Clemence Royer

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Clémence Royer, photographed by Félix Nadar in 1865

Clémence Augustine Royer ( April 21, 1830 in Nantes – February 6, 1902 in Neuilly-sur-Seine ) was a French author, anthropologist, philosopher and feminist. She is best known for her 1862 translation of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species .

Life

Clémence Augustine Audouard was born in Nantes in 1830, the illegitimate daughter and only child of the officer Augustin-René Royer and the seamstress Joséphine-Gabrielle Audouard. When her parents married seven years later, she was given her father's surname. Royer's father participated as a Legitimist in the rebellion to restore the Bourbon kings . After the uprising was crushed, the family fled to Switzerland and lived there for four years before being able to return to France and settle in Orléans . There the father turned himself in and was charged, but probably acquitted.

Royer was taught by his parents for the first ten years of his life and was then allowed to attend the Sacré-Cœur school in Le Mans . Since she was unhappy there, she only stayed a short time and was then home-schooled by her parents again. When Royer was 13, the family moved to Paris.

Soon the parents separated and the father went back to his old homeland. Mother and daughter stayed in the French capital. She experienced the February Revolution of 1848 intensively, was gripped by republican ideas and renounced her father's political ideals. When her father died a year later, she received a small inheritance and was able to use it to study. She then worked as a teacher at a secondary school. In January 1854 she took up a post at a private school for girls in Haverfordwest ( Wales ). She stayed there for a year and then went back to France, where she first worked at a school in Touraine and from the spring of 1856 at a school near Beauvais . During this time she became very involved with her Catholic faith.

stay in Switzerland

In June 1856 Royer went to Lausanne and lived there on her father's inheritance. During this time she read a lot and dealt intensively with the beginnings of Christianity. In 1858, inspired by the Swedish author Frederika Bremer , Royer gave four lectures on logic reserved for women. During this time she also met a group of French exiles around the freethinker Pascal Duprat (1815-1885), who taught political science at the Académie de Lausanne and published two magazines. Although he was 15 years older and married, the two later became a couple and the parents of a son together.

Royer began working as an assistant at Duprat's magazine Le Nouvel Économiste . Duprat encouraged her to write and helped her promote her readings. When she began a new series of lectures on natural philosophy for women in the winter of 1859/60 , Duprat's editor in Lausanne published her first lecture, Introduction to the Philosophy of Women . The lecture is an early testimony of her views on the role of women in society. Even after Duprat moved to Geneva , Royer continued to write literary reviews for Duprat's magazine and lived briefly in the city himself in the winter of 1860/61.

When the Swiss canton of Vaud offered a prize for the best essay on income taxes in 1860, Royer wrote a book on the history and practice of income taxes and received second prize for it. The book was published in 1862 under the title Théorie de l'impôt ou la dîme social . It also included a treatise on the economic importance of women and their duty to bear children. This book made her known outside of Switzerland for the first time.

In the spring of 1861, Royer visited Paris and gave a series of lectures. She also met the Countess Marie d'Agoult . The two women began an intense friendship and exchanged long letters in which Royer repeatedly included articles she had written for the Journal des Économistes .

Translation of On the Origin of Species

Caricature by Clémence Royer in Les Hommes d'aujourd'hui (1881)

To this day it is not known exactly how Royer was commissioned to translate Darwin's On the Origin of Species . Louise Belloc was Darwin's choice of translator, but she declined, fearing the book was too technical. Darwin had been contacted by Frenchman Pierre Talandier , but he was unable to find a publisher. Knowing the writings of Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and Thomas Robert Malthus , Royer quickly recognized the importance of Darwin's work. It was probably she who established contact with a publisher, Guillaumin. In a letter dated September 10, 1861, Darwin asked his English publisher Murray to send Clémence-Auguste Royer a copy of the book, since she had found a French publisher. The Swiss naturalist René-Édouard Claparède had offered to help Royer with the biological terminology.

Royer not only translated the text, she also wrote a lengthy foreword and explanatory footnotes. In her foreword, she not only questioned divine creation, but also wrote about human natural selection and what she saw as the negative consequences of protecting the weak. It was precisely these eugenic theses that soon increased their popularity. Your foreword, however, referred primarily to the ideas of Lamarck and less to Darwin. In June 1862 Darwin wrote in a letter to the American botanist Asa Gray : "Two or three days ago I received the French translation [...] from Miss Royer, who must be one of the cleverest and most queer women in Europe: she is one ardent believers in God & hates Christianity, & declares that natural selection & the struggle for survival explains mortality, the nature of man, politics etc. etc.!!!. She landed some quirky & good hits & said she should publish a book on these things [...].”

Nevertheless, Darwin seemed to be plagued by doubts, for a month later he wrote to the French zoologist Armand de Quatrefages : 'I wish the translator knew more about natural history; she must be a clever but strange lady; but I had never heard of here before she offered to translate my book.” Darwin seemed particularly unhappy about Royer's footnotes, in which she repeatedly tried to dispel Darwin's self-expressed doubts.

The second edition was published in France in 1866 and Darwin had made some changes and corrected errors. The title was shortened and Royer fine-tuned its translation. In addition, Royer weakened her eugenic theories in the foreword, added a few benevolent words to the freethinkers and complained about the criticism of the Catholic press.

Royer published a third edition without consulting Darwin. For this she wrote a new foreword in which she criticized Darwin for his theory of pangenesis , which Darwin had published in his 1868 work The Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication . She made the mistake of not updating her translation, and so the book appeared without the changes Darwin made in the fourth and fifth English editions. When Darwin found out about this, he was indignant. He approached the French publisher Reinwald and the naturalist Jean-Jacques Moulinié in Geneva, who had translated The Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication , and asked them to re-translate the fifth edition. In November 1869 Darwin complained in a letter to Hooker about Royer's criticism of his theses and suspected that Royer was angry because he had not asked her to translate The Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication .

Despite Darwin's anger, he asked Moulinié to study Royer's translations closely. However, publication was greatly delayed by the Franco-Russian War, the Paris Commune and the death of Moulinié in 1872. The new French translation did not appear until 1873, but then in an updated version with the changes of the sixth English edition that had appeared the year before.

Stay in Italy

Portrait of Pascal Duprat (circa 1880)

Royer's translation of On the Origin of Species made her well known in France. Again and again she received requests for lectures on Darwinism . She spent the winter of 1862/63 in Belgium and the Netherlands. She also worked on her novel Les Jumeaux d'Hellas , a melodrama set in Italy and Switzerland. She published it in 1864 - but without much success. She also continued to publish literary reviews and articles on social science issues in the Journal des Economistes . During this time she met Duprat again and again at meetings all over Europe.

In August 1865 Royer moved from Lausanne to Paris. Duprat, ostracized by the Second French Empire , secretly lived with her. Three months later, the couple moved to Florence and openly lived together there. On March 12, 1866, their son René was born. Traveling became much more difficult with the new task of being a mother, but Royer continued to write and published a series of articles on Jean-Baptiste Lamarck . She also worked on a book on the development of human society , L'origine de l'homme et des sociétés , published in 1870. Darwin had previously avoided the subject and only dealt with it a year later in The Descent of Man and Sexual Selection .

At the end of 1868, Duprat left Florence and went to Spain to cover the Spanish Revolution for the Journal des Économistes . In 1869, Royer returned to Paris with her son. So her mother could help her raise the child.

Paris and the Société d'Anthropologie

Even though Darwin had revoked her permission to translate his book, Royer still believed in his ideas and resumed lecturing on evolution. Darwin's theories had little impact on French scientists and few publications mentioned his work. It was generally believed that there was no evidence for evolution and that Darwin had provided little new evidence. In 1870, Royer became the first woman in France to be admitted to a scientific society when she was elected to the Société d'anthropologie de Paris . Although many republican freethinkers, such as Charles Jean-Marie Letourneau and the ethnologist Gabriel de Mortillet , were members, Royer was proposed by the more conservative Armand de Quatrefages and the physicist Jules Gavarret . For more than 15 years she was the only female member. She was allowed to publish several articles in the Bulletin de la Société d'Anthropologie de Paris . Again and again she campaigned for Darwin's ideas.

When Duprat died suddenly in 1885, neither Royer nor their son could claim any part of the inheritance. Royer had only a small income and had to support her son, who was now studying at the École Polytechnique . In a letter to the Ministère de l'Instruction Publique , she asked for a regular pension, but received only a small sum and had to reapply for it every year.

Again and again the Société d'Anthropologie organized lectures. In 1887 Royer gave two lectures on the subject L'Évolution mentale dans la série organique . By now she had fallen ill and rarely attended society meetings.

Feminism and La Fronde

Royer attended the first International Congress of Women's Rights in 1878, but did not speak. For the 1889 Congress, she was asked by Maria Deraismes to chair the History Section. In her speech she emphasized that the introduction of women's suffrage could lead to a greater influence of the church and that the education of women must therefore be a priority.

When Marguerite Durand founded the feminist newspaper La Fronde in 1897 , Royer became a regular correspondent, writing articles on scientific and social issues. In the same year, her colleagues at the newspaper organized a banquet in her honor and invited eminent scientists.

Her book La Constitution du Monde on cosmology and the structure of matter was published in 1900. In it she criticized scientists for their extreme specialization and questioned scientific theories. The scientific community rejected the book, however, and a review in Science magazine wrote their theories revealed "...a lamentable lack of scientific training and spirit on every point."

In 1891 she had moved into the old people's home Maison Galignani in Neuilly-sur-Seine , which the publisher William Galignani had founded. Royer died at Maison Galignani in Neuilly-sur-Seine in 1902. Her son died of liver failure just six months after her in Indochina.

honors

Fonts (selection)

  • Introduction a la philosophie des femmes: Leçon d'ouverture . A. Larpin, Lausanne 1859
  • Théorie de l'impôt ou la dime social . 2 volumes, Guillaumin, Paris 1862
  • Les Jumeaux d'Hellas . 2 volumes, Lacroix, Verbroecken, Brussels 1864
  • Lamarck: sa vie, ses travaux et son système . In: La Philosophy Positive , No. 3, 1868/69, pp. 173–205, 333–372
  • L'origin de l'homme et des sociétés . Guillaumin and Masson, Paris 1870
  • Le bien et la loi morale: éthique et téléologie . Guillaumin, Paris 1881
  • Attraction et gravitation d'apres Newton . In: La Philosophy Positive , No. 31, 1883, pp. 206–226
  • The mental evolution in the organ series . In: Revue Scientifique , No. 39, 1887, pp. 749–758
  • La constitution du monde: dynamique des atomes, nouveaux principes de philosophie naturelle . Schleicher, Paris 1900

literature

  • Janet Browne: Charles Darwin: Vol. 2 The Power of Place . Jonathan Cape, London 2002
  • E. Claparède: M. Darwin et sa théorie de la formation des espèces . In: Revue Germanique , No. 16, 1861, pp. 523–559
  • Charles Darwin: De l'origine des espèces, ou des lois du progress chez les êtres organisés . Translation by Clémence-Auguste Royer, Guillaumin and Masson, Paris 1862
  • Geneviève Fraisse: Clémence Royer: philosophe et femme de science . La Decouverte, Paris 1985
  • Joy Harvey: Almost a Man of Genius: Clémence Royer, feminism and nineteenth-century science . Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick 1997
  • Joy Harvey: A focal point for feminism, politics, and science in France: the Clémence Royer centennial celebration of 1930 . In: Osiris , No. 14, 1999, pp. 86–101 Saint Catherines Press, ( doi : 10.1086/649301 )
  • Thomas E Glick, Robert E Stebbins: France . In: The comparative reception of Darwinism . University of Chicago Press, Chicago 1974, pp. 117-167
  • Claude Blanckaert: L'anthropologie au feminine: Clémence Royer (1830-1902) . In: Revue de synthèse , No. 105, 1982, pp. 23–38
  • Claude Blanckaert: Les bas-fonds de la science française: Clémence Royer, l'origine de l'homme, et le darwinisme social. In: Bulletin et Mémoires de la Société d'Anthropologie de Paris ns , No. 3, 1981, pp. 115–130 ( doi : 10.3406/bmsap.1991.1774 )
  • Linda L Clark: Social Darwinism in France . University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa 1984
  • Yvette Conry' L'Introduction du Darwinisme en France au XIXe siècle . Vrin, Paris 1974
  • Aline Demars: Clémence Royer l'intrépide: la plus savante des savants . Editions L'Harmattan, 2005
  • John Farley: The initial reaction of French biologists to Darwin's Origin of Species . In: Journal of the History of Biology , No. 7, 1974, pp. 275-300 ( doi : 10.1007/BF00351206 )
  • Geneviève Fraisse: Clémence Royer (1830-1902), lecture de Darwin et regard féministe . In: Raison presentte . No. 67, 1983
  • Pnina G. Abir-Am, Dorinda Outram, Joy Harvey: Strangers to each other: male and female relationships in the life and work of Clémence Royer . In: Uneasy Careers and Intimate Lives: Women in Science 1789-1979 . Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick 1987, pp. 147-171, 322-330
  • Sara Joan Miles: Clémence Royer et de l'origine des espèce: Traductrice ou traîtresse? . In: Revue de synthèse . No. 4, 1989, pp. 61-83
  • Albert Milice: Clémence Royer et sa doctrine de la vie . Peyronnet, Paris 1926

web links

Commons : Clémence Royer  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

itemizations

  1. ↑ Harvey, 1997, p. 5
  2. ↑ Harvey, 1997, p. 7 f.
  3. ↑ Harvey, 1997, pp. 9-12
  4. ↑ Antonio Lazcano: Historical Development of Origins Research . Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology, 2010, 2 (11) ( PMC 2964185 (free full text))
  5. ↑ Harvey, 1997, pp. 14-16
  6. ↑ Harvey, 1997, pp. 17-23
  7. ↑ Harvey, 1997, p. 38; Royer's unpublished autobiography is kept among her estate in the Clémence Royer dossier at the Bibliothèque Marguerite Durand in Paris.
  8. ↑ Harvey, 1997, p. 42
  9. ↑ Harvey, 1997, p. 47
  10. ↑ Harvey, 1997, p. 48
  11. ↑ Harvey, 1997, pp. 52-54
  12. ↑ Harvey, 1997, p. 55
  13. ↑ Harvey, 1997, pp. 57–60
  14. ↑ Harvey, 1997, pp. 55–56
  15. ↑ Browne, 2002, pp. 142-143
  16. ↑ Harvey, 1997, pp. 62-63
  17. ↑ Letter 3250 from Charles Darwin to John Murray, 10 September 1861 ( memento of 29 July 2012 at archive.today web archive ), Darwin Correspondence Project
  18. ↑ Harvey, 1997, p. 66
  19. ↑ Harvey, 1997, p. 79
  20. ↑ Stebbins, 1974, p. 126
  21. ↑ Letter 3595 from Charles Darwin to Asa Gray, 10-20 Oct. June 1862 ( Memento 29 May 2009 at Internet Archive ), Darwin Correspondence Project
  22. ↑ Letter 3653 from Darwin to JLA Quatrefages de Bréau, 11 July 1862 ( memento of 1 August 2012 at archive.today web archive ), Darwin Correspondence Project
  23. ↑ Letter 3721 from Charles Darwin to JD Hooker, 11. September 1862 , Darwin Correspondence Project
  24. ↑ Harvey, 1997, pp. 76-78
  25. ↑ Letter 5339 from CA Royer to Charles Darwin, April-June 1865 , Darwin Correspondence Project
  26. ↑ Darwin, 1866, p. 95 f.
  27. ↑ Claparède, 1861, p. 531 f.
  28. ↑ Darwin, 1866, pp. i–xiii
  29. ↑ Harvey, 1997, pp. 97–99.
  30. ↑ Letter 6997 from Charles Darwin to JD Hooker, 19 November 1869 ( memento of 28 July 2012 at archive.today web archive ), Darwin Correspondence Project, cited in Harvey, 1997, p. 100
  31. ↑ Letter 6989 from Charles Darwin to JJ Moulinié, November 15, 1869 , Darwin Correspondence Project
  32. ↑ Darwin, 1873
  33. ↑ Harvey, 1997, p. 101
  34. ^ Royer, 1864
  35. ↑ Harvey, 1997, pp. 69-70
  36. ↑ Harvey, 1997, pp. 76, 80–83
  37. ^ Royer, 1868-1869
  38. ^ Royer, 1870
  39. ↑ Harvey, 1997, p. 90
  40. ↑ Harvey, 1997, p. 96
  41. ↑ Harvey, 1997, p. 102
  42. ↑ Harvey, 1997, p. 104
  43. ↑ Stebbins, 1974, pp. 165–166
  44. ↑ Sarah Blaffer Hrdy: Darwinism, Social Darwinism, and the "Supreme Function" of mothers . AnthroNotes, Museum of Natural History, Fall 2008, #29, Vol. 2, p. 12 ( Online )
  45. ↑ Harvey, 1997, p. 105
  46. ↑ Harvey, 1997, p. 123
  47. ↑ Harvey, 1997, pp. 155–156
  48. ↑ Harvey, 1997, pp. 142,156
  49. ↑ Harvey, 1997, p. 159
  50. ^ Royer, 1887
  51. ↑ Harvey, 1997, p. 138
  52. ↑ Harvey, 1997, pp. 161–162
  53. ↑ Harvey, 1999, pp. 90-91
  54. ↑ Harvey, 1997, pp. 170–172
  55. ^ Royer, 1900
  56. ↑ Harvey, 1997, pp. 175–179
  57. ↑ Science, 1900, No. 11, p. 785, Book Review ( Online )
  58. ↑ Harvey, 1997, p. 167
  59. ↑ Harvey, 1997, pp. 181–182
  60. ↑ Harvey, 1997, p. 179
personal data
SURNAME Royer, Clemence
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Royer, Clemence Augustine; Audouard, Clémence Augustine (birth name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French author, anthropologist, philosopher and feminist
BIRTH DATE April 21, 1830
PLACE OF BIRTH nantes
DATE OF DEATH February 6, 1902
PLACE OF DEATH Neuilly sur Seine