Living as a mathematician
Hypatia leaves her name to no text even though she is certainly the author of many passages in scholarly works. Émilie du Châtelet is a woman who wants to live fully without having to choose between love and science. Mary Somerville experiences a first marriage to a man who has no esteem for the intellectual abilities of her sex. Sofia Kovalevskaïa dreams only of poetry. By diving into the intimacy of the multifaceted life of female mathematicians, we perceive the countless ways in which they integrate mathematics into it.
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Ancient dynamics: Hypatia and the others
The names of four women associated with mathematics in antiquity are often cited: Theano, Aglaonice, Ban Zhao and Hypatia. But what do historical records tell us about them? And what can we learn about the social dynamics of the relationship between women and mathematics?
Caroline Herschel, professional astronomer
Caroline Herschel (1750–1848) was not destined for astronomy. Thanks to her brother, she became first a singer and then an astronomer. Their partnership led her to discover new comets and become the first woman to work professionally as an astronomer.
Émilie du Châtelet: love and science
Some women mathematicians benefited from their husbands; others would have been better off without them. While translating Newton, Émilie du Châtelet fell in love. Mistreated by her lover, she became pregnant by him and died in childbirth before completing her work.
Mary Somerville: a European career
Mary Somerville's life reveals how personal choices, encounters and sheer hard work could turn a woman into a true star of mathematics, while her passion for the subject remained undimmed until the age of ninety-two.
Sofia Kovalevskaya, from poetry to mathematics
Sofia Kovalevskaya was not only a great mathematician but also a socially engaged writer, drawn to poetry from a very early age. This dual calling makes her a figure apart.