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

first-wave feminist First-wave feminism was a period of feminist activity and thought that occurred during the 19th and early 20th century throughout the Western world. It focused on De jure, legal issues, primarily on securing Women's suffrage, women's right to vot ...

, and political activist. Born in Paris, Pelletier frequented

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

and anarchist 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 or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

, the French Section of the Workers' International, and came to lead a feminist association. She set out to join the

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key mome ...

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 in 1937 which made her

hemiplegic Hemiparesis, or unilateral paresis, is weakness of one entire side of the body ('' hemi-'' means "half"). Hemiplegia is, in its most severe form, complete paralysis of half of the body. Hemiparesis and hemiplegia can be caused by different medic ...

. Pelletier was charged with having performed an

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...

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

mental asylum The lunatic asylum (or insane asylum) was an early precursor of the modern psychiatric hospital. The fall of the lunatic asylum and its eventual replacement by modern psychiatric hospitals explains the rise of organized, institutional psychiatry ...

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

Biography

Pelletier originally trained as an anthropologist 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. More generally, it can be des ...

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 secret ...

and

Léonce Manouvrier Léonce is a French masculine 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 cine ...

. 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. Madeleine Pelletier (sans date)

She was also notable as a female Freemason. Pelletier was a member of the ''La Nouvelle Jérusalem''

lodge Lodge is originally a term for a relatively small building, often associated with a larger one. Lodge or The Lodge may refer to: Buildings and structures Specific * The Lodge (Australia), the official Canberra residence of the Prime Ministe ...

, 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. Pelletier was partially paralyzed by a stroke 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.

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 Women travel writers Women autobiographers Women biographers Communist women writers 20th-century French women writers

Biography

See also

References

Sources

External links