Marie-Rose Astié de Valsayre

Marie-Rose Astié de Valsayre (pen names, Jehan des Etrivières and la mère Marthe; 1846–1915) was a French violinist, feminist, nurse and writer, who is remembered for attempting to overturn legislation prohibiting women from wearing trousers and for a fencing duel she had with an American woman. After studying medicine, she had provided emergency services during the Franco-Prussian War in 1870. In 1889, she created the Ligue de l'Affranchissement des femmes (League of Women's Enfranchisement) calling for women to be added to the electoral lists.

Early life and education Born in Paris on 30 August 1846, Marie Rose de Valsayre was the daughter of parents who had been ruined by the French Revolution. After her father had emigrated to the United States, she was brought up by her mother. She studied music, first under her mother's guidance, later in the hands of professional tutors. By the time she was 13, she was a competent violinist and was beginning to compose pieces for piano. Unusually for her day, she also studied medicine, allowing her to serve as a nurse in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870.

As early as 1880, she began work on a number of feminist issues, including an attempt to overturn legislation preventing women from wearing trousers. In 1886, she sparked a media controversy by duelling another woman, an American, sparked by a debate regarding whether French women doctors or American women doctors were superior. France won the duel, leaving the American, Miss Shelby, slightly injured. This established her, notoriously, as a fencer and duellist. While duels were not uncommon, they were a tradition only of men. According to her, bulky women's clothes of the time condemned women to accidents and sometimes death. Her several attempts failed.

In 1892, under the pseudonym "la mère Marthe", she published L'Aisance par l'économie, a practical guide for intelligent working housewives. The same year, with the support of the 6th arrondissement of Paris, she clubbed together with other groups of feminists to establish the Fédération française des sociétés fëministes.

From 1897 to 1901, she directed a newspaper, that she had created, and published many books under the pseudonym "Jehan des Etrivières" until her death in 1915.

In popular culture Marie-Rose Astié de Valsayre was played by Doria Tillier in the French film Une affaire d'honneur (2023) directed by Vincent Perez and released in English with the title The Edge of the Blade. The action centers around a fictional account of part of her life in the late 1880s.