Gabrielle Duchêne: Feminist, Pacifist, Reluctant Bourgeoise

This article discusses the peace activism of Gabrielle Duchêne, who headed the French national section of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom and also served as vice‐president of the international executive during the interwar years. Duchêne's activism began in the pre‐World War I years when she first became involved in the plight of garment workers in the linen trades. She worked for a minimum wage for women homeworkers and remained a committed feminist after the war. Duchêne linked the cause of world peace with that of women's rights and never compromised her feminist agenda in her fight against war and fascism. Through use of biographical information and organizational records, the author points to the serious limitations of the international peace movement during the 1930s and its inability to speak with a united voice. This examination of Duchêne's relationship with both the international organization and its French national section reveals the frequent conflict of interests among members. At the international level, the serious threat of division existed between adherents of “integral” and “realist” pacifism. At the national level, party loyalties often interfered with and impeded the work of peace activists in the regional sections (as in the case of the Lyons controversy with the National Executive). Duchêne was at the center of these struggles. Thus, her case is particularly interesting as it helps to explain the failure of a global, mass movement organized to prevent war in 1939.