Jane Misme facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jane Misme
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Jane Misme by Henri Manuel (1874–1947)
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| Born | 1865 |
| Died | 1935 |
| Nationality | French |
| Occupation | Journalist |
| Known for | Feminism |
Jane Misme (1865–1935) was an important French journalist and a supporter of women's rights, known as a feminist. She started a special newspaper for women called La Française (The Frenchwoman). This paper was published for many years, from 1906 to 1934. Jane Misme was also a key member of groups like the French Union for Women's Suffrage and the National Council of French Women. These groups worked to get women the right to vote and other important rights.
Contents
A Young Advocate for Women's Rights
Jane Misme was born in 1865. She grew up in a time when women had very few legal rights.
In 1893, another woman named Jeanne Schmahl started a group called Avant-Courrière (Forerunner). This group wanted two main things for women:
- The right for women to be official witnesses in legal documents.
- The right for married women to keep and use the money they earned from their jobs.
This group wanted to involve women from middle and upper-class families who had more traditional views. Famous women like Anne de Rochechouart de Mortemart, the Duchess of Uzès, and Juliette Adam joined the group. Jane Misme also supported Avant-Courrière, along with Jeanne Chauvin, who was the first woman in France to earn a law degree.
Becoming a Journalist and Voice for Change
Jane Misme started her career as a journalist when she was about 30 years old. From 1896 to 1906, she wrote for well-known newspapers such as Le Figaro, Le Matin, and the Revue de Paris.
Her articles often talked about how women's roles in society had changed over time. She also wrote about new job opportunities that were becoming available for women. From 1899 to 1905, she was also a drama critic, reviewing plays for newspapers like La Fronde and L'Action. La Fronde was a newspaper started by the actress and women's rights activist Marguerite Durand in 1897.
In 1901, Jane Misme wrote an important article for La Fronde about how women were shown in French plays. She said:
Of the many things disrupting contemporary society, perhaps the most important is the transformation in the lives of women. They, who have remained the same for centuries and centuries, across all civilizations, are now in the process of no longer being the same. While the traditional woman has not yet disappeared, she has been challenged by another, baptized the New Woman. The two are in conflict and the world is fighting over them.
This quote shows that she saw a big change happening for women in society.
La Fronde stopped publishing in 1905. To fill this gap, Jane Misme started her own weekly newspaper, La Française (The Frenchwoman), in 1906. It was a four-page newspaper that first came out on October 21, 1906. Other women, like Mathilde Meliot and Marguerite Durand, helped her start it. Germaine Dulac, a famous filmmaker, also wrote for the paper regularly.
The newspaper was owned by the writers themselves, through a special group called the Cercle de La Française. This group aimed to be a "home of practical and moral action for all feminine interests." Unlike La Fronde, Jane Misme allowed men to work with her on La Française. However, she made sure the paper did not get involved in political or religious arguments. Instead, it focused only on "the situation and role of women in France and abroad."
In 1908, Misme wrote that La Française was strongly against "violent public demonstrations." She believed these were "incompatible with French style."
La Française aimed to connect different women's rights groups. It became the official newspaper for the National Council of French Women (CNFF). Many women's associations belonged to this Council, which started in 1901. Jane Misme was in charge of the Press, Letters, and Arts section of the CNFF. She also represented this section at the International Council of Women.
Fighting for Women's Right to Vote
Jane Misme was a key leader in the French Union for Women's Suffrage (UFSF). This group was formed in 1909 by feminists who wanted women to have the right to vote. Most of these women came from educated or wealthy families.
The main leaders of the UFSF were Jeanne Schmahl and Jane Misme. Their first meeting in February 1909 had 300 women. Cécile Brunschvicg became the secretary-general. Jeanne Schmahl was the first president, and Jane Misme was the vice-president from 1909 until 1935.
By 1914, the UFSF had grown to 12,000 members, showing how many people supported women's right to vote.
Women's Roles During World War I
During World War I (1914–1918), La Française had a special message on its banner: "Frenchwomen during the war. What they do. What we can do for them."
When the war started, Jane Misme wrote in her newspaper that people should focus on their duties to the country, not their rights. She also said that during the war, the wives of the enemy were also considered enemies.
In 1914, Misme criticized some Red Cross nurses. She felt they were not showing enough dedication and might be looking for husbands or uniforms instead of truly serving. She believed that women's hard work during the war would help them gain the right to vote once the war ended. So, she wanted all women to show their best effort.
From 1915, Misme also wrote for other newspapers like L'Oeuvre and Minerva.
The war caused many French men to die or be away fighting. This led to fewer births and a shortage of husbands. Some people suggested unusual solutions, but Misme thought these ideas were wrong. She believed that women who couldn't find love or have children because of the war should be seen as victims of the war. Their sacrifice should bring them honor, not shame.
La Française stated that having children outside of marriage was "degrading for women, humiliating for men... harmful for the child... dangerous for public order and personal happiness."
Misme strongly believed that mothers and children always deserved help and respect. She wrote, "It is with all the strength of my maternal instinct that I speak to defend, here and everywhere, the mothers and children who are treated as outcasts." She questioned how foster parents would treat children if they knew their parents were not married.
Because of her strong opinions, Misme sometimes received angry letters. Some even accused her of supporting the Germans or being a spy.
In November 1916, Misme wrote a long article in La Revue de Paris about "The War and the Role of Women." She noted that French women's rights groups had stopped their peace efforts. She argued that French women had shown through their actions that they deserved to be treated equally to men. Women had taken over jobs in factories, managed families, and worked as farmers, laborers, veterinarians, and merchants. They also filled empty positions in schools and local government.
Before the war, women's rights leaders were often treated badly. But Misme observed that the mood had changed. She called for improvements in education, work issues, marriage, and politics.
After the War: Continuing the Fight
Jane Misme remained an active and strong-minded journalist after World War I.
In 1919, she wrote in L'Oeuvre about women who chose not to marry after the war. She said, "Ah! The time is past when you married the first well-groomed dog that came along just to be called Madame, wear diamonds, go out alone, and in particular guarantee your daily bread." She believed the war had sped up a change in how single women were seen.
In 1922, Misme praised the new, shorter swimsuits in La Française. She thought they gave young women more freedom to move in the water. She wrote that "anything that stands in the way of the harmonious and necessary development of the body can only be a false kind of grace and modesty."
In 1923, Misme wrote an article called Les Provocatrices (The Provocative Women). She said that women were becoming more active in finding partners, instead of just waiting to be asked to marry. When discussing whether Frenchwomen should marry foreigners, she wrote, "They do not have to; they can; that is very different."
In another article, Maternité: Le plus beau sport (Motherhood: The Most Beautiful Sport), Misme disagreed with the growing popularity of Sigmund Freud's ideas in France. She felt his theories were very controversial and mostly just a trend.
A new law in 1927 allowed French women married to non-French men to keep their French citizenship. Their children were also considered French, and their husbands could become citizens faster. While this law aimed to increase the number of French citizens, Misme saw it as an attack on the idea of "marital supremacy," where a wife was under her husband's control. She saw it as another step forward for women's rights.
By 1926, La Française had become connected with the French Union for Women's Suffrage (UFSF). Misme often wrote short biographies of women's rights activists in La Française and Minerva. These writings became a valuable resource for people studying the women's movement in France. She wrote a series called "The Great Figures of Feminism" for Minerva.
In 1930, she wrote about Avril de Sainte-Croix, who was 75 years old. Misme described her as "a permanent miracle of vitality and energy" and the clear leader of French and international feminism.
Jane Misme passed away in 1935. Her work as a journalist and activist helped change how women were seen and treated in France.
