Catharina Ahlgren (1734 – c. 1800) was a Swedish proto-feminist poet and publisher, and one of the first identifiable female journalists in Sweden.
"[2] Catharina Ahlgren's first marriage was to Bengt Edvard Eckerman, cavalry master of the royal Scanian Husars.
Among her translations were the German poem Die Prüfung Abrahams by Christoph Martin Wieland, and the English novel The Distressed Wife, or the history of Eliza Wyndham.
On 29 October 1772, Catharina Ahlgren published and edited the periodical Brefwäxling emellan twänne fruntimmer, den ena i Stockholm och den andra på landet i åskillige blandade ämnen ('Correspondence between two ladies, one in Stockholm and the other one in the country, about a number of various subjects'), under the signature Adelaide.
This was a feminist essay publication, written in the form of a debate i letters between two female signatures, in which she argued in favor of a social conscience, democracy and gender equality, and recommended solidarity between women as a protection against male guardianship and superiority.
[5] She stated that the only way to reach true love within a relationship is to be equals, adding that as men so often want to rule over women, it is much harder to retain friendship with them than with another woman.
She is identified as the editor behind Om konsten att rätt behaga ('Of the Art to Please Properly'), which was, in fact, the first periodical published in Finland.
During the Swedish Age of Liberty and the Gustavian era, many periodicals were published discussing important issues in society, notably the Then Swänska Argus.
A male editor stated during a publication of a female poet: "As we wish for nothing higher than to encourage the knowledge among us, it cannot be anything other than pleasant that a member of the gender [women] so admirably support our intention.
"[1] In the correspondence-debate in her periodical, Catharina Ahlgren wrote in 1772: Even though I have just sent my letter, I still write anew until the post leaves.