Suchon, Gabrielle, 1631-1703

Gabrielle Suchon (December 24, 1632, in Semur-en-Auxois – March 5, 1703, in Dijon) was a French moral philosopher who participated in debates about the social, political and religious condition of women in the early modern era. Her most prominent works are the Traité de la morale et de la politique (Treatise on Morality and Politics) and Du célibat volontaire (On the Celibate Life Freely Chosen). Suchon is considered the first philosopher to produce a significant body of work dedicated solely to the topic of women. Suchon's writing is unique because she specifically addresses women, as opposed to most moral philosophy of the time, whose primary audience was men. She is considered the only female philosopher of her time without a male intellectual advisor or husband. In her works, Suchon argues that women are deserving of the natural rights of liberty, learning and authority. She asserts that a woman can live a fulfilling life while unmarried and promotes the power of voluntary celibacy on secular terms.