Politics despite themselves: Catholic women's political mobilization in France and Italy, 1900-1914
Résumé
Through a comparative study of two Catholic associations, the Ligue patriotique des Françaises (French Women's Patriotic League, LPDF) and the Unione fra le donne cattoliche d'Italia (Union of Catholic Women of Italy, UDCI), this article sheds some light on the role of gender and the Church in the politicization process. Working alongside Roman Catholic politicians, the women in the LPDF established a conservative feminine repertoire of collective action and participated, albeit indirectly, in electoral politics. The Italian political and religious context, in contrast, did not allow any such scope for Catholic women to get involved in politics. This article aims to gain some new insight into the various ways conservative women did politics before their eventual enfranchisement.