The Education of Women During the Qājār Period: the Contribution Provided by the Works of Fénelon and Madame de Lambert

Abstract

This work aims at presenting the new educational materials proposed by
Persian translators and foreigner authors such as Fénelon and Madame de Lambert
whose works focused on woman’s genuine role within the Islamic community and on
new cultural ideals where men should have a different attitude towards women in order
to grow the new generation according to healthy and renewed principles. Through the
comparative and intertextual method, this research traces the links between texts and
different influences. It will be shown how Persian authors have been inspired by French
writers belonging to previous literary traditions to conciliate tradition and progress.