LIBERTINE WOMEN.

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Clémentine, ou La Jeune Lesbienne, histoire galante et philosophique. First and only edition, a clandestine Revolution-era publication. Clémentine uses a pseudo-classical lens to portray a woman enlivened by intellectual and sexual emancipation. It is notable for the term "lesbian"; although the term does not here refer to homosexuality, the author uses it to imply female sexual nonconformity, anticipating its future use. We have located no other copies among institutional libraries.Clémentine, the eponymous heroine, is a beautiful noblewoman from the island of Lesbos. After hearing Cynical philosophy debated, she experiences an intellectual and sexual awakening. Together with a lover, she flees the moral strictures of her home for Athens in order to experience true liberty. Once in Athens, Clémentine engages in public sexual activity, as depicted in the novel's frontispiece. However, she is consistently disappointed with the men she encounters, as they fail to perform their sexual and intellectual ideals. Her behaviour is occasionally criticized: one man informs her that "a woman of your wit and conduct is not suited to penetrate the secrets of philosophy; a needle and spindle should be the sole objects of her learning" (pp. 64-5). She defends herself against such criticism and eventually marries a satisfactory partner. The relationship between intellectual and sexual liberty in the tale is elusive. At times, philosophy seems merely an extended metaphor for sex, used simulta

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