FÉNELON AND THE EDUCATION OF GIRLS. A SHORT NOTE ON SOME ENDURING ANCIENT TOPOI
Keywords:
education of women, François Fénelon, De l’éducation des filles, Xenophon, Musonius Rufus, Plutarch, virtues, household management.Abstract
This paper discusses François Fénelon’s treatise on the Education of Girls (De l’éducation des filles, 1687) focusing on the presence of common Greco-Roman topoi regarding the education of women. These concern the reasons for which girls should be educated, the curriculum they should follow and the flaws of female nature that should be kept in mind in the process. Some ideas pick up arguments already voiced by Xenophon, Musonius Rufus, and Plutarch. In spite of his moderately progressive educational views, Fénelon uses these topoi to reinforce traditional gender roles. To the savante he opposes the modest, self-effaced woman dedicated to household management.
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