3-089-290 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Femme de lettre humanitaire se livrant sur l'homme..., 1844. ...à des réflexions crânement philosophiques!. (A woman of humanitarian letters devoting herself to proudly philosophical reflections on man!) Satirical criticism of 'bluestockings': women with interests beyond housework and childcare. Female authors were often depicted as mannish and ugly - the implication being that their intellectual output was just as objectionable as their looks.