Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Woman-Citizen (1791) was written by Olympe de Gouges in response to the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789). In her Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Woman-Citizen, Olympe de Gouges denounced the practice of male authority and, essentially, male-female inequality, hoping to reveal the failures of the French Revolution in regards to the recognition of sex equality. Arguing not only for herself, but for women of France, Olympe de Gouges contended women possessed the capability to reason and establish moral decisions, thus, constituting women as equals to men. In her “postambule,” Olympe de Gouges stated, “women, rouse yourself,” incessantly summoning women to acknowledge this equality and to cease being blind to it. (27) Unlike the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, which limited citizenship to men, each of the 17 articles of the Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Woman-Citizen pertained to both women and men, as Olympe de Gouges strived for equality. To demonstrate this desire for equality, Article VII stated, “Women obey, just as men, this rigorous law.” (25)

Olympe de Gouges’ tone throughout the Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Woman-Citizen was authoritative, confident, direct, and passionate. She emphasized “WOMAN”/”WOMEN” and “REVOLUTION” with the use of capitalization. The intensity of her tone resulted in me feeling as if I were being lectured when reading her “postambule,” where her tone suddenly changed to vexation and desperation. In Liberty or Death: Proclamation to the Inhabitants of “Hayti,“ Jean Jacques Dessalines portrayed similar emotion to that of Olympe de Gouges with his motto and rallying cry. (39) Edmund Burke, however, pacified himself in Reflections on the Revolution in France.