The women who influenced the French Revolution ultimately defined feminism and defied the patriarchal society that surrounded them. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, feminism is “the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes” and “organized activity on behalf of women 's rights and interests” (“Feminism”). Men of the French Revolution, however, disagreed with the sentiments of the feminist; Jean Jacques Rousseau wrote, “A woman that is an aesthete, is a misfortune to her husband, her children, her friends, her servants, to the whole world. In the sublime dignity of her mind she despises all female obligations….” (Pauline Paul). Feminine heroes like Charlotte Corday, Claire Lacombe, Pauline Léon, Olympe de
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One fantastic example of French Revolutionary women is Charlotte Corday. Born on July 27, 1768 in Normandy, France, she is known for her extreme action of murdering a Jacobin leader named Jean-Paul Marat (“Charlotte Corday (French Noble)”). As a member of the Girodin political party, Corday opposed Marat’s Jacobin agenda and planned to murder him during the Bastille Day parade on July 14, 1793 (“Charlotte Corday Assassinates Marat”). However, Corday changed her plan for some reason and attempted to sneak into Marat’s bedroom. She succeeded and on July 13, 1793, Charlotte Corday murdered Jean-Paul Marat in cold blood while he bathed (“Charlotte Corday Assassinates Marat”). According to the Encyclopedia Britannica about the encounter, “she named dissidents in Normandy; he noted them and assured her that they would be guillotined. She then drew a knife from under her dress and stabbed him through the heart” (“Charlotte Corday (French Noble)”). After committing the crime, Corday calmly waited for the police to arrest her in Marat’s home (“Charlotte Corday Assassinates Marat”). She was tried, convicted, and guillotined at the Place …show more content…
Days after a new constitution was developed in France, she made waves by creating and posting on the walls of Paris a writing that would make her infamous in France: “[The] Declaration of the Rights of Women and the Female Citizen” (Jack Richard Censer and Lynn Hunt 124-129). This original source document presented seventeen rights that de Gouges believed women were entitled to. In her “Declaration of the Rights of Women and the Female Citizen,” de Gouges writes that “woman is born free and remains equal to man in rights and these rights are liberty, property, security, and especially resistance to oppression;” de Gouges did not believe that women were above men, writing that “no woman is exempted; she is indicted, arrested, and detained in the cases determined by the law. Women like men obey this rigorous law” (Censer and Hunt 125). This document acted as a springboard for women’s right and many of the ideals presented in this document are relevant
One fantastic example of French Revolutionary women is Charlotte Corday. Born on July 27, 1768 in Normandy, France, she is known for her extreme action of murdering a Jacobin leader named Jean-Paul Marat (“Charlotte Corday (French Noble)”). As a member of the Girodin political party, Corday opposed Marat’s Jacobin agenda and planned to murder him during the Bastille Day parade on July 14, 1793 (“Charlotte Corday Assassinates Marat”). However, Corday changed her plan for some reason and attempted to sneak into Marat’s bedroom. She succeeded and on July 13, 1793, Charlotte Corday murdered Jean-Paul Marat in cold blood while he bathed (“Charlotte Corday Assassinates Marat”). According to the Encyclopedia Britannica about the encounter, “she named dissidents in Normandy; he noted them and assured her that they would be guillotined. She then drew a knife from under her dress and stabbed him through the heart” (“Charlotte Corday (French Noble)”). After committing the crime, Corday calmly waited for the police to arrest her in Marat’s home (“Charlotte Corday Assassinates Marat”). She was tried, convicted, and guillotined at the Place …show more content…
Days after a new constitution was developed in France, she made waves by creating and posting on the walls of Paris a writing that would make her infamous in France: “[The] Declaration of the Rights of Women and the Female Citizen” (Jack Richard Censer and Lynn Hunt 124-129). This original source document presented seventeen rights that de Gouges believed women were entitled to. In her “Declaration of the Rights of Women and the Female Citizen,” de Gouges writes that “woman is born free and remains equal to man in rights and these rights are liberty, property, security, and especially resistance to oppression;” de Gouges did not believe that women were above men, writing that “no woman is exempted; she is indicted, arrested, and detained in the cases determined by the law. Women like men obey this rigorous law” (Censer and Hunt 125). This document acted as a springboard for women’s right and many of the ideals presented in this document are relevant