The “Women’s Question” in the Biographies of Scientists and Philosophers by E. F. Litvinova (1890s)

Abstract

In the 1890s, Elizaveta Fedorovna Litvinova (1845–1919), a mathematician, philosopher, educator and writer, published ten biographical essays on prominent scientists and philosophers, including the first Russian biography of a renowned mathematician S. V. Kovalevskaya (also spelled Kovalevsky). This article gives particular attention to the “zhenskii vopros” (women’s question), as reflected in these biographies of the scientists and philosophers. Apart from the biography of Kovalevskaya, the women’s issue is considered in the biographies of F. Bacon, J. Locke, J. le Rond d’Alembert, J.-A.-N. de Condorcet, P.-S. Laplace, and L. Euler, as well as in the book “Rulers and Thinkers”. The biography of Kovalevskaya describes the difficulties encountered by the woman mathematician in her professional self-realization. In the biography of Bacon, Litvinova writes about his mother and her four sisters being learned as well as the women of the English royal family. In John Locke’s biography, a chapter is devoted to the philosopher’s friend Lady Damaris Masham, her upbringing and education, and the women’s position in society in the late 17th-century England is criticized. In d’Alembert’s biography, special attention is given to his discussion with Jean-Jacques Rousseau about women’s education. In her book about Laplace, Litvinova writes about the scientist’s spouse and her role in the preservation of his scientific heritage. In Euler’s biography, Litvinova reviews his “Letters to a German Princess”, written in a form of lessons in mathematics, physics, and philosophy, intended for an educated woman. Finally, in her biography of de Condorcet the author refers to him as the most committed and strenuous advocate of women’s rights, who promoted the women’s right to education and active involvement in the life of society.