Topsy-Turvy by Jules Verne

“Then Mr Maston, you pretend that a woman has never been able to make mathematical or experimental-science progress?”
“To my extreme regret, I am obliged to, Mrs. Scorbitt,” answered J.T. Maston.
“That there have been some very remarkable women in mathematics, especially in Russia, I fully and willingly agree with you. But, with her cerebral conformation, she cannot become an Archimedes, much less a Newton.”