Educating New Mothers: Women and the Enlightenment in Russia

Abstract

“We do not want them to be prudes or coquettes, but amiable and able to raise their children and take care of their homes.” Letter of Catherine II to Voltaire, n.d. “They will be good Russian wives, caring mothers, and zealous homemakers.” St. Petersburg Gazette, no. 45, 1773 “…The intention and end of the education of girls [is] to make them good homemakers, faithful wives, and trustworthy mothers, …” Arrangement of studies in the Society of noble and common girls in accordance with the public schools of Russia, issued by the Commission on Public Schools, 1783 In Russia during the era of Catherine II (1762–1796), women's education was advocated as a means to reform family, social and civic life. Fenelon's Traite de l'education des Filles (1686) and his didactic novel, Les Aventures de Telemaque, carried this argument to Russia where it was reinforced by the ideas of the Enlightenment. In a society with substantial prejudice against mere literacy for women, this position represents a progressive call for expanded educational opportunities for girls. The message was interpreted in this fashion by its European and Russian proponents who presumed that they were acting in accordance with reason and nature. But the restraints inherent in this domestic orientation make it as much a campaign against excessive emancipation as a plea to remove women from complete ignorance. In this essay, I explore this limited advocacy from the Russian perspective. This ambivalence is demonstrable throughout the reign of Catherine II and at different social levels, though most attention was focused on the nobility for whom the Society for the Education of Noble Girls (the Smol'nyi Institute) was founded.