Desirée Gay
Encyclopedia
Jeanne Desirée Véret Gay (4 April 1810 – c. 1891) was a French
socialist feminist.
Born in Paris
, as Desirée Véret, she worked as a seamstress before in 1831 joining the followers of utopian socialist Henri de Saint-Simon. The following year, with Marie Reine Guindorff, she founded the Tribune des femmes, in reaction to the exclusion of women from decision making among the Saint-Simonites. She vowed to pursue the "liberty of women" above all other concerns.
In 1833, Gay moved to work in England. While there, she made contact with the supporters of socialist Robert Owen
, including Jules Gay and Anna Doyle Wheeler
. During this period, she acted as an intermediary between the Owenites, the Saint-Simonites and Charles Fourier
. She also had a brief affair with Victor Considerant, which had ended by 1837, when she married Gay, thereafter usually being known as Desirée Gay.
In 1840, the Gays tried to found a school in Châtillon-sous-Bagneux which aimed to educate children from birth, but this failed, probably due to lack of capital.
After the February Revolution of 1848, Gay again rose to prominence. She drafted a proposal that the Government set up workshops, national restaurants and laundries to allow women to be financially independent. Gay was unanimously elected as the women's delegate to represent the second arrondissement to the Government. National workshops were set up by the Luxemborg Commission, and Gay was appointed as the head of the division of the National Workshop of Cour des Fontaines, but the workshops were only for female textile workers, and paid starvation wages. She was discharged from her post, and instead worked with Jeanne Deroin
and Eugenie Niboyet
in publishing Voix des Femmes
. The group was soon forced to close, but Gay worked with Deroin to found the Association Mutuelle des Femmes and Politique des Femmes newspaper. While the two were able to obtain 12,000 francs from the National Assembly to form an association of women seamstresses making ladies' underwear, Gay chose not to take part in establishing the organisation. She withdrew from activism during 1849, and by the following year was working as a dressmaker.
Money from old friends enabled Gay to start a fabric shop in the rue de la Paix, and her work won a prize at the Exposition universelle de Paris of 1855. Her husband worked as a bookseller and printer, but the controversial material he worked with forced the two into exile in Brussels
in 1864, becoming active in the International Workingmen's Association
, Desirée acting as the President of the Women's Section in 1866. In 1869 they moved to Geneva
, then to Turin
, before finally returning to Brussels.
Gay lost her sight during 1890, and with her husband deceased, took the opportunity to renew her correspondence with Considerant. This ceased in mid-1891, and this may mark her death; a visit by Considerant to Brussels in November did not lead to a meeting with her, and may have represented his attendance at her funeral.
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
socialist feminist.
Born in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, as Desirée Véret, she worked as a seamstress before in 1831 joining the followers of utopian socialist Henri de Saint-Simon. The following year, with Marie Reine Guindorff, she founded the Tribune des femmes, in reaction to the exclusion of women from decision making among the Saint-Simonites. She vowed to pursue the "liberty of women" above all other concerns.
In 1833, Gay moved to work in England. While there, she made contact with the supporters of socialist Robert Owen
Robert Owen
Robert Owen was a Welsh social reformer and one of the founders of utopian socialism and the cooperative movement.Owen's philosophy was based on three intellectual pillars:...
, including Jules Gay and Anna Doyle Wheeler
Anna Doyle Wheeler
Anna Doyle Wheeler was a writer and advocate of political rights for women and the benefits of contraception. She married Francis Massey Wheeler when she was aged 15 and they separated 12 years later...
. During this period, she acted as an intermediary between the Owenites, the Saint-Simonites and Charles Fourier
Charles Fourier
François Marie Charles Fourier was a French philosopher. An influential thinker, some of Fourier's social and moral views, held to be radical in his lifetime, have become main currents in modern society...
. She also had a brief affair with Victor Considerant, which had ended by 1837, when she married Gay, thereafter usually being known as Desirée Gay.
In 1840, the Gays tried to found a school in Châtillon-sous-Bagneux which aimed to educate children from birth, but this failed, probably due to lack of capital.
After the February Revolution of 1848, Gay again rose to prominence. She drafted a proposal that the Government set up workshops, national restaurants and laundries to allow women to be financially independent. Gay was unanimously elected as the women's delegate to represent the second arrondissement to the Government. National workshops were set up by the Luxemborg Commission, and Gay was appointed as the head of the division of the National Workshop of Cour des Fontaines, but the workshops were only for female textile workers, and paid starvation wages. She was discharged from her post, and instead worked with Jeanne Deroin
Jeanne Deroin
Jeanne Deroin was a French socialist feminist.Born in Paris, Deroin became a seamstress. In 1831, she joined the followers of utopian socialist Henri de Saint-Simon...
and Eugenie Niboyet
Eugénie Niboyet
Eugénie Mouchon-Niboyet was a French author and early feminist. She is best known for founding La Voix des Femmes , the first feminist daily newspaper in France.- Youth and Family Background :...
in publishing Voix des Femmes
Voix des Femmes
La Voix des Femmes was a Parisian feminist newspaper, and later an organization dedicated to education and the advancement of women's rights. The newspaper was published daily beginning in 1848 with the fall of Louis Philippe and the emergence of the much more lenient French Second Republic...
. The group was soon forced to close, but Gay worked with Deroin to found the Association Mutuelle des Femmes and Politique des Femmes newspaper. While the two were able to obtain 12,000 francs from the National Assembly to form an association of women seamstresses making ladies' underwear, Gay chose not to take part in establishing the organisation. She withdrew from activism during 1849, and by the following year was working as a dressmaker.
Money from old friends enabled Gay to start a fabric shop in the rue de la Paix, and her work won a prize at the Exposition universelle de Paris of 1855. Her husband worked as a bookseller and printer, but the controversial material he worked with forced the two into exile in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
in 1864, becoming active in the International Workingmen's Association
International Workingmen's Association
The International Workingmen's Association , sometimes called the First International, was an international organization which aimed at uniting a variety of different left-wing socialist, communist and anarchist political groups and trade union organizations that were based on the working class...
, Desirée acting as the President of the Women's Section in 1866. In 1869 they moved to Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
, then to Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
, before finally returning to Brussels.
Gay lost her sight during 1890, and with her husband deceased, took the opportunity to renew her correspondence with Considerant. This ceased in mid-1891, and this may mark her death; a visit by Considerant to Brussels in November did not lead to a meeting with her, and may have represented his attendance at her funeral.