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

Chapter I The

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 . 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 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 on 28 October, and on 2 November appeared before Fouquier-Tinville's infamous 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 . Later she and her husband became members of the rival faction, the who condemned the excesses of the ‘’ under Robespierre. The 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