Travel as Praxis: Suzanne Voilquin and the Saint‐Simonian “Call to the Woman”

Abstract

This essay, focused on the Saint‐Simonians in the 1830s, argues for the centrality of travel in enabling Saint‐Simonian feminists to go beyond the abstract (and often abstruse) doctrinal positions of their sect’s male members to achieve new forms of empowerment that impacted progress toward women’s liberation in France. It also posits the importance of their accomplishments despite the general, critical consensus as to the failure of this socialist‐utopian movement. Following a summary of important developments within the doctrine with regards to women’s position and role, the essay discusses the exclusion of Saint‐Simonian women at the precise point at which they became central to the doctrine, and suggests the reason for and means by which they subsequently reasserted an active role in the movement’s activities through acts of writing and travel. The touchstone for the women’s story is Suzanne Voilquin’s experiences as related in her Souvenirs d’une fille du peuple, ou la Saint‐Simonienne en Egypte. The experiences of other women in the sect, as expressed in letters and other autobiographical accounts, also serves as testimony to the desire to unite word and deed, theory and praxis through travel.