Le Poeme de la femme

"Put men to shame! Show them the strength, the grandeur, the energy, the resolve that accompany your grace and beauty. While they vote, and prostitute themselves, and crawl in the mud, fly above them, singing in higher spheres."

Letter from Victor Hugo to Louise Colet, translation: (Gray, 203)

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The foremost of Colet's feminist writings, Le Poeme de la femme was a three volume work that presented the plight of women at each level of society, from peasants to servants, from nuns to women artists such as herself.

The unabashedly feminist content of the work made it nearly impossible for Colet to find a publisher, much less a supportive audience. Even her then lover, Flaubert, was appalled by the work. (Gray, 203)