Title :   India and the Contemporary World ­I   (class 9)

       Chapter I      The French Revolution

VARIOUS SHADES OF WOMENS PARTICIPATION IN THE FRENCH

REVOLUTION

The period of the French Revolution (1789 -1799) witnessed tremendous political and social
upheaval not only in France but also in Europe. This period saw radical transformation of the French
political structure from an absolute absolute monarchy to one which was based on Enlightenment
principles of democracy, citizenship, and inalienable rights. During this period of tumult women
played significant roles and their experiences were as varied the women themselves. Though the
historic ‘Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen’ was a landmark declaration which
promised liberty and equality to all , women never gained full political rights. The Constitution of
1791 reduced them to mere passive citizens. They demanded the right to vote, to be elected to the
Assembly and to hold political office.

Though all women who participated in the revolution they did not have the same grievances or
expectations, yet they created space for themselves in different ways through their experiences. Many
women rioted over the price of bread; some joined clubs organized by women; others took part in protest
marches and even writing pamphlets. It may seem that ideas of revolution and equality originated in the
cultural salons frequented by the rich and educated milieu. Women belonging to the nobility and
bourgeois wee completely unaware of the hardships faced by the common women who were
fighting for their existence. Both these categories of women never knew each other before the
revolution nor did they speak together, yet they yearned for emancipation- in the salons, they spoke
of education and political rights while for common women they wanted for much more than
political rights; they wanted nothing less than the right to live. Mention must be made of thousands
of women who belonged to the poorer sections in the city of Paris. These women who usually
protested or rioted against the rising price of bread marched to Versailles on 5 October 1789 to
demand King Loius XVI’s acceptance of the ‘Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen’. This
was the first of many occasions when women took an active role in the political struggles of the
Revolution.
Women hailed by onlookers on their way to Versailles (illustration c. 1842)

Mention must be made of thousands of women who belonged to the poorer sections in the city
of Paris. These women who usually protested or rioted against the rising price of bread
marched to Versailles on 5 October 1789 to demand King Loius XVI’s acceptance of the
‘Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen’. This was the first of many occasions when
women took an active role in the political struggles of the Revolution.

Image Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women

%27s_March_on_Versailles#/media/File:MarchWomenVersailles5-6october1789.jpg
 Olympe de Gouges
Olympe de Gouges was a leading political activist whose call for
"political rights" for women made the nation aware that women's
aspirations were common to all classes . In all her writings and
speeches, the character of women is expressed in its most vivid colours:
"Until something is done to elevate women’s minds, and until men
become open-minded enough to seriously deal with the glory of women,
the State can never prosper." In her "Address to Women", she
proclaimed "Isn't it time for the revolution to begin for us women as
well?" But when the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man became the
preamble of the Constitution in 1791, Olympe de Gouges wrote her own
declaration, filling in the gaps of Declaration of the Rights of Man,
pointing out its shortcomings. She demanded equal rights and
responsibilities for women before the law.

Olympe de Gouges The execution of Olympe de Gouges

She was arrested on 20 July 1793, imprisoned in the Conciergerie on 28 October, and on
2 November appeared before Fouquier-Tinville's infamous revolutionary tribunal. On 3
November she was guillotined for attempting to influence the public with her writings. In
her farewell letter to her son she wrote “I shall die, my son, victim of my idolatry of my
country and its people. Their enemies beyond the specious mask of republicanism
remorselessly led me to the scaffolds ... Farewell my son, when you receive this letter I
shall be no more."
Image Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympe_de_Gouges#/media/File:Olympe_de_Gouges.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympe_de_Gouges#/media/File:Olympe_gouges.jpg
 Madame Roland

Madame Roland was a female revolutionary who was usually associated with the Girdonin
faction. She was the wife of Minister of the Interior, Jean-Marie Roland de la Platière and played
a significant role in revolutionary politics. She operated one of the best known and most
politically oriented salons in Paris which became a meeting place for the radical Jacobins. Later
she and her husband became members of the rival faction, the Girondins who condemned the
excesses of the ‘Reign of Terror’ under Robespierre. The salon came to be frequented by the
Girondins. Madame Roland’s observations and experiences were expressed through many
letters she wrote and the Memoirs that she composed in secret during the long months in 1793
when she was imprisoned as a ‘conspirator’ on behalf of the Girondins. She was executed on 8
November 1793. Her writings show that she was articulate, clever, and opinionated. Few
writers could convey such a sense of what it was like to be at the centre of the maelstrom of
revolutionary politics as Madame Roland did in her Memoirs. As she showed, the Revolution was
not only about ideology; it was also about profound emotion; not only patriotic fervour, but also,
increasingly, fear, suspicion and hate.

Image Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Madame_Roland.png

References:
Yves Bessieres and Patricia Niedzwiecki , Women in the French Revolution Bibliography, Institute
for the Development of the European Cultural Area) January 1991
Marisa Linton, Women as Spectators and Participants in the French Revolution

https://www.academia.edu/13199059/Women_in_the_French_Revolution?auto=download