Women in the French Revolution

Women were active in the French Revolution, despite the generally limited role of women in French society in the late eighteenth century. The unrest and injustice French women experienced during the events of the French Revolution sparked a feeling of national responsibility and a desire for equality. Although women were not permitted the same political rights as men during the Revolution, they did find ways to make their voices heard on many issues that affected them.

In some cases, making their voices heard had dire consequences. By the time the revolutionary Jacobins took control of the French government, the influence of women that had sprung up in the early days of the Revolution was suppressed. Speaking out likely meant being sent to the guillotine as an antirevolutionary. Some noteworthy women of the French Revolution sacrificed their lives to speak out for women’s rights.

Background

The French Revolution began when King Louis XVI agreed to a meeting of the Estates-General in May 1789 to discuss the financial problems plaguing the country. The Estates-General was a group of representatives chosen from the three estates of society: the nobility, clergy, and the general population. Many expected this meeting to produce some type of reform in French society. Most of the participants were men, but some women were also able to participate in drawing up the lists of criticisms against the government. Some women even took it upon themselves to write to the king personally. They outlined concerns about women’s rights, since they felt their views would not be adequately represented by the delegation. These requests were not demanding, but simply petitioned for the opportunities of female education and protection of property rights.

However, the meeting of the Estates-General was not as beneficial as many had hoped it would be. After the historic storming of the political prison known as the Bastille on July 14, 1789, it was clear negotiations by the king or any in the ruling class were fruitless. In October 1789, with food shortages widespread, women from Paris joined together to march twelve miles to the royal palace in Versailles where the king was with his family. Thousands of Parisian men joined in the march with the women. The angry mob reached the palace and broke in, killing two guards. Subsequently, the king agreed to leave the palace and return to Paris.

In July 1790, Marie-Jean Caritat, Marquis de Condorcet, an aristocrat who was a leading journalist of the day, published an article discussing the need for women to be given rights equal to men in politics. A group of women’s rights supporters soon grew in his social circle. They called the group the Cercle Social, and in 1790, it launched a vocal campaign for women’s rights and set up a dedicated women’s issue section in March 1791.

As the Revolution raged on, food prices rose and this especially affected women. Many had to work hard just to keep their children from starving. Women took a prominent role in two riots that occurred in February 1792 and February 1793. The riots began in food shops, where the women encouraged men to seize the goods to sell a fair price. In June 1792, a group of armed women marched through the Legislative Assembly halls, across the Tuileries Garden by the Louvre, and into the king’s residence area.

In April 1793, a discussion about the contents of the new French constitution arose. Although the constitutional committee spokesman was adamantly opposed to any rights for women, and deemed women as passive citizens, several deputies spoke up supporting women’s rights. One deputy, Pierre Guyomar, wrote a pamphlet supporting the notion that women should vote and hold office.

In May 1793, the Society of Revolutionary Republican Women was established in Paris. This political club wanted to educate women on political issues and help them to express their views to politically powerful men. The club was not necessarily looking to promote women’s voting rights or female political candidates; rather, it was advocating for a means for women to be more active in politics.

The political situation in France soon became more turbulent. The king was executed in January 1793 and the queen on October 16, 1793. In June 1793, the more moderate Girondins, who were part of the Jacobin movement, were replaced and eventually executed by more radical leaders, beginning a period known as the Reign of Terror. This saw an end to much of the influence of women in the revolution. By October 30, 1793, all women’s political groups were outlawed. Defiance could mean arrest or execution by the Jacobins, who had control of the government. Women were encouraged to leave politics to their husbands, fathers, and brothers, although many women still found less visible ways to support the revolution.

Overview

Prior to the revolution, many French women may not have been especially desirous of political interests. During much of the eighteenth century, women were limited to domestic roles and were encouraged to actively participate in family life, not politics. In addition to societal norms that prevented women from being active in the political sphere, the majority of women during the time of the revolution spent their days working as peasants or running shops. Women of wealthier classes, who had the luxury of not having to perform labor, had families to raise and households to oversee.

Women did find ways to make their voices heard in political climate of France. They were known to be active in both revolutionary and counter-revolutionary movements. At the start of the revolution, many swore oaths of loyalty to the Jacobin revolutionists, and groups were organized by women to help support the Revolution. Others assisted in movements against the revolutionary government and supported a counterrevolution. Some women even aided assassinations or worked behind the scenes to wage war on the enemy. Women were active participants in political demonstrations and riots that protested the escalating costs of basic foodstuffs.

However, as the war continued on, the Reign of Terror was supported by radical leaders who opposed any female influence. Some of the women who were active in protests were arrested and accused of being counterrevolutionary because they complained about food shortages and were seen as disrespectful. Those that sided with the Girondins, a group at the forefront of the revolution in the beginning, were seen as counterrevolutionary and a threat to the new government.

Etta Palm d’Aelders

D’Aelders was a Dutch woman who was active in leading the Marquis de Condorcet’s Cercle Social. She and her companions sought equal rights for women in marriage and education. The group was active in an extensive campaign for women’s rights in 1790 and 1791. They lobbied for equal treatment for women in regards to divorce and inheritance laws. She was eventually arrested as an associate of the Marquis and for being sympathetic of his more moderate views during the Reign of Terror.

Marie Gouze

Gouze, an author and playwright, wrote under the pseudonym of Olympe de Gouges. She often took on the controversial issues of slavery and women’s rights. She penned the Declaration the Rights of Woman, which was published in September 1791. This publication was a public response to the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen, a pioneering text that notably excluded females in its promises of political freedoms. Her notoriously outspokenness resulted in her arrest. She was executed by guillotine in 1793 as an enemy of the state. Her “crime” was publishing a pamphlet that suggested popular referendum should be involved in making political decisions, not just the National Convention.

Marie-Jeanne Roland

Roland was the wife of a minister and was the hostess of an influential Parisian salon where she often engaged in political conversations and hosted prominent politicians and intellectuals. Although a firm revolutionary, she was executed by guillotine on November 8, 1793. She was accused of support for the Marquis de Condorcet and other moderate constitutionalist deputies whose loyalties were questioned during the Reign of Terror.

Charlotte Corday

Charlotte Corday snuck into the home of radical journalist Jean-Paul Marat on July 13, 1793, and assassinated him. Marat had publicly denounced in his newspaper many people he felt were opposing the direction of the revolution. This included the Marquis de Condorcet and his Cercle Social. Although the Marquis was generally known to support the efforts of the revolution, he had criticized the violence used by leaders. Because of this, Marat felt the Marquis was on the side of the king and deserved the guillotine. Corday, a member of the Marquis’ women’s rights movements, took matters into her own hands and stabbed Marat to death while he was taking a bath in his bathtub.

Pauline Léon

Léon founded the influential Society of the Revolutionary Republican Woman, along with her friend Claire Lacombe. She also was a leader of the Femmes Sans-Culottes, which was a radical militant group of lower-class French citizens. She is also known for being part of the group that stormed the Bastille. She also participated in many riots and protests throughout the French Revolution.

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