Adoptive Masonry in the twentieth century
our origins

Adoptive Masonry in the twentieth century

It took the late nineteenth century for the question of women's becoming full-fledged Masons to arise again, under the influence of outstanding activists, such as Flora Tristan, Louise Michel or Maria Deraismes. Together with fellow-Masons, Deraismes, who had been initiated in a men's Lodge in 1882, founded Le Droit Humain, a mixed-gender Masonic body, in 1893.
Tablier de Maîtresse, fin 19ème-début 20ème siècle (coll. GLFF)

From then on, the impulse never slackened, and women's role in Freemason was definitively vindicated throughout the 20th century.

At the beginning of the 20th century, The Grande Loge de France helped reactivate the adoptive Lodges and devise a constitution to regulate their functioning:

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Médaille de la loge Le Libre ExamenOn May 29, 1901, Le Libre Examen, the first Lodge thus created, met for the first time and discussed the theme "Woman's place in Society". The first "Grande Maîtresse" ("Grand Mistress"), a title given to the Worshipful Mistresses of adoptive Lodges was M. Berthault ; she was succeeded by Blanche Muratet , who came from a Lodge in Madrid called Liberté d'Orient, and had been affiliated to Le Libre Examen as soon as it was created. The Lodge was to become the first Lodge of the GLFF, and B. Muratet was n°1 on the GLFF register.

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La Nouvelle Jérusalem, a second Lodge, initially created within the Symbolic Scottish Grand Lodge, was to be integrated into the Grande Loge de France and installed on May 31, 1907.

Despite the First World War, which slowed down its progression, Women's Freemason was asserting itself. Nine more adoptive Lodges were created between July 1923 and December 1936, amounting to a total of 11 creations for the first decades of the century. They were, in chronological order: Tolérance, in Périgueux, Union et Bienfaisance in Paris, Babeuf et Condorcet in Saint Quentin, Le Général Peigné, Minerve, La Philosophie Sociale, Thébah, La République Sociale in Paris, L'Olivier Ecossais in Le Havre.

In 1935, on the occasion of their Congress, without consulting their sisters, the brothers of the GLDF decided to confer the adoptive Lodges complete autonomy, and to help them create their own exclusively female Grand Lodge. Their decision was phrased as follows: "The congress trusts our Sisters to pride themselves on placing female Masonry on a par with ours."

However, not yet feeling up to the task, a majority of the sisters decided to retain the status quo.

However, not yet feeling up to the task, a majority of members decided to retain the status quo. The following year, they became organized and constituted the Annual Congress of Adopted Lodges and a Grand Secretariat of five members. Anne-Marie Pedeneau-Gentily was elected unanimously and presided over the collective sessions for the next two years. In 1937, eight Lodges met to constitute what can be considered as the first General Assembly.
With an indomitable drive to go forward, the questions they chose to study within the adoptive Lodges were "Woman and Freedom of Thought", and "Moral revival".

Sadly, the Second World War was to scatter women Masons; many of them were sent to concentration camps along with their brothers, others played a prominent part in the French Resistance.