Women's Liberation Movements

Weiss' Voyage

For Weiss, communist Russia remained a true great mystery. It started with the objective of understanding Soviet Russia with the vast question: To what extent would Bolshevik Russia cease to be a Bolshevist?. Louise Weiss, Mémoires d'une Européenne, Tome II, Combats pour l'Europe, 1919-1934 (Paris:Albin Michel, 1970), 118. She led a political inquiry by meeting several figures of the Revolution. The journal L'Europe Nouvelle advocated the recognition of Bolshevik Russia, but Weiss was critical on communism.. La Journaliste au service de la paix, http://www.louise-weiss.org/louise_weiss_journaliste.html She was first commissioned as a journalist, and subsequently financed by the Red Cross to report on areas devastated by famine in Russia.. Célia Bertin, Louise Weiss (Paris, Albin Michel, 1999), 122.

In the December 17th, 1921 edition of l'Europe Nouvelle, Louise Weiss described her first encounter with Kollontai. In her article, Weiss introduced Kollontai as a combatant.. Louise Weiss, “Les idées d'Alexandra Kollontai,” L'Europe nouvelle 4, no. 50 (December 17th 1921): 1623-1624. Weiss raised the numerous organizations and clandestine agitation of which Kollontai was apart. She also indicated her entourage of social institutions as well as serious collaborators and housewives. In her memoirs, she quoted several passages from the meeting with Kollontai, which was rather tense. She first called Kollontai very intelligent, but pugnacious; she liked to challenge her interlocutor and enjoyed controversy. Weiss believed that Kollontai's way of addressing love and privacy was perturbing.. Weiss, Mémoires d'une Européenne Tome II, 120. Kollontai even replied that her communism was radically opposed to Weiss's “individualist philosophy and that it was inspired by the strictest defense of women's interests”.. Ibid, 122-124. In this quote, it possible to outline point of contention between Weiss' liberal feminism and Kollontai's radical ideology.

As we read her memoir, we can argue that Weiss didn't have the same positions as Kollontai's in regards to family and motherhood. Kollontai expressed to her that women should be able to practice their duties by being relieved of their maternal duties.. Ibid, 127. In fact, the communist explained to Weiss that, according to her, the family was useless, since it was opposed to the advent of communism. Moreover, we can read in Weiss's memories that Kollontai persisted especially on this subject: referring to Kollontai's ideologies, reducing the concept of nuclear bourgeois family to its simplest form was primordial.. Ibid. Relating to her position on children, Weiss was once again shocked to understand that these were to be seen as future work units and that the conjugal life of their parents did not concern them.. Bertin, Louise Weiss, 133-134.

Following this interview, where the two women were drastically in disagreement, Weiss believed that these ideas were quite derisory: Weiss firmly thought that Kollontai did nonsense concerning her idea about sexual freedom, and therefore thought that this concept was pure utopia.. Weiss, Mémoires d'une Européenne, Tome II, 121. Louise Weiss completely disagreed with the idea of doing everything to make the community come forward, even to remove the family. I argue that she was indeed a reformist, but she never intended to fight for a revolution or to adherer to any political party. Essentially, she considered that the sketch of the revolutionary couple did not go along at all with France's realities.

Louise Weiss challenged Kollontai's opinions on abortion matters, stating that doctors were not qualified enough for such interventions. Kollontai replied that the terrible misery motivated this law, since women often could not feed their children.. Ibid. Thus, according to her, it was better to temporarily authorize this law until the community had the means to help these families.. Weiss, “Les idées d'Alexandra Kollontai,” L'Europe Nouvelle, 1623. Weiss denounced this kind of practice, since they could have led to one-day unions: this would, according to Weiss, place women in a very bad situation. Indeed, she thought that one-day unions wouldn't help women empower themselves and they would still be dependent on men. Kollontai, disagreed with her: she explained that in this transitional period, women didn't acquire sufficient technical skills to fight on equal terms with men.. Hirsch, “Louise Weiss, l'« aristo-prolo »,” 47.

In Russia, the national greatness, lack of hostility towards unknown people as well as the unlimited possibilities of its territory. Ibid, 47-48. seemed to be charming her. Indeed, as she outlined in her memoirs, Weiss admired Revolutionary Russia in the sense that she saw many opportunities to reform the established order, thereby improving the status of women.. Weiss, Mémoires d'une Européenne, Tome II, 129-130. Nevertheless, since Weiss always remained having a critical perspective of socialism, she did not see the point of staying in USSR to make a living.

2.5 Conclusions

To conclude, this chapter showed that despite the convergences of opinion between Kollontai, Weiss and Pelletier, a dialogue had been established between French feminists and Kollontai. These meetings demonstrated very well the intention of Pelletier and Weiss to try to understand the new life for women in Russia. By demonstrating two different positions, I argue that belonging to the feminist movement has influenced Madeleine Pelletier and Louise Weiss in their impressions of their trips to Moscow, but also in their dialogues with Kollontai.

Louise Weiss' travels have been reported in more than one newspaper. Although officially her narrative was written primarily in L'Europe Nouvelle, it was possible to find her writings in other French newspapers. Indeed, on November 14, 1921, an article signed by Louise Weiss appeared in one of the most important newspaper: Le Petit Parisien.. Louise Weiss, “Cinq semaines à Moscou, L'amour et le mariage, Les idées de Alexandra Kollontai,” Le Petit Parisien 46, no. 16 330 (November 14^th, 1921): 1. Considered as daily political moderate positioning, the article explained the radical ideologies of Kollontai on the individualistic perception of monogamous love. In addition, Kollontai's ideas appeared in the far-right newspaper L'Action Française. Robert de la Montagne, “L'amour et le Mariage en Russie,” L'Action Française 14, no. 320. (November 16^th, 1921): 2., which criticized her ideas, questioning the need for women's emancipation from the domestic sphere. Pelletier's journey was indeed only reported in left periodicals.

Chapter 3. Feminisms in Conflict, Understanding French Feminist Movements

3.1 French Feminist Realities, 1920s

French political agendas in the 1920s were rather different from Russian social realities during the same time. Yet, both countries saw similar struggles taking over in several social spheres, such as women's emancipation and struggles concerning sexual oppression. I want to outline that, although women's movements were different in both countries, many similar themes were discussed in newspapers in both countries. As stated in the previous chapter, by addressing these topics, and by meeting with Kollontai, Louise Weiss and Madeleine Pelletier raised questions about Kollontai's ideals.

What kind of feminist movement could we acknowledge in France in 1920s? Rochefort enlightened in the first place that there was not only one feminist movement, but feminisms.. Rochefort, “Les feministes,” 116-118. I study subsequently in this chapter the extent that this ideology of the New Woman was acknowledged in the feminist circles in France. In a more general perspective, the social realities in the 1920s clarified the reasons why the ideology of sexual freedom did not have its place in the women's struggle in France. I will demonstrate that under these circumstances, too busy writing about women's right to vote, feminist press undertook a very slight inspiration from the new Bolshevik Russia. I should emphasize that women's suffrage was the principal struggle for the women's emancipation in the 1920s. After the First World War, women officially demanded the right to vote in France: in 1919, a project was tabled to obtain the right to vote to women, but senators rejected it, despite the agreement of the Chamber of Deputies. The rejections were repeated later in 1925, 1932 and 1935. Women finally obtained the right to vote on April 21st, 1944, and were able to exercise their civic duty for the first time on April 29th, 1945 during municipal elections in France.

In reaction to the idea of the New Woman, French feminists shaped several opinions towards this transformation of customs in regards to marriage, as well as to free love. By analyzing the two feminists who made the trip to Russia, I consider two different perspectives: a radical and a liberal feminism. I suggest in this chapter that the two feminist currents had therefore two distinctive views on free love. I will conclude this chapter by explaining the French social dispositions that have certainly not allowed the official or unofficial inclusion of such sexual morality.

Referring to the point of view of Françoise Thébaud, class unity and gender solidarity was hardly manifested in France, which accentuates the difficulties in increasing the importance of women's struggles. After the First World War, many women fell back on their individualities and they yearned for rest and withdrawal on the family: women workers' demobilization tended, according to Thébaud, to make them feel guilty, which broke all emancipation momentum. While we know that women were more emancipated during First World War, their situation changed afterwards. In fact, after 1918, with the demobilization, women had to return to their wifely duties and stay at home. The idea to continue to fight for their independence made them feel guilty, especially with the pain and suffering caused by the war. Therefore, their movement fighting for their emancipation was broken. According to her, the feminism of the time seemed to focus mainly on a feminism of difference.. Ibid, 142-144. The different movements tended to dissociate one from the other. Moreover, feminism of difference explains that women wanted to differentiate from men by relying on their differences to emancipate themselves. Pelletier, on the other hand, advocated a feminism of resemblance, according to which women should not accept the social pressure of femininity.

The type feminism of this era was therefore related to the complementarity of the sexes rather than an aspiration of gender equality. I want to underline here that women did not want to be dissociated from men as an independent financial unit, but they aspired of having better life conditions with respect to their place in society. Feminism was indeed based on the moralism of motherhood and the mothers' privileges instead of the female and male workers' rights.. Patrick Festy, “Effets et reìpercussion de la premieÌre guerre mondiale sur la feìconditeì franc?aise,” Population 39, no. 6 (1984): 978. I should emphasize that maternity was perceived as a social function in France. Thence, the idea of a successive monogamy was hardly considered.

The difference with the New Woman in Russia is that, in France, women quickly returned to the domestic sphere during demobilization in 1918. I would argue that the partial ideology of the New Woman could be found in France, during the First World War, when they had to leave home, abandon domestic tasks and contribute to war effort while men were at the front. Women's workers had a clear position and importance in the work force that resembled that of the New Soviet Woman. French Women had to accomplish their obligations as mothers in order to repopulate the country, which had lost 1.5 million people between 1914-1918.. Ibid, 971. Thus, natalist laws was a primary requirement according to the French government in the 1920s in order to repopulate the country.

3.2 First World War and the Natalist Laws

As everywhere in Europe, the Great War represented many problems for women in France, both facing of the demobilization as well as the loss of sons and husbands. The deaths of combatants and civilians, caused by the fighting, meant an important demographic consequence for France by creating a birth deficit. Also, women's sexual lives were disturbed, since their husbands were at the front. In 1916, France had its lowest percentage of fecundity during the First World War, which had 360 000 births (there were 710 000 in 1914). Festy, “Effets et reìpercussion de la premieÌre guerre mondiale sur la feìconditeì franc?aise,” 979.. Thus, according to Patrick Festy, natalists concerns after the war were constantly present in political discourses.. Ibid, 980. The couples' necessity to make up for the losses caused by the war had a direct impact on feminist movements, since women had to devote themselves to the role of `a glorious' mother again. Thus, after the conflict, French laws of 1920 repressed abortion and contraceptive.. Chaperon, “Le genre et l'histoire contemporaine des sexualités,” 66. Whereas, according to Pelletier, free and medical abortion should have been legal. To this extent propaganda founded the natalist current that went against women's sexual freedom.

3.3 Pluralism of Feminisms

It appeared significant for this research to enlighten the pluralism of feminisms based on Florence Rochefort's literature, in order to understand the extent to which sexual questions were received in these circles of women's emancipation movements. The diversity of women themselves, forged with different political positions, did not want to give up their particularities to fit within one particular movement.. Bard, Les filles de Marianne : histoire des féminismes 1914-1940, Preface. Rochefort clarified the pluralism of feminisms through political and cultural confrontations, where individuality and context intersect.. Rochefort, Histoire mondiales des féminismes. 58. Indeed, the diversity of particularism in the French feminism in itself has caused major internal divisions in the struggle for the emancipation of women.. Ibid. Bard enlightened that both disturbed an established order by men and destabilized the separation between the private and the public by mixing domestic spheres with politics. Sophie Coeuré explained that the contrast between Pelletier's and Weiss's narratives was more than striking. Pelletier's tone was much more personal than Weiss's in the way she wrote.. Sophie Cœureì, “HeìleÌne Brion en “Russie rouge” (1920-1922) Une passageÌre du temps,” Le Mouvement social, no. 205 (Oct. - Dec., 2003): 19. She clarified that Weiss's narrative was part of a political and editorial mode of intervention, that it was pierced by political and geopolitical judgments on the articulation between Russia and the future of the Soviets.. Ibid.

The idea of characterizing bourgeois feminism in France, however, did not come into the scholar works until the mid-1980s, when Germans and Russians already used this term to differentiate women movements.. Rochefort, Histoire mondiales des feminisms, 110. Rochefort described liberal feminism in France as a principal heiress of 1789.. Ibid, 112-114. They claimed equality between the sexes, universal suffrage and the improvement of civil rights. Liberal feminists were generally adjoining the elite, a phenomenon that was widely criticized by left-wing feminists. These women therefore worked using their class habitus by organizing conferences in the bourgeois milieus. Louise Weiss was a part of this movement and was sharing those values. She consequently adhered to the idea of accessing to citizenship, legal, economic and social, intellectual autonomy, which society refused to overthrow. Those concepts and ideas were consequently well elaborated in Weiss' newspaper L'Europe Nouvelle. It should be remembered that for most women, discretion regarding sexuality remained fairly present.. Bard, Les filles de Marianne : histoire des féminismes 1914-1940, 29. Chastity before marriage prevailed then sexuality was in the secret domain. Liberal feminism was more related to this discretion towards sexuality.

3.4 A Question of Solidarity

Taking into account that there were several feminist movements in France, in the light of my research, even in the singular movements themselves, there was consensus in women's positions. Steven Hause and Jennifer Waelti-Walters explained that there are three categories of women's groups pertaining to feminism in France: the adversaries, the indifferent and the partisans.. Jennifer Waelti-Walters, and Stevens C. Hause, Feminisms of the Belle Epoque, A Historical and Literary Anthology (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1994), 61. This represents the majority of the French population at this time and therefore, represents the biggest obstacle to the cause of women and their progress. By having a lack of education, these are interests that are mostly limited to the family. As the authors indicated in their book, family sphere represented a dependent unit on the complete nation, so therefore, political and private spheres were related.. Ibid, 63-65. This connection was not completely understood by most of the French feminists. On the basis of this statement, in the light of my research, I suggest that Madeleine Pelletier fully understood how important it was to reach those women. Women's awareness of feminism had to exist through education.

Thus, it is possible to explain that a divergence of feminist views can be created when the basic ideas of society did not match. It is therefore relying the theories of Rochefort about the political transformations systems affecting feminisms that I base the reflection of this chapter. While one tends towards a liberal conception where individual and economic rights take precedence, others believe that the oppression of women was due to the capitalist society. As Weiss based her thoughts on liberal feminism, we can observe that her opinions diverge from those of Kollontai and Pelletier.

Relying on Sowerwine's article, I would argue that the fact that there were many feminist groups during this period in France meant that the chances to achieve the project of `love collectivization' were non-existent. Referring to the dominant historical point of view of Sowerwine, the French women's movement was weak because there was a shortcoming of organizations and leadership.. Ibid, 70-71. To give an example, in 1913, the most popular group for the women's movement, the Socialist Women's Group had 1000 people at their meeting, while the German socialist women had 175,000 at the same moment.. Sowerwine, “The Organization of French Socialist Women,” 14. The two movements were constituted in the same way, that is to say separated from the socialist movements as well as hostile to bourgeois feminism. Sowerwine explained that the difference with its German counterparts was that French women's socialist movement was never organized as an independent group of its own free movement. In addition, the socialists of France underwent several splits in 1905, which also separated several feminist movements from one another. Moreover, unlike the women's section of the socialist party in Germany with Clara Zetkin as leader, the French never had a clear leader to propel themselves.

3.5 Socialist Parties Meeting Feminism

Meanwhile, French left-wing movements also underwent many transformations after the Russian revolution. I shall emphasize that the French left-wing parties faced several problems with the perspective they undertook towards the Third International. Part of the SFIO members expressed their critical point of views to Bolshevism: The doctrinal debate was shaped against the hostility of Bolshevization of the party, at the Congress of Tours in December 1920. The SFIO was fragmented and therefore, the French Communist Party was created, thus following Moscow in its political actions. The Socialist section continued to underline its criticisms against the repressive side of Bolshevism.

The socialist and feminist circles were consequently closely following the changes relating to the new Soviet Russia. Christine Fauré directly asked: Was feminism and socialism an undisputed alliance?. Fauré, La Démocratie sans les Femmes, 10. I argue that it was almost impossible to rally the two movements together, because left-right cleavage became a central point in feminists' stance on sexual issues. At first, as explained above, the pluralism of women's emancipation movements created difficulties for the socialist parties to be able to ally themselves with feminists, since there weren't a unified movement. Therefore, I conduct this idea that socialist parties had generally no interest into making space for feminist struggles.

Moreover, as Sowerwine's article argued, policies for women's integration into political parties were all the more difficult because central party discussions were generally focused on electoral tactics.. Sowerwine, “The Organization of French Socialist Women,” 5. Madeleine Pelletier even highlighted that the communist party as well as the SFIO were like a “male club”: women who wanted to take part in an official socialist party would easily be isolated.. Christine Bard, Les Femmes dans la société française au XXe siècle, (Paris, Armand Colin, 2001), 76. Often described as hysterical and reactionary, women's rights activists have had to face constant stigmatization from political circles, even from socialists.. Ibid, 77-79. Militant circles had to act autonomously, because very few left-wing parties supported them. Even women's demands for equal pay for equal work was a concept that was hardly supported by political and trade union organizations.. Ibid.

After consulting certain traditionally left-wing newspapers such as L'Homme Libre or La Révolution Prolétarienne, published over the years 1920-1927, the subject of women's sexual oppression struggle never appeared. The topic of free love was sometimes developed, but male journalists were considering it as fantasies.. Chaperon, “Le genre et l'histoire contemporaine des sexualités,” 68. In fact, in February 1926, in the daily newspaper L'Homme Libre, that had previously Georges Clémenceau. French political figure, he advocated social justice and republican ideas. He was Minister of the Interior between 1906 and 1909. Former President of the French Council of Ministers and Minister of War between 1917 and 1920, he was recognized as the “Father of the Victory” after the Great War. as editor-in-chief, the following title could be read: “Fantaisies Soviétiques, Trois catégories d'épouses ? Ou la concubine obligatoire?”. Soviet Fantaisies, Three Categories of Spouses ? Or the obligatory concubine ? This article, written by Raoul Nanties, criticizes Kollontai's visions on the idea of a successive monogamy. He thought that it was non-logical to have an `anarchist wife' who had an interchangeable husband.. Raoul Nanties, “Fantaisies Soviétiques, Trois catégories d'épouses ? Ou la concubine obligatoire?” L'Homme Libre 14, no. 3483 (February 5th, 1926): 1. He argued that this idea represented an excessive freedom, that this ideology was only fantasy. He analyzed the conception of womanhood in Kollontai's ideology via three categories of wives: the registered, the non-registered and the casual.. The registered spouse is standing for the `official' married wife, the non-registered is the `life-partner' and the casual one would stand as the mistress. In other words, the author perceived the idea of free union as a serious lack of control coming from the state. In treating this idea of lack of civility, he even wondered if it was a real fulfillment for women.. Nanties, “Fantaisies Soviétiques, Trois catégories d'épouses ? Ou la concubine obligatoire?” Thus, this example confirms that ideas about sexual freedom were not openly welcomed in socialist circles.

In the light of my research, it seems very likely that the alliance between left-wing feminism and socialism was undisputed. On the other hand, as we have seen in this section of my research, the workers' mentality of the time was very little open to the incursion of women into their parties. Florence Rochefort explained that in democratic contexts, socialist left-wing political forces have been an essential reinforcement for bringing legislative reform projects in favor of gender equality.. Rochefort, Histoire mondiales des féminismes 54. In addition, egalitarian ideologies (such as Kollontai's) were most likely to remain in place when the economical and ideological imperatives of states become the only priorities. In the 1920s, French women's priorities for their emancipation were mostly focused towards obtaining voting rights and improving their working conditions. Since the French society was still republican (in a traditional French understanding) and capitalist, the introduction of ideologies on the sexual revolution was problematic to establish.

3.6 Conclusions

In conclusion, by analyzing the social realities surrounding the women's movement in France, it is possible to understand the dispositions in which the French socialists received the idea of the New Woman of the free union. By grasping the different specific components of feminist movements in France, I can argue that a single feminist consensus about Kollontai's ideas was simply impossible. The ambition to promote the ideology of sexual morality proposed by Kollontai became difficult to implement in France, since family and marriage were phenomena that depended on economic relations. Although left-wing parties in France were gaining popularity in the 1920s, French society was not predisposed to establish such a morality. To answer the previous question “was feminism and socialism an undisputed alliance?”, it is possible do assume that the coalition was fairly problematic. There was no discourse between the French left and the feminists, nor these between themselves.

The First World War was very significant pertaining to the transformation of sexual behaviors and ideologies in France. Often, female's work demobilization was required , and women were asked to return to their homes.. Ibid, 135. These measures were not suitable for all women, so several women wanted to speak up and to enlarge their public appearances in politics in order to maintain an important place in French labor. Therefore, specific left-wing political parties, such as the SFIO, opened divisions for women to participate in politics. Moreover, by taking in account the birth deficits in France was facing after the First World War, French politicians had little to worry about this utopian ideology that only a few feminists adhered to, but which made so many echoes in the media.

Conclusion

Undeniably, the revolutionary Russian world represented many questions of study and curiosity in respect to several French political circles. In the 1920s, journalistic editorials often revolved around news from the early Soviet society. Bolshevik Russia became, to an extent, a model in regards socialist regulations, thereby influencing the French left movement.

As a result for this research, I exemplified that for many French feminists, Russia's measures on divorce, abortion and their working conditions influenced their own agendas pertaining to women's emancipation. An analysis of power transition regarding sexual ethics was needed in order to understand the impacts of the revolution on sexuality in Russia. It should be remembered that the social contexts of the two countries were completely different, which may have led to a divergence in the application of women's rights ideas and their relationship towards free love. Although France and Russia both lived through the First World War, which leaved important social legacies in both countries, we must note that the Russian Revolution and Civil War were a `melting pot' of experimentation with regards to gender relations.. Rochefort, Histoire mondiales des féminismes, 48.

By addressing Alexandra Kollontai's new theories about family, free love and marriage, this study highlighted the drastic changes on the woman's question in Russia. The Zhenotdel had however, put in place several measures to improve the living conditions of working women as well as peasant women. In order to unify the socialist movement with women, Kollontai always maintained the firm idea of revolutionizing the class fights towards a moral struggle. The importance of social change in relation to private life was primordial: the private sphere had to become collectivized. As I pointed out, the social realities of women in urban and rural areas were very different, which made it very difficult to adapt a uniform program from Zhenotdel. As outlined in this dissertation, Kollontai's writings on sexual moralities were mainly addressed to Russian intelligentsia. To this extent, Kollontai undertook several references to a utopian ideal of women, which did not correspond to the realities of contemporary Soviets. Moreover, after the civil war in Russia, the Central Party had a much more critical view of Kollontai's theory of sexual emancipation. As her ideas were considered displaced by the Central Party, she was expatriated to Norway in 1922: she became in 1923 diplomatic representative of the Soviet Union in Norway. This exile therefore resulted in the impossibility for her to expand her ideas within the Zhenotdel.

The new sexual moralities proposed by Alexandra Kollontai certainly caused specific reactions in the French feminist fields of the 1920s. The newspapers set forth in the previous chapters were posting content on Russian women for several years.. In La Voix des femmes, between 1918 and 1922, a column of the newspaper was administered once a month on “Bolshevik Russia” as well as many articles were written about women in particular in Russia. The reading of newspaper articles and pamphlets, as well as the travelogues to Moscow by Louise Weiss and Madeleine Pelletier in the 1920s, represented a solid testimony about the interest of French feminism towards women status in Russia. Their goal and their willingness were to comprehend not only the early Soviet Society, but also the new Party's arrangements towards women's emancipation. Acknowledging that two other French feminists travelled to Soviet Russia between 1919 and 1921, Madeleine Marx and Hélène Brion, a future study would be noteworthy to deepen the distinctive narratives of these two women. Indeed, some scholars have been interested in the stories of Brion, who drafted a `politico-journalistic' style book.. Chaperon, “Le genre et l'histoire contemporaine des sexualités”, 69. Nonetheless, these writings, which dealt with the new Bolshevik Russian everyday life, have never been officially published in any French newspaper. . These manuscripts are now preserved in the French feminist Archives in Paris.

For the specific purpose of my dissertation, it was relevant to look at the journeys of Madeleine Pelletier and Louise Weiss, since they published manuscript books in two different newspapers, available in the feminist archives of France, recounting their journeys to Moscow. Moreover, these two women were linked to different feminist currents, which gave a different perspective of kinship to my dissertation. In analyzing the separate discourses of Pelletier and Weiss, this study addressed the differences between their dialogues with Kollontai. As a result, I proved that the feminist perception of Kollontai's measures of the women's question in a socialist perspective came from two distinct feminist positions.

Nevertheless, in a very circumscribed context, the ideas of the New Woman and free love proposed by Kollontai were far from being fully realized in France at the same time. Moreover, being freshly out of the First World War, the birth policies vis-à-vis the French families were fairly strict, so it was hard enough, even for feminists, to go against the need to populate the country. Also, the alliances between feminisms themselves were almost impossible to achieve. Therefore, the ideology of free love could have been perceived as against the government's will to catch up with the country's fertility rate.

By analyzing the place of feminism in French left in the 1920s, I outlined the different specific technicities that women had to face in order to find their place in politics. Thus, by having very little space in public, feminists did not have numerous possibilities to express themselves through other mediums than newspapers. Too busy working on women's right to vote, most of the feminist press did not cover the information about women in the new Bolshevik Russia. It should be noted that the women's periodicals mentioned in this dissertation were not attached to any specific political party, as was Clara Zetkin's newspaper, Die Gleichheit. Marxist-feminist journal founded by Clara Zetkin in 1892, and published until 1923 in Germany. It was the official journal of the Socialist Women's International, created for the benefit of women workers., in Germany. As a result, the political influence from `independent' French feminist periodicals could not be as important as in Germany.

In addition to having a very limited place in politics, I demonstrated that feminists among themselves did not constitute a unified movement, as mentioned in the last chapter. As Florence Rochefort mentioned, feminist ideas were so rich in diversity that there are also social, racial, religious, and cultural cleavages that give movements heterogeneous and conflicting components.. Rochefort, Histoire mondiales des féminismes, 44. This wealth, however, did not help the establishment of the theory of free love in popular opinions. Indeed, with the many divisions and in light of my reading, it is possible to note that a common solidarity of women was not fully present in 1920s' France. To answer the main question research of this dissertation, I enlightened that French feminists who did not advocate their work to the sexual emancipation through free love did not perceive that this change would bring immediate equality between men and women.

The concept of free love has been summarized in many ways during the 20th century in France. Furthermore, the ideology of love camaraderie was also approached by men, such as the free-thinker E. Armand at the beginning of the 20th century. In addition, his political actions also involved translating texts by Alexandra Kollontai.. “Armand, E. [JUIN Ernest, Lucien Dit] [Dictionnaire Des Anarchistes].” http://maitron-en-ligne.univ-paris1.fr/spip.php?article154536. Nevertheless, Kollontai still remained a highly controversial figure in French books on the history of private life. As a result of the bolshevization of certain French left parties (mentioned earlier in this dissertation), as well as the eventual Stalinization of the French Communist Party, Kollontai's thoughts have been mostly neglected in these French political circles. As mentioned in this research, with the explosion of a new leftist movement with the events of May 68 in France, the French communist press also reanalyzed Kollontai's utopian ideas. Moreover, the ideology of free love has resurfaced in women's emancipation movements. The French feminists of the 1970s, attached to a socialist thought, were inspired by the libertarian spirit of Kollontai's remarks concerning sexual freedom.

In conclusion, the notion and reconceptualization of gender usage has nowadays become very essential. The prominence of gender categories in the historical scholarship corresponds to the increasing visibility of gender matters on the political scene. The study of different perspectives surrounding the ideology of free-love allows a better understanding of the political and social realities facing sexual moralities. Having undergone many exchanges between the spheres of women's progress, Kollontai's writings have been broadcasted in several languages, and thus influenced numerous feminists around the world. The scholars quote her and still use her theories today, to support feminist issues and to understand the place of women in Russian society in the 1920s.

Bibliography

SOURCES

Specific Socialist Theorists

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2. Engels, Friedrich. L'origine de la famille, de la propriété privée et de l'État, (1884).

3. Fourier, Charles, Le nouveau monde amoureux, (1814). Paris: Anthropos, 2nd ed, Stock, 1999. Marx, Karl, Friedrich Engels, Manifeste du Parti communiste, (1848). Translated by Emile Bottigelli. Paris: Flammarion, 1998.

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Alexandra Kollontai's Literature

6. Kollontai, Alexandra, The Social Basis of the Woman Question. (1909), translated by Alix Holt, Allison & Busby, 1977.

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10. Kollontai, Alexandra. “Place aÌ Eìros aileì ! (1923).” In Marxisme et reìvolution sexuelle, translated by Judith Stora- Sandor, Paris: Maspero 1973, 181-203.

French Journals and Newspapers

11. Montagne, Robert de la. “L'amour et le Mariage en Russie “, L'Action Française 14, no. 320. November 16th,1921.

12. Nanties, Raoul. “Fantaisies Soviétiques, Trois catégories d'épouses ? Ou la concubine obligatoire?” L'Homme Libre 14, No. 3483, February 5th, 1926.

13. Pelletier, Madeleine. “Doit-on se marier ?” La Voix des Femmes 5, no.175, September 15th, 1921.

14. Pelletier, Madeleine. “Les femmes et le féminisme.” La Revue socialiste, January, 1906.

15. Pelletier, Madeleine. “La condition des femmes dans la Russie communiste” La Voix des femmes 5, no. 180. October 27th, 1921.

16. Pelletier, Madeleine. “Condition des femmes dans la russie communists.” La Voix des Femmes 5, no. 180, October 27th, 1921.

17. Pelletier, Madeleine. “Le code Bolchévik du marriage.” La Voix des Femmes 5. no. 174, July 28th, 1921.

18. Pelletier, Madeleine. “Sur le Divorce, Morale communiste.” La Voix des Femmes 5. no. 174, July 28th, 1921.

19. R.S. “Amour Libre et liberté de l'amour.” La Voix des Femmes 2, no. 24, April 10th, 1918.

20. Vernet, Madeleine “Amour Libre.” La Voix des Femmes 2, no. 28, May 8th, 1918.

21. Weiss, Louise. “Cinq semaines à Moscou, L'amour et le mariage, Les idées de Alexandra Kollontai.” Le Petit Parisien 46, no. 16 330. November 14th, 1921.

22. Weiss, Louise. “Les idées d'Alexandra Kollontai.” L'Europe nouvelle 4, no. 50. December 17th, 1921.

Memoirs and French Feminist Theories

23. Pelletier, Madeleine. Mon voyage aventureux en Russie communiste, Paris: Éditions Giard, 1922.

24. Pelletier, Madeleine. Emancipation sexuelle de la femme. Paris: Giard et Brière, 1911.

25. Weiss, Louise. Mémoires d'une Européenne, Tome II, Combats pour l'Europe, 1919-1934, Paris: Albin Michel, 1980.

Articles

26. Bailes, Kendall E., and Marie-Josée Imbert. “Alexandra Kollontai Et La Nouvelle Morale.” Cahiers Du Monde Russe Et Soviétique 6, no. 4 (1965): 471-96. doi:10.3406/cmr.1965.1638.

27. Bobroff, Anne. “The Bolsheviks and Working Women, 1905-20.” Soviet Studies 26, no. 4 (1974): 540-67. doi:10.1080/09668137408410973.

28. Brodsky Farnsworth, Beatrice. “Bolshevism, the Woman Question, and Aleksandra Kollontai.” The American Historical Review 81, no. 2, (1976): 292-316.

29. Chaperon, Sylvie. “Le genre et l'histoire contemporaine des sexualités.” Hypothèses 8, no. 1 (2005): 333-341. doi:10.3917/hyp.041.0333.

30. Chaperon, Sylvie. “Sexologie et féminisme au début du XXe Siècle.” Champ Psy 58, no. 2 (2010): 55-68. doi:10.3917/cpsy.058.0067.

31. Citot, Vincent. “Origine, structure et horizon de l'amour.” Le Philosophoire 11, no. 1, (2000) : 23-71.

32. Clements, Barbara Evans. “The Utopianism of the Zhenotdel.” Slavic Review 51, no. 3 (1992): 485-96. doi:10.2307/2500056.

33. Coeure, Sophie. “Helene Brion En “Russie Rouge” (1920-1922). Une Passagere Du Communisme.” Le Mouvement Social, no. 205 (2003): 9-20. doi:10.2307/3779894.

34. Dumont, Yvonne. “Les communistes et la Condition de la femme.” Population 26, no. 3 (1971): 610-611. doi:10.2307/1529182.

35. Enderlein, Évelyne. “Les Mouvements Féminins En Russie.” Revue Russe 11, no. 1 (1997): 65-77. doi:10.3406/russe.1997.1932.

36. Engel, Barbara Alpern. “Engendering Russias History: Women in Post-Emancipation Russia and the Soviet Union.” Slavic Review 51, no. 02 (1992): 309-22. doi:10.2307/2499534.

37. Fraser, Erica L. “Gender and Sexuality in Russian History: New Directions.” Journal of the Canadian Historical Association 25, no. 2 (2014): 319. doi:10.7202/1032852ar.

38. Gabriel, Nicole. “L'internationale Des Femmes Socialistes.” Matériaux Pour L'histoire De Notre Temps 16, no. 1 (1989): 34-41. doi:10.3406/mat.1989.404022.

39. Goldman, Wendy. “Freedom And Its Consequences: The Debate On The Soviet Family Code Of 1926.” Russian History 11, no. 4 (1984): 362-88. doi:10.1163/18763316-i0000023.

40. Groenhout, Ruth E. “Essentialist Challenges to Liberal Feminism.” Social Theory and Practice 28, no. 1 (2002): 51-75.

41. Hirsch, Yael. “Louise Weiss, “L'aristo-prolo”. Un Féminisme Libéral En Dialogue Avec Le Communisme.” Aden 6, no. 1 (2007): 32-48. doi:10.3917/aden.006.0032.

42. Kotkin, Stephen. “Introduction: A Future for Labor under Communism?.” International Labor and Working-Class History, no. 50 (1996): 1-8.

43. Larios, Almudena Delgado “Femmes et politique : une nouvelle vision du XIXe siècle,” Nuevo Mundo Mundos Nuevos, Colloquium, 2008. doi: 10.4000/nuevomundo.34213.

44. MacKinnon, Catharine A. “Feminism, Marxism, Method, and the State: An Agenda for Theory.” Signs 7, no. 3 (1982): 515-44.

45. Merteuil, Morgane, and Matthieu Renault, “Introduction : Le sexe de la reìvolution.” Comment S'en Sortir ? 1, no. 5, (2017): 1-5.

46. Mitchell, Claudine. “Madeleine Pelletier (1874-1939): The Politics of Sexual Oppression.” Feminist Review 17, no. 33 (1989): 9-30. doi:10.2307/1395215.

47. Rebreyend, Marie-Claire. “Comment écrire L'histoire Des Sexualités Au XXe Siècle.” History Studies International Journal of History 10, no. 5 (2018): 17-41. doi:10.9737/hist.2018.619.

48. Rochefort, Florence “Les feministes”, in Histoire des gauches en France, ed Jean-Jacques Becker, La Découverte 2, (2005) 108-118.

49. Scott, Joan W. “On Language, Gender, and Working-Class History.” International Labor and Working-Class History 31 (1987): 1-13. doi:10.1017/s0147547900004063.

50. Sowerwine, Charles. “The Organization of French Socialist Women, 1880-1914: A European Perspective for Women's Movements.” Historical Reflections / Réflexions Historiques 3, no. 2 (1976): 3-24.

51. Sowerwine, Charles. “Militantisme Et Identite Sexuelle: La Carrière Politique Et L'œuvre Théorique De Madeleine Pelletier (1874-1939).” Le Mouvement Social 3, no. 157 (1991): 9-32. doi:10.2307/3778430.

52. Steiner, Anne. “Vivre l'anarchie ici et maintenant : milieux libres et colonies libertaires à la Belle Époque.” Cahiers d'histoire. Revue d'histoire critique 4, no. 133 (2016): 43-58.

53. Werner, M., and Benedicte Zimmermann. “Penser l'histoire croisée : entre empirie et réflexivité.” Annales. Histoire, Sciences Sociales 58, no. 1 (2003): 8.

54. Willimott, Andy. “`How do you live?': experiments in revolutionary living after 1917.” The Journal of Architecture 3, no. 22 (2017): 437-457, DOI:10.1080/13602365.2017.1307870.

55. Willis, Ellen. “Radical Feminism and Feminist Radicalism.” Social Text 10, no. 9 (1984): 91-118. doi:10.2307/466537.

56. Yvert-Jalu Hélène. “L'avortement en Union Soviétique.” In: Annales de démographie historique, 1990. Démographie des villes et des campagnes. 1990: 431-437.

BOOKS

57. Attwood, Lynne. Creating the New Soviet Woman Womens Magazines as Engineers of Female Identity, 1922-53. Basingstoke: Macmillan in Association with Centre for Russian and East European Studies, University of Birmingham, 1999.

58. Bard, Christine. Les filles de Marianne : histoire des féminismes 1914-1940. Paris: Fayard, 1995.

59. Bard, Christine. Les Femmes Dans La Société Française Au 20e Siècle. Paris: Armand Colin, 2001.

60. Bard, Christine. Nouvelle encyclopédie politique et historique des femmes. Paris : Éditions Les Belles lettres, 2010.

Appendix

Illustration of Dr. Madeleine Pelletier in Paris, 1912.

L'Europe Nouvelle newspaper frontpage, Louise Weiss' Russia journey's narrative, 1921.

Madeleine Pelletier's Russian journey's narrative, Mon Voyage Aventureux en Russie Communiste, 1922.

Room, Abram. Tret'ia Meshchanskaia, Bed and Sofa. Sovkino Studio.1927.

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