2008 Woodie Awards
URI professor examines women's role in morality
Lisa McGunigal
Issue date: 2/20/08 Section: Campus
02/20/08 - Women are the moral compass and men are the steering wheel, according to yesterday's speaker at the Dana Shugar Colloquium.
URI assistant professor of French, Karen De Bruin presented a lecture entitled, "The 'Superior Woman:' Germaine de Staël's Moral Compass for a Fledgling Republic," centering around the writings and beliefs of 19th century French writer Germaine de Staël.
"To obey one's conscience is to be able to resist," De Bruin said, quoting de Staël.
As an essayist, philosopher, and political thinker, de Staël wrote in hopes of educating women and teaching them to resist reason and listen to conscience.
"De Staël believed in freedom as a whole," De Bruin said.
De Bruin said there were few female authors during the 19th century in France. The few female writers looked to de Staël for her bravery in choosing to write with a strong voice, as French society often dismissed works by women.
"Artistic greatness was only reserved for men," De Bruin said. While de Staël received negative attention for her writings, she wanted to represent freedom and establishments that protect freedom.
"Only women can save France from itself after the Revolution," de Staël wrote. For a republic to be free, de Staël believed that it must liberate the women.
De Bruin said de Staël's novels are only recently beginning to receive attention.
"De Staël opted to challenge the basic foundation that excluded women ... from the public sphere," De Bruin said.
De Staël also addressed the differences between reason and conscience. Philosophers during the Enlightenment in France did not believe women were capable of reason.
"Feeling was supposed to be attributed to the female domain," De Bruin said.
Arguing that reason was being overemphasized, de Staël insisted conscience would help people respect ideals such as freedom. Women are the moral compass for a ship, while men are the steering wheel. The only freedom one can understand under repressive institutions was moral freedom, according to de Staël.
URI assistant professor of French, Karen De Bruin presented a lecture entitled, "The 'Superior Woman:' Germaine de Staël's Moral Compass for a Fledgling Republic," centering around the writings and beliefs of 19th century French writer Germaine de Staël.
"To obey one's conscience is to be able to resist," De Bruin said, quoting de Staël.
As an essayist, philosopher, and political thinker, de Staël wrote in hopes of educating women and teaching them to resist reason and listen to conscience.
"De Staël believed in freedom as a whole," De Bruin said.
De Bruin said there were few female authors during the 19th century in France. The few female writers looked to de Staël for her bravery in choosing to write with a strong voice, as French society often dismissed works by women.
"Artistic greatness was only reserved for men," De Bruin said. While de Staël received negative attention for her writings, she wanted to represent freedom and establishments that protect freedom.
"Only women can save France from itself after the Revolution," de Staël wrote. For a republic to be free, de Staël believed that it must liberate the women.
De Bruin said de Staël's novels are only recently beginning to receive attention.
"De Staël opted to challenge the basic foundation that excluded women ... from the public sphere," De Bruin said.
De Staël also addressed the differences between reason and conscience. Philosophers during the Enlightenment in France did not believe women were capable of reason.
"Feeling was supposed to be attributed to the female domain," De Bruin said.
Arguing that reason was being overemphasized, de Staël insisted conscience would help people respect ideals such as freedom. Women are the moral compass for a ship, while men are the steering wheel. The only freedom one can understand under repressive institutions was moral freedom, according to de Staël.