Olympe de Gouges

French playwright and political activist (1748–1793)

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Lived 1748–1793, aged 45France

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Era
1748–1793
Aged 45

Summary

Updated 2026-06-09

She wrote the Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Female Citizen in 1791 — a direct challenge to the French Revolution's exclusion of women from its promise of equality — and was guillotined two years later for attacking Robespierre's government.

Biography

About

Born Marie Gouze in southwestern France in 1748, de Gouges moved to Paris in the 1780s and built a prolific career as a playwright and pamphleteer, tackling slavery, divorce, children's rights, and unemployment. She welcomed the Revolution in 1789 but quickly soured when it denied women the rights it granted men. Her 1791 Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Female Citizen demanded equality and challenged male authority head-on. Aligned with the moderate Girondins, she opposed the execution of Louis XVI and wrote with growing fury against Robespierre's Montagnards during the Terror. O…

Voice

In their own words

Sourced, dated quotes from Olympe de Gouges

Olympe de Gouges

said1791

Article 1. Woman is born free and lives equal to man in her rights. Social distinctions can be based only on the common utility.

— Declaration of the Rights of Women (1791)

Olympe de Gouges

said1791

Marriage is a tomb of trust and love. The married woman can with impunity give bastards to her husband, and also give them the wealth which does not belong to them.

— Postscript

Olympe de Gouges

said1791