Joseph de Maistre, letter to his daughter Constance. Lettres et opuscules inédits (Paris, 1851), p. 146. Reported in Geneviève Fraisse, Reason's Muse (1994), ch. 5
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A woman can only be superior as a woman; as soon as she wants to emulate man, she is nothing but an ape.
— Joseph de Maistre on Women
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "A woman can only be superior as a woman; as soon as she wants to emulate man, she is nothing but an ape." in the context of "Joseph de Maistre, letter to his daughter Constance. Lettres et opuscules inédits (Paris, 1851), p. 146. Reported in Geneviève Fraisse, Reason's Muse (1994), ch. 5" to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "Women" (M)
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
About Joseph de Maistre
Joseph de Maistre (1 April 1753 – 26 February 1821) was a Savoyard philosopher, writer, lawyer and diplomat who advocated social hierarchy and monarchy in the period immediately following the French Revolution. Despite his close personal and intellectual ties with France, Maistre was throughout his life a subject of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which he served as a member of the Savoy Senate (1787–1792), ambassador to Russia (1803–1817) and minister of state to the court in Turin (1817–1821).
About Joseph de Maistre
Joseph de Maistre (1 April 1753 – 26 February 1821) was a Savoyard philosopher, writer, lawyer and diplomat who advocated social hierarchy and monarchy in the period immediately following the French Revolution. Despite his close personal and intellectual ties with France, Maistre was throughout his life a subject of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which he served as a member of the Savoy Senate (1787–1792), ambassador to Russia (1803–1817) and minister of state to the court in Turin (1817–1821).
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