Madeleine Pelletier (18 May 1874 – 29 December 1939) was a French

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry. Psychiatrists are physicians who evaluate patients to determine whether their symptoms are the result of a physical illness, a combination of physical and mental ailments or strictly ...

, first-wave feminist, and political

activist Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

. Born in Paris, Pelletier frequented

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

and

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...

groups in her adolescence. She became a doctor in her twenties, overcoming a large educational gap, and was France's first woman to receive a doctorate in psychiatry. Pelletier joined

freemasonry Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

, the

French Section of the Workers' International The French Section of the Workers' International (, SFIO) was a major socialist political party in France which was founded in 1905 and succeeded in 1969 by the present Socialist Party. The SFIO was founded in 1905 as the French representativ ...

, and came to lead a feminist association. She set out to join the

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

but returned disillusioned. In France, she continued to advocate for feminist and communist causes, and wrote numerous articles, essays, and literary works, even following a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

in 1937 which made her

hemiplegic Hemiparesis, also called unilateral paresis, is the weakness of one entire side of the body ('' hemi-'' means "half"). Hemiplegia, in its most severe form, is the complete paralysis of one entire side of the body. Either hemiparesis or hemiplegia ...

. Pelletier was charged with having performed an

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

in 1939 despite her condition precluding her ability to perform this act. She was placed in a

mental asylum The lunatic asylum, insane asylum or mental asylum was an institution where people with mental illness were confined. It was an early precursor of the modern psychiatric hospital. Modern psychiatric hospitals evolved from and eventually replace ...

where her health deteriorated and she died of a second stroke later that year.

Biography

Pelletier originally trained as an

anthropologist An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...

studying the relationship between skull size and

intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. It can be described as t ...

after

Paul Broca Pierre Paul Broca (, also , , ; 28 June 1824 – 9 July 1880) was a French physician, anatomist and anthropologist. He is best known for his research on Broca's area, a region of the frontal lobe that is named after him. Broca's area is involve ...

with

Charles Letourneau Charles Jean Marie Letourneau (23 September 1831, Auray – 21 February 1902, 6th arrondissement of Paris) was a 19th-century French anthropologist. Biography In 1865 he joined the Society of Anthropology of Paris of which he was general secreta ...

and

Léonce Manouvrier Léonce is a French unisex given name. People with the name Léonce include: *Léonce (actor) (1823–1900), French actor and singer *Léonce Bekemans (born 1950), Belgian economist and scholar *Léonce-Henri Burel (1892–1977), French cinematog ...

. When she left anthropology she attacked the concept of skull size as a determinant of intelligence distinguishing the sexes. Following her break with anthropology Pelletier went on to become a psychiatrist. In 1903, Pelletier conducted a campaign with the support of the feminist newspaper '' La Fronde'' to support the eligibility of women for all types of medical specialisation, most relevantly to the examination for psychiatric internships. She was also notable as a female

Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

. Pelletier was a member of the ''La Nouvelle Jérusalem'' lodge, becoming a member in 1904. The lodge had both male and female members, and, although politically active, she was often at odds with her lodge in her efforts to promote the emancipation of women. A staunch feminist, Pelletier fought for women's suffage and abortion. In July 1906, she and other suffragists, including Caroline Kauffmann, invaded the

French Chamber of Deputies The Chamber of Deputies (, ) was the lower house of parliament in France at various times in the 19th and 20th centuries: * 1814–1848 during the Bourbon Restoration and the July Monarchy, the Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the Fr ...

and showered down from the gallery pink slips of paper containing an appeal for the right to vote. Pelletier was partially paralyzed by a

in 1937. However, she continued to openly practice abortion, and was arrested in 1939. Following her arrest she was interned in an asylum and her physical and mental health deteriorated. She died within the year.

Works

* ''Les lois morbides de l'association des idées,''

Jean Rousset Jean Rousset (20 February 1910, Geneva – 15 September 2002, Geneva) was a Swiss literary critic who worked on French literature, and in particular on Baroque literature of the late Renaissance and early seventeenth century. He is grouped wit ...

, 1904 * ''La Femme en lutte pour ses droits'', V. Giard et E. Brière, Paris, 1908 * ''Dieu, la morale, la patrie'', V. Giard et E. Brière, Paris, 1910 * ''Philosophie sociale: Les opinions, les partis, les classes'', V. Giard et E. Brière, Paris, 1912 * ''Le Droit à l’avortement'', Éditions du Malthusien, Paris, 1913 * ''La question du vote des femmes'', 1919 * ''Oeuvres diverses'', Marcel Giard, Paris, 1922 * ''Mon voyage aventureux en Russie communiste'', Marcel Giard, Paris, 1922 * ''La Guerre est-elle naturelle'' suivi de ''Le Droit au travail pour la femme'', La Brochure mensuelle, Paris, 1931 * ''Une vie nouvelle'', Eugène Figuière, 1932 * ''La Femme vierge'', 1933 File:Madeleine Pelletier3.jpg, Pelletier in 1910 for Agence Rol File:Madeleine Pelletier (sans date).jpg, Pelletier dressed like a man to distance herself from femininity, a concept that she saw as a sign of the oppression of women. File:Excelsior - La France, comme l'Angleterre, à ses Suffragettes.jpg, ''France, like England, has its Suffragettes'' Excelsior, December 13, 1910 File:Plaque Madeleine Pelletier, 80-82 rue de Gergovie, Paris 14e.jpg, Plaque honoring Pelletier in 80-82 rue de Gergovie, Paris

References

Sources

*Allen, C. S. (2003). "Sisters of Another Sort: Freemason Women in Modern France, 1725–1940". ''The Journal of Modern History'', 75: 783–835. *Gordon, F. (1990). ''The Integral Feminist, Madeleine Pelletier, 1874 – 1939, Feminism, Socialism and Medicine''. Polity Press *Sowerwine, C. (1991). "Activism and Sexual Identity – the Life and Words of Pelletier, Madeleine (1874–1939)". ''Mouvement Social'', 157: 9–32. *Sowerwine, C. (2003). "Woman’s Brain, Man’s Brain: feminism and anthropology in late nineteenth-century France". '' Women’s History Review'', 12:289–307. * Felicia Gordon, "Convergence and conflict: anthropology, psychiatry and feminism in the early writings of Madeleine Pelletier (1874—1939)," ''History of Psychiatry'', 19,2 (2008), 141–162.

External links

Some of her texts available online (in French)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pelletier, Madeleine 1874 births 1939 deaths French autobiographers French anarchists French anthropologists French women anthropologists French biographers French Communist Party members French essayists French feminists French Freemasons French women novelists French political writers French psychiatrists French women psychiatrists French suffragists Free love advocates French travel writers French socialist feminists Socialist Party (France) politicians French women physicians French women essayists French women travel writers Women autobiographers French women biographers Communist women writers 20th-century French women writers University of Paris alumni 20th-century French women physicians 20th-century French physicians 20th-century French women scientists 20th-century French writers

Biography

Works

See also

References

Sources

External links