Women's Roles During The French Revolution

Prior to the revolution in France, women were viewed as “passive citizens”, meaning they relied on men for everything, and did not make their own daily decisions. Women were expected to play domestic roles in families, so they stayed home and took care of housework. In addition to this, they were also not allowed to be involved in politics or be public figures. When the French Revolution began in 1830, women became involved in society in many ways. Women can now vote, they are not only judged by their roles in families, and they can receive a higher education. Firstly, women could not vote. Women demanded political and social reform, so feminism appeared in Paris prior to the French Revolution. They wanted to be equal to men in politics. As they demanded the end of male dominance, women created clubs and handed out pamphlets to get the message across. Although the leaders of these clubs were later arrested, it showed how agitated they were. Women did not gain the vote until over 100 years after the French Revolution. The French Revolution was one of the first revolutionist movements that gained women rights, so it was a foot in the door for today’s women. Today, they can vote for political offices, and they can hold those same political offices. Secondly, women used to only be …show more content…
A woman’s education consisted of learning how to care for a family. A supporting quote from Jean-Jacques Rousseau says, “The education of women should always be relative to that of men. To please, to be useful to us, to make us love and esteem them, to educate us when young, to take care of us when grown up, to advise, to console us, to render our lives easy and agreeable; these are the duties of women always, and what they should be taught in their infancy.” Today’s French women are allowed to attend the same amount of schooling as today’s men, and can receive a higher education if they feel compelled