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Table of Figures
Figure A: Education for women in the working classes became accessible_____________________________________ 3
Figure B: Schools attached to convents and churches educated girls in France. ________________________________ 4
Figure C: Women were barred from universities such as Oxford until the 20th Century _________________________ 5

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The Education of Girls in Eighteenth Century
England and France
The propereducationforyoungwomenhaslongbeena subjectfordebate inEurope.Inthe
eighteenthcentury,the opinionsaboutwhatsortof educationgirlsshouldhave becomeincreasingly
divided.ThroughoutEurope,the primarygoal of girls’educationwastoprepare themfortheirrolesas
housewivesandmothers.Inthispaper,Iwill explore the similaritiesanddifferencesof ideologyand
practice in eighteenthcenturyEnglandandFrance.Duringthisperiod,some radical beliefsaboutgirls’
educationbegantoarise to counterthe typicallylightweighteducationprovidedtoupperclassfemales.
The ideologyregardinggirls’educationinthe eighteenthcenturywasbasicallythe same
throughoutEurope.Womenwere believedtobe superficial,shallow,incapableof reasonorsound
judgment,andintellectuallyinferior (Hill 44).The educationthatwasprovidedforgirlstherefore
reflectedthisingrainedbelief.HarrietWatsonstatesthat“the aim of educationinthe 18th
centurywas
to produce adultswhoare able—andwilling—toplayspecificrolesinsociety (Greaves28)”. Considering
the prevailingassumptionthatwomenare naturallyinferior,itisnotsurprisingthatwomen’seducation
concentratedsolelyonawomanfulfillingthe social role asobedienthousewife.Womenwerenot
believedcapable of the same intellectualrigorsthatmenwere,andtherefore weresupposedtodevote
theirlife tobecomingagoodwife andmother.Hill quotesDr.JamesFordyce,authorof The Character
and Conductof theFemale Sex in 1776, who referstowomenas“those whowere formedtodelight
[men],notsomuch by an emulationof intellects, asbyexternal gracesanddecorations,unitedwiththe
softervirtuesof the heart,andthe sprightliercharmsof the fancy” (Hill 50).Fordyce’scomment
reinforcesthe beliefthatwomen’ssole purpose istobe attractive,loving,andentertaining.
The greatestdifferencesineducationbetweenEnglandandFrance can be seeninthe education
providedforthe lowerclass.The differencesbetweenthe twocountriescanbe attributedprimarilyto

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the effectsof the ProtestantReformationandIndustrializationinEngland.Followingthe Protestant
Reformation,KingHenryVIIIclosedthe monasteriesandbyextensionthe conventschools,whichhad
beenalmostthe onlysource of educationforworking-classgirls.Intheirplace the charityschool was
established,which“wastobe the basicform of populareducationinEngland” (Stock70). Charity
schoolsprovidedbasiceducationforthe poor.However,educational standardswerelow andcurriculum
variedfromschool to school.Thislevel of educationwasconsideredsufficientforpoorgirls,and
anythingfurtherwasdiscouraged.1
Figure A: Education for women in the working classes became accessible
As the centuryprogressed,the nature of charityschoolsandof Protestanteducationbeganto
evolve.The onsetof industrializationinEnglandinthe midtolate eighteenthcenturymeantthat
1 In the eighteenth century, English girlswerealso taught basic religion by means of memorizing catechisms,in
the hopes of educating them in the Protestant religion.

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childrenof bothgenderswere neededforwork,andassuch “the charity school movementbecame
absorbedintothe workhouse movement” (Stock72).Workhouse schools,ratherthanjustimparting
religiousmorals,providedgirlswithpractical skills.1
Figure B: Schools attached to convents and churches educated girls in France.
In France,on the otherhand,educationforthe female poorwasprimarilyreligiousanddidnot
trainthemfor a life outside of marriage –or evenoutside of the convent.Nothavinggone through the
ProtestantReformation,France wasstill Catholicandtherefore conventschoolscontinuedtoexistas
theyhad forhundredsof years.These conventswere concernedalmostexclusivelywithreligionand
morality,andnunstaughtthe younggirlsthe virtuesof modestyandobedience.Unlike inEngland,girls
were notpreparedfortheirrole andwork inlaterlife.Theywere insteadpreparedforreligiouslifeand
1 For Example, trainingin text files enabled girls to obtain employment in the factories.

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oftenendedupremainingatthe conventtobecome nuns.ThisFrenchquote discussesone of the
drawbacksof eighteenthcenturyconventeducation:
L’enseignementcharitabledesfillesvaaussi se développersurle même modèleavecles
Ursulines,laCongrégationNotre-DameoulesFillesde Notre-dame. Cesfemmes ne peuvent
participeràla vie extérieure. (Coutinot)
Educationof middle andupperclassgirlsvariedlessbetweenEnglandandFrance,although
there are some interestingdifferences.Girlsinbothcountrieswere senttoboardingschools,where
theywere taught“accomplishmentsthoughtlikelytoattracta husband” (Stock99). The curriculum
offeredatthese schoolsmayhave helpedthe girlsattracthusbands,butoftendidlittle toinstructthem
inwhat to do aftertheywere married. 1
Figure C: Women were barred from universities such as Oxford until the 20th Century
1 Little, if any attention was paid to traininggirlsin vocational trades,sincemiddleand upper classgirlswere
never expected to work.

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Of the twocountries,France remainedthe mosttraditional.The mostadvancedboardingschool for
girlswasSaintCyr, whichwasestablishedforlesswealthynoble girls.Girlsreceivedapurelypractical
educationatSaintCyr. Insteadof trainingnoble girlsinaccomplishments,SaintCyreducatedgirlsin
“practical householdactivities”(Stock).Infact, SaintCyrprovideda“sensible religiouseducationaimed
at secularlife,and…useful traininginthe householdarts” (Stock95). Saint Cyrwas certainlyan
improvementovermanyotherFrenchboardingschools;however,itdidlittle toadvance egalitarian
educationforgirls.Youngwomenwere still expectedtoconformtothe traditional domesticrole of
housewifeandmother,andwere dissuadedfromengaginginmore intellectual pursuits.
Movementtowardequal educationforbothgenderscame more readilyinEnglandthanin
France as a resultof the effortsof the Unitarians,a radical religiousgroupthat“derivedchieflyfrom
Protestantdissentof the eighteenthcentury” (Watts3).The Unitarians’beliefinthe importance of
educationandknowledgeledthemtoquestionthe assumptionthatwomenwere intellectuallyinferior.
As a result,they“[saw] the needforwomentobe well educatedbothfortheirownmoral and spiritual
developmentandtofulfill theirtraditionalmaternal andcaringroles” (Watts8).The educationthey
advocatedwasbasedon Enlightenmentideasof reasonandscience.Experience wasconsideredthe
mostimportanttool for learning.Yet,inspite of theirconsiderableadvancestowardsequaleducation,
the Unitariansstill expectedwomentofulfill the role of wifeandmother.Equal educationwasmeantto
allowwomentobe goodcompanionsfortheirhusbands,and“to give rational amusementto
themselveswhenalone”(Watts78).Nonetheless,the Unitarianspushedthe boundariesof female
educationandpavedthe wayfor furtheradvancesinthe nineteenthcentury.
The eighteenthcenturyprovedtobe a time of great change inwomen’seducation,particularlyin
England.By the endof the century,Englandhadopenedthe doortoequal education,whichbeganto
flourishinthe nineteenthcentury.France waslessadvancedthanEnglandandstill resistedintellectual

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educationforgirls,butittoo made some advancesandafter the FrenchRevolution1
educational
opportunitiesforgirlsbegantoincrease.Bothcountriesmade definite improvementsinfemale
education,whichwouldeventuallycome tofruitioninthe nineteenthandtwentiethcenturies.
1 The French Revolution started in 1789.

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Bibliography
Coutinot,Lionel."L'Educationsousl'AncienRégime."2007. Le Fil de l'Histoire. 27 January2007.
<http://lionelcoutinot.club.fr/tps/ch4b.html>.
Greaves,Morris. Education forGirls in Regency England.London:New ArcadiaPublishing,2015.
Hill,Bridget. Eighteenth-Century Women:An Anthology.London:George Allen&UnwinLtd,1984.
Johnson,Darren. A History of Female Education.New York:HudsonInternationalPress,2015.
Stock,Phyllis. Betterthan Rubies:A History of Women’sEducation.New York:CapricornBooks,1978.
Watts, Ruth.Gender,Power,and the Unitariansin England:1760-1860. London:Longman,1998.