human
Saturdays were much sought after. Her visitors were rather more given to affectations of manners and speech than those of her aristocratic predecessor and the transfer therefore marks the first step in the decadence which set in. In her
gpt
the Third Estate was largely represented; in fact, as the
human
element gained in strength, the decadence became more marked, for its representatives were more easily led into excesses than the female members of the aristocracy. This explains how the name of Mlle de Scudéry--rather unjustly--came to be identified with that false preciosity which did the female cause such harm. And yet she was herself an ardent feminist, not only in the qualified sense of her predecessor, but in the full sense of the word. Her two principal romances:
gpt
and
human
, derive an interest--which their longwindedness greatly endangers--from their marked feminist tendencies. In the former, Mlle de Scudéry, whose views are expressed by Sapho, pleads for mental occupation as the only means of promoting female virtue. She rebukes the vanity of ignorance so common among those of her sex who imagine that
gpt
. She is also one of the first to accuse the male sex of inconsistency, refusing their womenfolk an education, yet finding fault with them for lacking those qualities which are the fruit of education only.
human
Sérieusement, y a-t-il rien de plus bizarre que de voir comment on agit pour l'ordinaire en l'éducation des femmes? On ne veut pas qu'elles soient coquettes ni galantes, et on leur permet pourtant d'apprendre soigneusement tout ce qui est propre à la galanterie, sans leur permettre de savoir rien qui puisse fortifier leur vertu, ni occuper leur esprit . But the
gpt
equally inspires her with profound disgust, and this some of her critics have failed to recognize. The Damophile of the _Grand Cyrus_ is an exact reproduction of the Philaminte of Molière's
human
, pretending to an erudition which is only imaginary and prevents her from attending to her household duties. There is nothing more objectionable in Mlle de Scudéry's opinion than for a woman to make parade of her knowledge, which may be useful chiefly in enabling her to listen with appreciation when men were talking. The theory of perfect equality, proposed about the same time by Poullain de la Barre, did not find an adherent in Mlle de Scudéry. The