ABSTRACT
Alchemy, an important part of the sciences in Europe until well into the seventeenth century, may be defined as the dream of the "homo faber", who by perfecting matter ultimately perfects himself. The magical thinking alluded to by Lawrence Kritzman is suggestive of the alchemical process, in which the state of mind can affect the state of matter. One of Marie de Gournay's matters of concern is the equality of men and women. This is an issue that she addresses in the context of her early novella or 'histoire tragique' entitled Proumenoir de Monsieur de Montaigne in the form of a digression. Marie declares, like Plato and Agrippa before her, that sexual difference serves procreation only, because, after all, she explains, 'there is nothing more like a cat on a windowsill than a female cat'. Marie de Gournay alchemically transforms the subservient gesture into a laugh.
