Women's Roles During The Enlightenment

While women’s place in society became more widely debated during the Enlightenment, their social roles went largely unchanged. While such things as salons did relieve some of the oppression, this did not apply to all women, especially the lower classes. In addition, even in the salons women were expected to voice the opinions of their husbands and not to speak unless spoken to, severely limiting their ability to voice their own opinions. Furthermore, women were not supposed to frequent coffeehouses, meaning that their voices were even more restricted. Though there were those, such as d’Alembert, who had a favorable view of women and argued for their rights, but ultimately there were more of those who supported the opinion that women were subordinate
to men. There were also a few female enlightenment thinkers, but it seems that in this case it is the exceptions that prove the rule. The lack of women in this field as opposed to the plethora of men further proves the limitations on women in society during this time.