ABSTRACT
We often hear the expression “the squeaky wheel gets the grease.” Geneviève de Gravelle came to be heard and seen by virtue of her constant letter writing, which called attention to her unjust treatment. Her story illustrates the invisibility experienced by many women in her time, especially those “of a certain age,” who had very little control over their lives and fates. This is the story of one woman’s effort to be seen by being heard. Her story is emblematic of the conditions of women, their agency, rights, and accessibility to resources and recourse in mid-eighteenth-century France.
