Women, just like the Sans-culottes or the peasantry or the bourgeoisie played a significant

role in bringing about the French Revolution. Their participation in a number of uprisings
prior to 1789 and even after the revolution had taken place is considered a significant
aspect of the popular participation of the French Revolution.

Before we go on to analyze the role that they played in this uprising it would be important
to understand the role of the women in the French society prior to 1789. Women had no
political rights in pre-Revolutionary France; they couldn’t vote or hold any political office
just like many other people. However, according to some scholars, as far as the dignity of
the women was concerned it was trampled upon much more than that of a common man.
They were considered to be “passive” citizens, who should remain at home and rely on men
to decide what was best for them. It was believed that men alone were capable of governing
and that this was a quality that women could not imbibe etc. Thus, all women may not have
had the same grievances or demands during the time of the revolution.

This had become evident when the list of grievances was being prepared for the Estates-
General. Women belonging to the sans-culottes had demanded greater control over prices;
working women wanted equal pay for equal work; and in particular checking the
phenomenon of black marketing and hoarding, which always led to a rise in prices. Thus, it
can be seen that their demands were economic in nature. It was the upper class women,
who had political grievances.

However, a change was coming about in the role of the women towards the fag end of the
18th century. A large number of girls and older women were sent to these factories to earn a
living. Even married women were taking up jobs in the garment factories as glove makers,
lace workers, seamstress etc for the objective of supplementing their family income. The
bourgeoisie women, on the other hand, were also engaged in professions like teaching,
writing, social activism besides being employed in their family business. The fact that
women had started taking up jobs had helped in fostering a spirit of independence and
confidence among them. Olwen Hofton has claimed that such women had an equal role in
the household setup on account of their contribution to the family income. It was these
women, who had economic grievances, who played a more direct role in the revolution.

The participation of such women can be seen in the general and more ‘popular’ movements
that took place during this period. Their role and behavior in this regard was similar to that
of the men as were their grievances and demands. Olwen Hufton has argued “it was
working class women who raised their voices against the rising prices of bread as they
were finding it extremely difficult to maintain their families”.

This was the period when the ideas of the enlightenment seem to have been gaining in
popularity during this period. The impact of such ideas was mostly confined to the elitist
women and had not found currency among the women of the lower classes. It was this

Women in the French Revolution 1

aristocratic and upper Bourgeoisie women, who were members of clubs or salons run from
their homes. Prominent among such women were Madame Geoffin, Madame d’Epinay,
Madame Lespinasse, Madame Roland etc. These women were deeply influenced by the
works of the Philosophers and wrote a number of journals, pamphlets etc., which helped in
spreading such ideas among other people. Hoften believes that these upper-class women
were greatly influenced by the intellectual milieu created by the Enlightenment and
themselves contributed to the revolution intellectually through their articles, pamphlets etc

Prominent among such feminists were Etta Palm and Olympe de Gouges. Palm had
supported the idea of political equality of women along with men. This not only included
the right to vote or stand for public office but also the equal right to inheritance, education
and suppression of dowry. Olympe had written a number of fiery articles in which she
demanded total equality for women in the social and political sphere and for this she
believed that women should be included within the Republic of France.

It was post-1791 that there was a rise in militant feminist activism. The most radical
militant feminist activism was practiced by the Society of Revolutionary Republican
Women, which was founded by Leé on and her colleague, Claire Lacombe on May 10, 1793.
The goal of the club was “to deliberate on the means of frustrating the projects of the
enemies of the Republic.” Up to 180 women attended the meetings of the Society. Similarly,
in 1793, women were at the fore of a crowd that demanded bread and a new constitution.
When their cries went unnoticed, the women went on a rampage, “sacking shops, seizing
grain and kidnapping officials.”

Despite the role played by the women in not only promoting a revolutionary spirit but also
actively participating in assisting the Bourgeoisie to consolidate their political gains, it
would be wrong to think that the women were able to gain significantly from their
participation in this event. While largely left out of the thrust for increasing rights of
citizens, activists such as Pauline Leé on and Theé roigne de Meé ricourt agitated for full
citizenship for women. Women were, nonetheless, denied political rights of active
citizenship and democratic citizenship.

Moreover, other equal rights were also denied to the women. For instance, Pauline Leé on, in
1792, submitted a petition signed by 319 women to the National Assembly requesting
permission to form a guard national in order to defend Paris in case of military invasion.
Leé on requested permission be granted to women to arm themselves with pikes, pistols,
sabers and rifles, as well as the privilege of drilling under the French Guards. Her request
was denied.

Although, women decided to take matters into their own hands by resorting to militant
means, it had provoked serious repressive measures from the government. Most of these
outwardly activist women were punished for their actions. The kind of punishment

Women in the French Revolution 2

received during the Revolution included public denouncement, arrest, execution, or exile.
Theé roigne de Meé ricourt was arrested, publicly flogged and then spent the rest of her life
sentenced to an insane asylum. Pauline Leé on and Claire Lacombe were arrested, later
released, and continued to receive ridicule and abuse for their activism. Many of the women
of the Revolution were even publicly executed for “conspiring against the unity and the
indivisibility of the Republic”. From 1793 onwards, women were banned from forming their
political clubs. In fact, the Jacobin regime has been seen as being highly regressive and
backwards and an obstacle in the promotion of feminism in France. In May 1795, the
National Convention banned the women from “attending political assemblies” urging them
to withdraw to their homes and ordering the arrest of those who would gather together in
groups of more than five. The lines between public men participating in civic life and
domesticated women caring for family and children alone was drawn more firmly by the
Jacobins than it had ever been drawn before.

Joan Landes has blamed the viewpoints of Rousseau for this. He believes that the Jacobin
thought came to be dominated by his theories regarding the gender distinction in France.
Rousseau had believed that the feminization of the Old Regime nobility threatened to
undermine any semblance of order and mortality. The solution according to him would be
to divide gender roles much more rigidly than had ever been drawn before. Thus, according
to her, the new public space that had been created was even more regressive than it had
ever been before as the Old Regime had shown far greater tolerance for public women as
compared to its Republican counterparts. Thus, the exclusion of the women from the
Declaration of Rights was a conscious effort that sought to create a masculine public space.

Women in the French Revolution 3