Free Essay

The Role of Women in the French Revolution

In: Historical Events

Submitted By sarahazhar
Words 1798
Pages 8
The Role of Women in the French Revolution

Sarah A.Butt
Western Civilization
3rd March 2010

The French revolution, which began in 1789, was a period of hatred and blood. It was a period of political upheaval of the country, and of world importance in France. Issues of rights and equality has always been a heated debate in the world, however, during the French Revolution, equality was the main exhilarating and impassioned concept that was put into matter and effect. The French Revolution, was the period of revolutionaries revolting for liberty and equality, failed to provide equals rights as French men for the French women. Even though, women played a significant role during the French Revolution, they however did not get the respect in their society, neither were they treated equally as men. In spite of their vibrant contribution throughout the Revolution, their involvements always proved contentious.
The eighteen century was a period of revolutionaries, and feministic activities. One of the main causes of the further turmoil in France was the Austrian wife of Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette. In the beginning, Marie Antoinette was loved by the commoners, as she would always help them when they would get accidentally shot by Louis XVI during his hunting. However, after when Antoinette’s frivolous spending habits started to arose, people were extremely infuriated. She would squander their taxes and hard work on gambling, and wearing the most fashionable clothes, subsequently she was called “Madame Deficit” (Schama 225). While, the third estates, especially the commoners prayed for bread, Antoinette would live comfortably in her palace. However, during the French Revolution, she became the symbol of hatred, and was ultimately sentenced to be put under the guillotine.
Furthermore, it was the women who were behind the capture of Louis XVI, and Marie Antoinette from their palace in Versailles. During the Revolution, as the political turmoil intensified, economic crises also began to deepen, with the bread price rising significantly. This angered the commoners, as they were well-aware of the luxurious life the King and the Queen were spending inside their palace. Therefore, in October 5, 1789, the women of Paris marched to the royal palace in Versailles, and forced the King and his family to move to Paris, where the people would have a better chance on keeping an eye on their activities.
Women gathered to march to Versailles to demand an accounting from the King. “They trudged the twelve miles from Paris in the rain, arriving soaked and tired. At the end of the day and during the night, the women were joined by thousands of men who had marched from Paris to join them” (Introduction to the French Revolution). Following this event, the King was forced to accept constitutional monarchy. Instantaneously, women as revolutionaries became a prevailing symbol of the power of the Revolution, but not in the eyes of men.
Following the assassination of Marie Antoinette, Charlotte Corday furthered an extra fervor to the Revolution; conversely, she also ended up in the guillotine. She is responsible for the murder of Jean-Paul-Marat, who was a journalist, and the leader of radical Montagnard faction during the French Revolution. This was the most dramatic individual act of resistance to the Revolution. “Marat published a newspaper, The Friend of the People, that violently denounced anyone who opposed the direction of the Revolution; he called for the heads of aristocrats, hoarders, unsuccessful generals, and even moderate republicans, such as Condorcet, who supported the Revolution but resisted its tendency toward violence and intimidation” (Introduction to the French Revolution). It is know that Corday was greatly disturbed by the gory events in her country, and wanted to do something to resolve it. During the same time, Marat had been regularly publishing names of the people to be put under the guillotine. When he marched into the hall of the National Convention, he demanded another execution of the twenty-two Girond elected representatives. Finally, Corday decided that the Revolution has gone so far, and on July 13 1793, Corday arrived to Paris. She pretended to go meet him in order to provide him with a list of names of some Gironds who could be dangerous. Marat who suffered from a disease was in a bath of medicinal herbs. Just then she stabbed him on his chest. However, she was caught by his attendants before she could escape. Marat became a symbol of the Revolution, and Corday was sentenced to guillotine, where on her trial she asserted, “I told my plans to no one. I was not killing a man, but a wild beast that was devouring the French people” (Loomis 149). However, the vainness of Corday’s act did not weaken the role of women in the French Revolution.
Although, men refused to have the same political rights as women, however, many women activists and unidentified women shaped the route of the revolution. One of the first works which helped in combating the callous attitude towards women was by Olympe de Gouges. She published the Declaration of the Rights of Women, which served as a wake-up call for the French Women. In her work, de Gouges declared that, “woman is born free and lives equal to man in her rights,” (Declaration of the Rights of Women 341-343). Her document stated that women should have the same political rights as the men. Her real name was Marie Gouze, and she used this pen name to avoid persecution. Unfortunately, yet again, the women were not provided the rights. She was identified through the political activism, and in 1793 she suffered persecution at the guillotine (Finch 152). The consequence was the elimination of women from citizenship, and also the privilege to be elected to the Parliament.
Even after failing in achieving their rights, women started to form clubs to assemble ways to attain their rights, and liberty. It was not only citizenships rights that the women were fighting for; they also wanted the same rights to education, and employment. Women's participation during the French Revolution was not just limited to rioting and demonstrating. Women contributed to the meetings of political clubs and played a very active role which led both men and women soon agitated for the guarantee of women's rights. During the Revolution, most women acted in more collective manner to endeavor to guarantee food for their families. They also contributed a lot over the concern of rising price of food which led to riots in February 1792 and again in February 1793. These riots often began at the door of shops in which women usually played a prominent role, demanding lower prices. Women associated themselves into their own political clubs to form riots and to fight for women rights. “The best known of these was the Society of Revolutionary Republican Women established in Paris in May 1793” (Primary Sources for the French Revolution).
In July 1790 a leading intellectual, Marie-Jean Caritat, Marquis de Condorcet, published a newspaper article in full support for women rights in politics. It caused another agitation. In the article, he asserted that “France's women should enjoy equal political rights with men” (Primary Sources for the French Revolution.). They launched a campaign for women's rights and met in a group called the Cercle Social (social circle). The group specifically focused on women issues in civil equality in the areas of divorce and property. One of the leading and most active woman in the area of women's rights was the Dutch woman Etta Palm d'Aelders who denounced the discrimination against women that refused to give women equal rights in marriage and in education. The members of the group the Cercle Social later also demanded and argued for a liberal divorce law and reforms in inheritance laws as well. As the women revolutionaries became stronger, they were seen as threats to some of the officials. Therefore, in 1793, one of the main women committee, called the Society of Revolutionary Women was shut down. This deeply angered the women, for they never achieved the same respect and privileges that the French male citizens did.
Women never gained full political rights during the French Revolution as none of the assemblies ever granted political rights to women. Women were not even allowed to vote or hold office. But this did not stop women from continuing to participate in various other important forms. Women actively rioted over the price of food and joined clubs organized by women. They also took parts in different movements against the Revolution and in the rebellion in the west of France against the revolutionary government.
Even though, women played a significant role during the French Revolution, they however did not get the respect in their society, neither were they treated equally as men. The French Revolution, was the period of revolutionaries revolting for liberty and equality, failed to provide equals rights as French men for the French women. Male revolutionaries rejected every call for equal rights for women. But their reactions in print and in speech show that these demands troubled their conception of the proper role for women. However, after a long wait, the revolutionary governments established divorce, with equal rights for women in suing for divorce, and granted girls equal rights to the inheritance of family property.
The French Revolution which was a period of bloodshed, and politic unrest, did little to change the way men viewed the women. From the rights to citizenship, to education, and employment, and to marriages, women were not given equal rights as men. Even after failing in achieving their rights, women started to form clubs to assemble ways to attain their rights, and liberty. It was not only citizenships rights that the women were fighting for; they also wanted the same rights to education, and employment. Although, the French Revolution was a notable period of continuous women contributions, it failed to provide the respect the women revolutionaries fought for.

Works Cited

De Gouges, Olympe. “Declaration of the Rights of Women.” “Western Civilization: A Brief History” Marvin Perry. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005.341-343.

Finch, Allison. Women’s Writing in Nineteenth-Century France. Madrid, Spain: Cambridge University Press, 2000.

"Introduction to the French Revolution." Tucson Unified School District Educational Technology. Web. 01 Mar.2010. <http://edweb.tusd.k12.az.us/uhs/website/courses/wc/historiography/the_fre nch_revolution.htm>

Loomis, Stanley. Paris in the Terror: June 1793 - July 1794. New York, NY, J.B. Lippincott Company, 1964.

"Modern History Sourcebook: Olympe De Gouge: Rights of Women." FORDHAM.EDU. Web. 27 Feb. 2010. <http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1791degouge1.html>.

"Primary Sources for the French Revolution." The CAVE. Web. 17 Feb. 2010. <http://www.thecaveonline.com/APEH/frrevdocuments.html#anchordeclarationofwoman>

Schama, Simon. Citizens. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. NY, 1989.

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

History

...Date The French revolution began in 1789 until the late 1790’s. This revolution was an influential period of political upheaval in France with various social aspects. The French revolution was mainly inspired by radical and liberal ideas altering the course of modern history. The revolution triggered the decline of absolute monarchies and theocracies then replaced them with democracies and republics (Hibbert, 1999). The revolutionary wars unleashed global conflicts that extended from the Middle East to the Caribbean. This revolution was later termed by historians as being one of the greatest events to occur in the human history. Historians debate amongst themselves the causes of the great French revolution, based on the compound nature of the situation. After the American Revolution and the seven years’ war, the French government was deep in debt and thought of restoring its financial status trough the introduction of taxation schemes (Brown, 2008). Privileges enjoyed by the aristocrats and the clergy were resented after bad harvests hence also leading to the revolution. Enlightenment ideals were in demand for change of the situation at hand that resulted in the convocation of estates general and took place in May 1789. Members of the third estate took control in the first year of the revolution that saw the declaration of the right of man being passed, assault on the Bastille and the march of women Versailles that saw the royal court being...

Words: 2944 - Pages: 12

Premium Essay

French Revolution

...Effects of the French Revolution Robert Vincent HIS/114 Western Civilization January 4, 2013 Dennis Burin Effects of the French Revolution The French Revolution was one of the notable events that played an important part in France’s history. Women, common men, clergy, and nobles took drastic steps to secure freedom for a country that was financially ruined. Liberty During the French Revolution, classes of people were fighting for liberty. Surprisingly enough, woman’s participation played a vital role of the French Revolution; they participated in political, social, and military roles (Grout, 2009). For example, the march of French women participated in the French Revolution due to the promise of universal rights, which were never fulfilled. The French Revolution caused France to institute divorce into their legislation in 1792 giving women the right to a divorce. The legislation was revoked under the Restoration when France returned to orthodoxy in 1816 (Commaille, 1983). The revolutionaries claimed that liberty was an inalienable right, especially because the American colonist defeated the British in the War of Independence. On October 5, 1789 six thousand Parisian women marched on toward Versailles forcing the King to make decisions on problems with the bread supply, high prices, and starvation (Geary, Kishlansky, & O’Brien 2010). Equality and Democracy The French citizens not only wanted liberty, but they also wanted equality. The French people were...

Words: 1223 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

History

...Renaissance/Reformation Scientific Revolution • Characteristics of Humanism/how it spread - Theories of Copernicus, Newton • Roles for women - Rulers support of scientific academies • Calvin’s teachings • Attitudes toward Anabaptists Economics • Goals of Protestant princes - mercantilism • Opposition to Spanish rule in UPN - decline of Hanseatic League • Places where major faiths co-existed - causes of 16th century inflation - Changes in Russian serfs status in 17th & 18th centuries Absolutism - purpose of “putting out” system Attitudes toward the Edict of Nantes - theories of Adam Smith Thomas Hobbes & Jacques Bossuet - 18th & 19th centuries’ standard of living Constitutional nations in 17th century improvements Factors supporting French absolutism Factors in decline of Sweden Cromwell’s invasion of Ireland 18th Century Results of the Thirty Years’ War - Partitions of Poland -Enlightened Despots’ achievements/ Reforms 19th Century - Britain’s foreign policy concerns Attitudes toward the Corn Laws - Peasant demands in French Revolution Goals of liberals, nationalists - Lasting changes of French Revolution Support for Greek independence - Critics of the French Revolution Theories of Thomas Malthus - Achievements of women in French Luddites Revolution Influences in French politics in 1830s - utilitarianism ...

Words: 336 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Atlantic Revolutions

...Chapter 17 Atlantic Revolutions and Their Echoes 1750–1914 MARGIN REVIEW QUESTIONS Q. In what ways did the ideas of the Enlightenment contribute to the Atlantic revolutions? • The Enlightenment promoted the idea that human political and social arrangements could be engineered, and improved, by human action. • New ideas of liberty, equality, free trade, religious tolerance, republicanism, human rationality, popular sovereignty, natural rights, the consent of the governed, and social contracts developed during the Enlightenment, providing the intellectual underpinnings of the Atlantic revolutions. Q. What was revolutionary about the American Revolution, and what was not? • The American Revolution was revolutionary in that it marked a decisive political change. • It was not revolutionary in that it sought to preserve the existing liberties of the colonies rather than to create new ones. Q. How did the French Revolution differ from the American Revolution? • While the American Revolution expressed the tensions of a colonial relationship with a distant imperial power, the French insurrection was driven by sharp conflicts within French society. • The French Revolution, especially during its first five years, was a much more violent, far-reaching, and radical movement than its American counterpart. • The French revolutionaries perceived themselves as starting from scratch in recreating the social order, while the Americans sought...

Words: 969 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

The Loan War: The Second Marron War

...defeat the maroons, instead they would come to an agreement. The Haitian Revolution and its legacies to the Caribbean The Haitian Revolution was the outcome of an extended war between the enslaved people and the French colonizers in the French colony of St. Domingue. The Haitian Revolution would also be influenced by the free Mulattoes who had suffered the inequality of being of white and black descent. Though the Haitian Revolution was not the first revolt to have taken place in the Caribbean, it is the most monumental and efficacious events in Caribbean history. The enslaved and free Mulattoes fought against the French rule “and in 1804 declared their country’s independence under the original Arawak name of Haiti.” During this time, there were three social classes in St. Domingue, the whites, the free Mulattoes and the black enslaved. The free Mulattoes fought vigorously to have some level of freedom, however they were still challenged with repression by the whites. The enslaved people suffered severe conditions like many enslaved people in the Caribbean. The colony of St. Domingue produced coffee and sugar, commodities that served to enrich the white colonizers. “By the second half of the 18th century, sugar and coffee were two of the world’s most traded commodities, and Saint-Domingue produced over 60 percent of the world’s coffee and 40 percent of the world’s sugar.” It would be the French Revolution that would inspire the Mulattoes and the enslaved to fight against France...

Words: 1503 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

French Revolution

...French Revolution Storming of the Bastille, 14 July 1789. Participants French society Location France Date 1789–1799 Result A cycle of royal power limited by uneasy constitutional monarchy; then the abolition and replacement of the French king, aristocracy and church with a radical, secular, democratic republic, which, in turn, becomes more authoritarian, militaristic and property-based. Radical social change based on nationalism, democracy and the Enlightenment principles of citizenship and inalienable rights. Rise of Napoleon Bonaparte. Armed conflicts with other European countries. Part of a series on the History of France Prehistory[show] Ancient[show] Early Middle Ages[show] Middle Ages[show] Early modern[show] 19th century[show] 20th century[show] France portal v t e The French Revolution (French: Révolution française; 1789–1799), was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France that had a lasting impact on French history and more broadly throughout Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed within three years. French society underwent an epic transformation, as feudal, aristocratic and religious privileges evaporated under a sustained assault from radical left-wing political groups, masses on the streets, and peasants in the countryside.[1] Old ideas about tradition and hierarchy regarding monarchs, aristocrats, and the Catholic Church were abruptly overthrown by new principles of Liberté, égalité...

Words: 15101 - Pages: 61

Premium Essay

March On Versailles Research Paper

...How did the March on Versailles affect how women were treated during the French Revolution and what were the results? Before the French Revolution began the amount of rights women had was questioned very little. No one questioned women being expected to only do things around the house until 1789 when women became vocal and demanded to have the same freedoms as men. After lower class men demanded for more rights with the Declaration of the Rights of Man, women were given confidence to make a stand for their own rights. Although it was sent by an anonymous writer, a petition was sent to the king by women from the third estate wishing for more privileges . The March on Versailles was due to the outrage over rising bread prices. Thousands of women...

Words: 1758 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

French Revolution Research Paper

...Beginning with the separation of the Estates General, the French Revolution was a huge political, social, and economic upset that occurred in three parts: the First Revolution, the Second Revolution, and the Thermidorian Reaction with Napoleon’s era. Each section benefitted a different part of France’s vast class system and was detrimental to others. While the First Revolution was most beneficial for the bourgeoisie, the Second Revolution helped the sans culottes, and the Thermidorian Reaction and Napoleon helped the wealthy classes again. The First Revolution of the French Revolution was based around the Enlightenment thinker Locke’s ideas. He believed that there should be consent of the governed and that all citizens have the rights...

Words: 840 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Camera Cafe

...French Revolution From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia For other uses, see French Revolution (disambiguation). Page semi-protected French Revolution Anonymous - Prise de la Bastille.jpg Storming of the Bastille, 14 July 1789. Date 1789–1799 Location France Participants French society Outcome Abolition of the French monarchy Establishment of a secular and democratic republic that became increasingly authoritarian and militaristic Radical social change based on liberalism and other Enlightenment principles Rise of Napoleon Bonaparte Armed conflicts with other European countries Part of a series on the History of France National EmblemNational EmblemNational Emblem Prehistory[show] Ancient[show] Early Middle Ages[show] Middle Ages[show] Early modern[show] 19th century[show] 20th century[show] Portal icon France portal v t e The French Revolution (French: Révolution française) was an influential period of social and political upheaval in France that lasted from 1789 until 1799. Inspired by liberal and radical ideas, the Revolution profoundly altered the course of modern history, triggering the global decline of theocracies and absolute monarchies while replacing them with republics and democracies. Through the Revolutionary Wars, it unleashed a wave of global conflicts that extended from the Caribbean to the Middle East. Historians widely regard the Revolution as one of the most important events in human history.[1] The causes of the French Revolution...

Words: 17428 - Pages: 70

Free Essay

In the Process of Consolidating His Position, Napoleon's Consulate Reforms Betrayed the Principles of the French Revolution" to What Extent Is This True?

...In the process of consolidating his position, Napoleon's Consulate Reforms betrayed the principles of the French Revolution" To what extent is this true? In napoleons consolidating section "he oversaw the development of a police state that Louis XVI could never had dreamed of" said Francois Furet. this was said to be achieved through a gradual increase in power through the series of reforms in which he would have completely changed the course of French History. Many of the key aspects of the french society which Napoleon reformed were for the Political, electoral systems as well as education, social, religious and financial. these reforms set out his path to his overall power being established, however this question also leads to the debate on wether he upheld the principles of the French Revolution, Liberty, Equality and Fraternity as people like Sutherland believes he has betrayed many of the principles with the majority of his reforms and as a result has betrayed the Revolutionary principles what the new republic were founded upon. Napoleon reformed key aspects of the French electoral and governmental systems in such a way that it lead many to believe he had betrayed the principles of the Revolution. One way in which people disagreed with that statement was because on the surface level the electoral reforms seemed to be a good thing, six million people were entitled to a vote, unlike the Ancien Regime, this promoted liberty and equality. Also another positive...

Words: 1955 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Absolutism To Capitalism: The Foundations Of The French Revolution

...Revolution is defined as the replacement of an old system with a new one, usually implemented forcefully. During the period of 1789-1799, the French revolution was revolutionary to an extent. France saw varying dramatic changes socially and politically. Its ideas, driven by the enlightenment movement, (thought which challenged divine right and promoted the use of reason and thinking for ones-self) influenced the global political landscape, and laid the foundations for future revolutions. The declaration of the rights of man was certainly revolutionary for its time, and such a document has been the precursor to modern day human rights. The very idea France, a country so traditionally routed in absolutist rule, had a revolution to challenge...

Words: 1498 - Pages: 6

Free Essay

Nothing

...Jonathan Riley-Smith, The Crusades: A Short History; Carole Hillenbrand, The Crusades: Islamic Perspectives; Christopher Tyerman, God’s War: A New History of the Crusades 2. How did anti-Semitism manifest itself in medieval Europe? Kenneth R. Stow, Alienated Minority: The Jews of Medieval Latin Europe; Mark R. Cohen, Under Crescent and Cross: The Jews in the Middle Ages; Solomon Grayzel, The Church and the Jews in the Thirteenth Century 3. What was the position of prostitutes in medieval society? Ruth Mazo Karras, Common Women; Leah Otis, Prostitution in Medieval Society; Margaret Wade Labarge, A Small Sound of the Trumpet: Women in Medieval Life 4. Why did the French choose to follow Joan of Arc during the the Hundred Years War? Kelly DeVries, Joan of Arc: A Military Leader; Bonnie Wheeler, ed., Fresh Verdicts on Joan of Arc; Margaret Wade Labarge, A Small Sound of the Trumpet: Women in Medieval Life 5. Discuss the significance of siege warfare during the crusades. You may narrow this question down to a single crusade if you wish. Jim Bradbury, The Medieval Siege; Randall Rogers, Latin Siege Warfare in the Twelfth Century; John France, Victory in the East: A Military History of the First Crusade 6. Why did the persecution of heretics increase during the high and later Middle Ages? You may focus on the persecution of one heretical group if you wish. R.I. Moore, The Formation...

Words: 5531 - Pages: 23

Premium Essay

Frq Ap European Romanticism

...Napoleon, after the French Revolution ends, takes power of the French state and becomes emperor of France. The people are fine with this because Napoleon is conquering many foreign lands across Europe and even many other parts of the world. He becomes too powerful in his quest for world domination, and the French and many other countries do not like the amount of power this one man has. Also, before this time Oliver Cromwell had deemed himself “consul for life” of England, and that also upset the people, and the others feel as if Napoleon is becoming like Cromwell maybe even worse. The people decided and feel that the absolute power of one man creates problems for everyone including the nobility and clergy. As a result, the Congress of Vienna is formed, consisting of many countries in Europe, they are created to make sure that in the future not one single monarch or country can control more than they should. Also, the people overthrew The Directory, because it was a strong dictatorship and failed at efforts to establish stable representative government. The Enlightenment ideas were tested and proved to be hazardous for the French, and that is what overall caused the challenging of these...

Words: 1658 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

What Was The American Revolution Dbq

...The American Revolution is a controversial war that caused a chain reaction of revolutions because it was the first revolution of its kind. The American Revolution is believed to be a war that caused a worldly transformation. In reality, the American Revolution was not truly revolutionary. The war did not have any true revolutionary results until years after the war ended. After the American Revolution, America remained as it was before the Revolutionary War in the aspects of social, economic and political issues. The American Revolution was said to have caused equality for the new Americans, but who was truly considered to be an American (Document B)? Being an American was not a birth right, being an American was based off of economic status. Only white men that owned a significant amount of land could vote. In fact, all women, slaves, and poor white men were left without a political voice. Before the...

Words: 661 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Olympe de Gouge and Mary Wollstonecraft, the Right of Woman

...Paris after the death of her husband and gegan to write essays, manifestos, and plays concerning social injustice. In the beginning she greeted the start of the French Revolution with enthusiasm, but when she learned that equal rights to vote and hold political office were not being extended to women, she became disenchanted. In 1791 she joined a group of advocate for women’s rights which in the end resulted in an ultimate sacrifice “Death.” On the other hand, Mary Wollstonecraft was born in England (1759-1797). She published A Vindication of the rights of women in 1792 and publishing History and Moral View of the Origin and Progress of the French Revolution. The main focus was that the French Revolution certain policies were unfavorable to women. She has accused Rousseau and others of trying to restrict women’s experience and narrow their vision, keeping them as domestic slaves to men In contrast to the writing of her French contemporary Olympe de Gouges, she was deeply influential leading to the liberal feminist movement, arguing not for a radical restructuring of society, but for the right of women to access the same social and political institutions as men by demanding equal opportunity for all. The historical status for women during that time period was both women lived. Due to their persistence and advocacy, they were able to contribute to woman rights by taking a public stand against it. Olymbe de Gouges says to Marry...

Words: 403 - Pages: 2