CONVERSATIONS D’EMILIE DE LOUISE D’ÉPINAY : UNE PERSPECTIVE FÉMININE SUR L’ÉDUCATION AU XVIII-E SIÈCLE

Rezumat

This study, based on Madame d'Épinay’s educational novel, Conversations d'Émilie (1781), a series of dialogues between mother and daughter, aims to analyse the principles of education proposed by Louise d'Épinay, about the formation of the female personality and its role in society. According to Louise d'Épinay, the education of the female elite requires a thorough training in order to successfully manage the family universe (combining knowledge of psychology with sensitivity and responsibility towards all members of the field), to succeed in the social role of a rational woman (who, although she has studied worldly norms, does not allow herself to be dominated by them; who, thanks to her discernment and modesty, clearly perceives the intentions of her interlocutors and therefore cannot become a victim of others or of her own ego), to become an intellectually brilliant, sociable figure (mastering the subtle art of conversation, the fruit of reading and intelligence cultivated in discussions of substance).