Women did not gain from the Revolution or the Enlightenment as men did. Seeking the cause for this, the paper concentrates upon the period of 1770–1810, and the area of Central and Western Europe. It is found that during the French Revolution a number of persons, mostly women, did fight on behalf of women's rights to freedom and equality. However, even before the Revolution was over, they had lost what little they had gained earlier. With Napoleon's Civil Code, a modern code in many ways, the time-honoured supremacy of the male was reasserted. In Prussia, a less violent struggle went on about women's rights. It was fought by men on both sides and it was occasioned by the lengthy creative process which resulted in the first of the modern codes by 1796. It reflected a few of the arguments made in favour of women, but in principle it enshrined male supremacy. The Austrian Civil Code extended the recognition of female equality a bit further. Both German codes were influenced by Enlightened theories; however, they were unable to overcome the long-established principle of “natural” male dominance.