我们的这个一度曾属于男性的社会。 纵观这一段历史，我们可以得出一些明显的结论。首先得出的结论是，整个女性的历史都是男人创造的。正如美国不存在黑人问题而只存在白人问题，正如“反犹主义不是犹太人的问题，而是我们的问题”，女人问题也始终是男人的问题。我们已经发现男人一开始就有和体力一起出现的道德威望的原因。他们创造了价值、习俗和宗教；女人从未就这个帝国同他们争论过。有些孤独者——萨芙、克里斯蒂娜·德·皮桑、玛丽·沃尔斯通克拉夫特和奥林伯·德·古杰——曾坚决反对她们的刻薄命运，偶尔也举行过群众示威。但罗马主妇没有联合起来反对欧比安法；盎格鲁一撒克逊的参政主义者也未能顺利地施加她们的压力。男人始终在主宰着女人的命运。他们不是根据她的利益，而是根据他们自己的设计，出于他们的恐惧和需要，来决定女人应当有怎样的命运。他们尊崇大母神是由于害怕大自然。当青铜工具使他们有可能勇敢地面对大自然，他们便建立了父权制。于是家庭与国家的冲突决定了女人的地位。基督徒对上帝、世界以及他自己肉体的态度，在派给她的处境中反映了出来；所谓的中世纪“有关女人的争论”，是一场教士与俗人在婚姻与独身问题上的争论；正是基于私有制的社会制度，带来了对已婚女人的监护制度；是男人所完成的技术发展解放了今天的妇女；是男性的伦理转变，通过节育引起了家庭规模的缩小，使她部分地摆脱了母性的束缚。女权运动本身不是一场自主的运动：它部分是政治家手中的工具，部分是反映深层社会戏剧的附属现象。女人从未构成过一个独立的等级，作为一个性别，实际上她也从未想过扮演一个历史角色。那些反对把女人的存在作为肉体、生命、内在性和他者加以考察的理论，是男性的理论，根本没有表达出女性的愿望。多数女人是听天由命的，她们不想采取任何行动。那些试图改变命运的女人，不想受她们特质的局限，不想被它战胜，而是想战胜它。即使她们干预了世界事务的发展进程，也还是和男人一致的，也还是在根据男人的观点。 这种干预一般是不重要的，偶发的。让女人有某种经济独立地位并参与生产的阶级，是被压迫阶级；而作为女工，她们受奴役的程度甚至超过男工。统治阶级中的女人是寄生者，她照样要服从男性的法律。在这两种情况下，女人实际上都不可能采取行动。法律与社会习俗并非总是相符，平衡两者的方式是，女人决不可以有具体的自由。在古罗马共和国，经济条件赋予主妇具体的权力，但她没有任何法律上的独立地位。女人在农业文明中的地位，往往同在低层商业中产阶级中的地位相似：在家是主妇一仆人，但在社会却是未成年者。另一方面，社会瓦解时代的女人却是解放的，但她若不想再做男人的附庸，便会失去她的采邑。她仅有消极的自由，表现为放纵与挥霍。女人在罗马衰落时期、文艺复兴时期、18世纪、督政府时期（179－1799）的情形便是如此。有时她成功地让自己忙个不停，却发现自己在受奴役；或者她是自由的，却不再知道自己该做些什么。除了别的，还有一个值得注意的事实是，已婚女人在社会上有她的位置，但没有任何权利；未婚女人、正派女人或妓女完全拥有法律行为能力，但直到本世纪仍被程度不同地排斥在社会生活之外。 在法权与社会习俗的这种对立中，还产生了这样一种奇怪的矛盾：自由恋爱不为法律所禁，通奸却是一种罪过；但是，“误入歧途”的少女往往是不光彩的，妻子的不现却受到宽容。因而，从18世纪至今的许多年轻女人，她们结婚是为了可以无拘无束地有个情人。通过这一有独创性的制度，大多数女人像个孩子似的处处受到管束：如果女性人格在这两组管束——抽象的和具体的——中要成功地表现自身，就需要有一种特别的环境。其业绩可与男人相比的文人，是些社会制度的力量将其提升到各种性别差别之上的女人。伊萨贝拉女王、伊丽莎白女王和叶卡捷琳娜大帝，既不是男性也不是女性——她们是君主。值得注意的是，她们的女性气质一旦在社会上被废除，就不应当再含有劣等性的意味：大权在握的女王所占的比例，要远远高于伟大帝王所占的比例。宗教也引起了同样的变化：锡耶那的卡特琳和圣·泰丽莎完全出乎生理学意料之外地做了圣徒。她们的世俗的或神秘的生活，她们的行为，她们的著作，都达到了极少有人达到过的高度。 完全可以认为，若是说其他女人未能给世界留下深刻印象，那是因为她们在受自己处境的牵制。除了消极和拐弯抹角，她们几乎不能用别的方式干预事务。朱迪丝（如山山）叶夏洛特·科黛、维拉·查苏里奇是些暗杀者；女投石党人则是些阴谋家。在大革命时期，公社时期，女人和男人一起反对既定秩序。人们允许女人不接受和反抗无权利和权力的自由，却不允许她去分享积极的建设性成果。她至多可以顺利地以间接方式介入男人的事业。阿斯帕西娜、曼特依夫人和乌尔森公爵夫人（thePrincessdesUrsins）都是顾问，她们的意见被洗耳恭听——有些要人也不得不去听听她们的意见。当男人愿意让女人相信她选择了一个好的角色时，他们喜欢夸大这种影响。但实际上，采取具体行动时是听不到女性的声音的。她们可以挑起战争，却提不出战斗谋略；她们对政治的支配，几乎只处在把政治变为阴谋这个档次上。女人从未对世界实施过真主的支配权，对技术或经济也没有施加过影响。她们没有缔造过出没有毁灭过国家，更没有发现过新世界。虽然某些事件是由女人而爆发的，但她们是借口而不是行为者。卢克丽霞的自杀只有象征性的价值。殉道总是向被压迫着开放；在基督教迫害时明，在社会或民族刚刚失败以后，女人扮演了这种目击者角色；但殉道者从未改变过世界的面貌。即使女人挑起了动乱，进行了示威，这些活动也只有在男性的决定使其有效扩展时才有影响力。聚集在哈里特·比彻·斯阳周围的美国女人，激发了社会舆论强烈反对奴隶制，但南北战争的真正原因却是感情所不能解释的。1917年的“三八妇女节”，也许促使了俄国十月革命的爆发——但它只是导火线。 大多数女英雄都是些怪人：她们之所以成为著名的冒险家和有独创精神的人，不是因为她们的行为重要，而是因为她们的命运非同寻常。所以，如果把冉·达克、罗兰夫人和弗洛拉·特里斯坦，同黎塞留、丹东（Daton）和列宁加以比较，就会发现她们的伟大主要是主观的：她们是楷模而不是历史的行动者。伟人产生于大众并为环境所驱使；而妇女大众却处在历史的边缘，环境对于每个女人都是障碍而不是跳板。要改变世界面貌，首先必须牢牢地固定于世界之上；但牢牢固定于社会的女人却是受社会支配的人；除非其行动为神圣权威所指示（这时她们会证明自己和男人一样有能力），否则有抱负的女人和女英雄就会变成怪物。只有到女人在地球上开始感觉自如时，罗莎·卢森堡和居里夫人式的人物才会出现。她们雄辩地证明，并非是女人的劣等性造成了她们在历史上的无足轻重地位，倒是她们在历史上的无足轻重地位造成了她们注定是劣等的人 这一事实在女人自我表现得十分顺利的领域——即文化领域，表现得非常明显。她们的命运同艺术。书信文学的命运紧密相联。在古日耳曼人当中，预言家和祭司的职责已经适合于女人。由于女人处在世界的边缘这一位置，当男人努力通过文化超出他们的宇宙范围、接近尚不为他们所知的事物时，他们便会转向她。宫廷的神秘主义、人性论者的好奇、盛行于意大利文艺复兴时期的审美情趣、厂世纪的矫揉造作、18世纪的进步理想主义——这一切都以不同形式引起了对女性的褒奖。女人因此成为诗的启明星，艺术创作的主题。她是闲暇的，所以她有可能献身于精神乐趣：作为作家的灵感、评论者和读者，她是他的对手。正是她便感伤的模式、滋润男性心田的伦理流行了起来，所以她干预了自己的命运一…一妇女受教育在很大程度上是女性的胜利。可是，不论知识妇女的这种集体作用可能有多么重要，她们的个人贡献一般价值不大。正因为女人未采取行动，她在思想艺术领域才有特权地位。但思想和艺术有自己的活力，对于追求再创造的人来说，处在世界边线不是一个有利的位置：问题仍然是，要超出既定范围，必须首先深植于其内。在集体处于劣等处境的人类类别当中，个人成就几乎不可能出现。玛丽·巴什基尔切夫则如想知道：“当一个人仍处在边缘时，你能够让他到哪里去呢？”司汤达说：“生而为女人的所有天才为公益所湮没。”实际上，一个人不会生来就是天才：天才是变成的。而女性处境至今使这种演变实际上成为不可能。 反女权者从历史研究中得到两个相互矛盾的论据：（1）女人从未创造过伟大的事业；（2）女人的处境从未阻碍过伟大女人的成长。这两个命题中存在着虚假：极少数特权者的成功无法平衡或用来辩解集体水平的普遍低下，而且这些成功是罕见的、有限的，恰恰证明环境对其是不利的。正如克里斯蒂娜·德·皮桑、普兰·德·拉·巴雷、孔多塞、约翰·斯图尔特·密尔和司汤达所坚持认为的，在任何一个领域，女人实际上从未有过机会。这就是今天相当多的女人要求有新的地位的原因；她们所要求的仍不是褒奖自己的女性气质：和一般人一样，她们本身的超越性也可以胜过内在性；她们希望最终能够有抽象的权利和具体的可能性，并且随之而来的自由不是一种愚弄。 这个愿望正在实现。但我们所处的时期是一个过渡期。这个世界，过去始终属于男人，现在仍归他们掌握。父权文明的制度与价值大部分依然存在。抽象权利远非在各地都彻底给予了女人：在瑞士，她们尚未参加选举；在法国，1942年的法律仍在某种程度上维护着丈夫的特权。抽象的权利，如我刚才说的，不可能保证女人对世界的明确控制：即使在今天，男女的真正平等也不存在。 首先，女人的婚姻负担肯定比男人重。我们已注意到，由于采用节育——公开的或秘密的——母性奴役已在减弱。但这一做法既未推广到各地，也未经常采用。堕胎仍被正式禁止，许多女人或冒有损于健康的危险，极力在堕胎时不受监督，或发现自己已被多次怀孕所摧垮。和持家一样，照料孩子也仍由女人专门承担。特别是在法国，反女权的传统非常顽固，男人会认为帮女人干活儿有失体面。因而女人要把家庭和她的工作角色协调起来，比男人这样做时还难。每当社会要求作出这种努力，她的生活就会比丈夫更为艰难。 让我们来考察一下例如农妇的命运吧！在法国，她们占参加生产劳动的女人的大多数，一般都已经结婚。各地有不同的习俗：诺曼底（Noman）农妇主管膳食；科西嘉女人不能和男人同桌吃饭。但她们在各地都在家庭经济中起着十分重要的作用，分担着男人的职责，分享着他的利益与财产。她受到尊重，常进行有效的控制——她的处境令人想起古代农业公社中的女人处境。与丈夫相比，她常更有道德尊严，但她过的生活实际上更为艰辛。她单独料理庭园、猪羊圈等，还参与清扫牲口圈、种地、犁地、除草及晒干草等艰苦劳动；她要去铲地、收庄稼、摘葡萄，有时也帮助卸下车上的干草、木柴等。她要做饭、持家，要做洗洗唰唰、缝缝补补之类的活儿，还承担着料理孩子的沉重母性负担。她破晓而起，喂鸡喂鸭，喂其他小家畜，给男人准备早饭，到地里、林子或庭园去干活。她打水，做第二顿饭，洗碟子，到地里干活，直到做晚饭时。此后，她缝缝补补、打扫房间、脱谷等，度过傍晚的时光。她无暇顾及自己的健康，即使在怀孕时；她很快就畸形了，她未老先衰，筋疲力竭，备受疾病的折磨。她绝无男人时常进行的社交生活所享有的那种补偿：他在星期天或集市日进城和别的男人会面，在咖啡馆喝酒、打扑克，出去打猎、钓鱼。她则呆在农村家里，不懂得何谓闲暇。只有富家的农妇——她们有仆人，或者可以木下地干活——才可以过上正常的生活：她们在社会上受到尊重，在家里行使许多权力，未被劳动所摧垮。但总的来看，农村劳动把女人置于牲口的地位。 女商人和小企业的女雇主，一直是特权者中的一员。中世纪以后，她们是唯一被法典承认有公民权利和权力的女人。女杂货商、奶品商、地产主及烟草商的地位和男人相等。若是老处女或寡妇，则可以自己开个合法商行；若结婚，则和丈夫一样有独立地位。幸运的是，她们可以在自己住的地方工作，而且工作通常不太需要聚精会神。 对于女工或女雇员、秘书、推销员来说，情况则完全不是如此。她们全都在家外面工作。要她们把职业同家庭负担结合起来，则困难得多：每天做家务的时间至少要有3个半小时，星期天则需要6个小时——这大大追加了在工厂或办公室工作的时间。至于需要学问的职业，即便是女律师、医生和教授在家务上可以得到某些帮助，家庭和孩子对她也还是一个很不利的负担。在美国，家务劳动被精巧的小装置搞得简单化了，但要求职业妇女有漂亮的外貌，这把另一种负担强加给了她，而她仍要为家庭和孩子尽责。 而且，以工作来追求独立的女人，和男人相比，其前景并不那么有利。在多数岗位她的工资比男人低。她从事的工作不那么专业化，所以不像熟练劳动者的工作那样有优厚的报酬。而且她同工不同酬。由于在男性世界是个新手，她成功的机会比他们少。男人和女人都讨厌听命于女人，对男人总是更表示信任。做一个女人，即便不是一种缺憾，也至少是一件怪事。一个女人要“成功”，就必须得到男性的支持，这是有道理的。男人无疑有着最有利的位置，担任着最重要的职务。有必要强调这一事实：从经济角度上讲，男人和女人构成了两个等级。 制约女人实际地位的一个事实是，顽固存在的悠久传统进入了刚源俄出现的新文明。这一点为轻率的观察者所误解，他们认为女人对呈现在她面前的前景不胜任，或者，仍然认为这种前景中只有危险的诱惑。实际情况是，她的处境失去了平衡，因而她很难让自己适应它。虽然我们向女人开放了工厂、办公室和大学院系，但我们仍认为婚姻对于她是一种非常体面的职业，她可以因此不需要参加任何其他的集体生活。和在原始文明中一样，爱情行为在她那一方是一种服务，她有权多少有点直接地为此索取报酬。除了苏联，各国都允许现代女人将她的身体当做剥削的资本。卖淫被默许，淫荡受到鼓励。已婚女人有权设法让丈夫赡养自己，此外还有权要求赋予她比老处女高得多的社会尊严。社会习俗完全不承认老处女有与独身男人对等的性潜能，尤其实际上不准许她怀孕，未婚母亲仍是丑闻的对象。的确，灰姑娘童话怎么能不完整地保持其效力呢？一切都仍在鼓励着少女期望从某个迷人王子那里得到幸运与幸福，而不是鼓励她努力靠自己去赢得，尽管这种赢得是艰巨的、莫测的。多亏有了他，她才特别有希望能够升到高于她自己等级的等级，进入以她用平生的劳动也不可能换取的奇迹般境地。但这种希望也是一种邪恶，因为它把她的力量和她的利益分开了。这种分裂也许是女人的最大障碍。父母培养女儿的目的依旧是为了结婚，而不是为了促进她的人格发展。女人认为结婚有许多好处，以至地本人也希望能够结婚。结果，她受的专门训练往往较少，基础不如她的兄弟牢固，她对于自己职业的专注也不是那么强烈。于是她注定要留在低级的职业上，注定是劣等的。而且还形成了一种恶性循环：这种职业上的劣等性又增强了她想找一个丈夫的欲望。 各种利益都有其不利一面的某种负担，但如果这种负担太重，利益就似乎与奴役无异。对于大多数劳动者而言，劳动在今日是一种无益的苦役。而对于女人，这并没有由于她明确赢得了社会尊严、行动自由或经济独立而抵消。许多女工和女雇员在工作权利中只看到负担，认为婚姻将使她们摆脱这种负担，这是很自然的。可是，由于女人已具备自我意识，由于她通过工作也可以摆脱婚姻的束缚，她不再驯服地接受在家中的受支配地位。她会希望，把家庭生活与工作协调起来，不至于让她感到筋疲力尽。即便在这种情况下，只要存在着经济不平等，只要女人把自己卖给某个人，而这个人又有大家所公认的特权，那么，一旦出现方便的诱惑，她选择独立道路就要付出较男人更大的精神努力。她未充分认识到，诱惑也是一种障碍。欺骗与诱惑相伴，在婚姻抽彩奖中，几千个人当中实际上只有一个人中奖。现时代是在吸引甚至强迫女人去工作，但它又在她们眼前闪现出懒惰与快乐的天堂：它拔高了中奖者的形象，使其远远高于仍在人间