A history of their own

VI. WOMEN OF THE COURTS 
RULERS, PATRONS, AND ATTENDANTS 
 _ The World of Absolute Monarchs from the Fifteenth to the 
Eighteenth Centuries 3 
 _ The Life of the Courtier 7 
The Courtier’s Roles and Rewards — The Court Setting, Costumes, 
and Activities 
 _ The Traditional Life in 4a Grand Setting: Wife and Queen Consort 26 
The Ideal — Education—Marriage Arrangements — Childbearing — 
The Relationship Between Wives and Husbands 
. Women Rulers 44 
The Combination of Circumstances — Queen Mother and Regent — 
Royal Heir and Monarch 
_ New Opportunities 62 
Performers and Composers — Painters — Courtesans — Writers 
_ The Legacies of Renaissance Humanism and the Scientific Revolution 83 
Renewed Access to Learning — The Querelles des Femmes 
(The Debate over Women) — Science Affirms Tradition
VII. WOMEN OF THE SALONS AND PARLORS 
LADIES, HOUSEWIVES, AND PROFESSIONALS 
. Women in the Salons 103 
The Creation and Institution of the Salon in France — Salons and 
Saloniéres in England and Germany — The Decline of the Salon — 
Mary Wollstonecraft and Hannah More 
. Women in the Parlors 129 
The Impact of a Rising Standard of Living — The 
Nineteenth-Century Lady: Her Life and Tasks — The 
Nineteenth-Century Lady: Ideals and Restrictions — The 
Domestication of the Queen 
. Leaving the Parlors 167 
Writers, Artists, and Musicians — Charity Workers and Social 
Reformers — The Battle for Education and Professional Training 
. Opportunities and Limits: Change and Tradition in 
the Twentieth Century 197 
The Impact of World War I — Traditions Reasserted — The Mixed 
Blessings of Psychology — From Domesticity to Gracious Living: 
Privileged Women Since 1945 
VIII. WOMEN OF THE CITIES 
MOTHERS, WORKERS, AND REVOLUTIONARIES 
Family Life 227 
Two Lives — Moving to the Cities — Partnership with a Man — 
Raising Larger Families — Illegitimacy and Unwanted Children 
Earning Income 248 
Child Labor — Single Women — Women with Children — Old 
Women — Women and Religion 
Revolutions and Reforms 278 
Urban Women in 1789, 1848, and 1871 — The Impact of a Rising 
Standard of Living — Women in World War I and the Russian 
Revolution — Women in the 1930s 
Continuity and Change: Women in World War II and After 308 
Women in World War II — Working-Class Women Since 1945 f : “~< o 
Contents Vii 
IX. TRADITIONS REJECTED 
A HISTORY OF FEMINISM IN EUROPE 
. Feminism in Europe 333 
_ Asserting Women’s Humanity: Early European Feminists 341 
Christine de Pizan — Early European Feminists—Mary 
Wollstonecraft 
_ Asserting Women’s Legal and Political Equality: Equal 
Rights Movements in Europe 350 
Feminism and Liberalism — Feminism and Christianity — Women’s 
Rights Movements — The English Women’s Rights Movement: 
1832-1928 — Achievements and Limitations of Equal Rights 
Feminism 
_ Feminist Socialism in Europe 371 
Feminism and Socialism — Early Feminist Socialists: Owenites and 
Saint-Simonians — Marriage, Sex, and Socialism — Feminist 
Socialism in Europe: 1875-1925 — Related Causes, 1 925-1945: 
Social Welfare, Pacifism, and Anti-Fascism 
_ The Women’s Liberation Movement 406 
From Consciousness-Raising to Political Action — Asserting 
Women’s Right to Control Their Own Fertility — Asserting 
Women’s Right to Determine Their Own Sexuality — Toward a 
Woman-Centered World