Hymn for the Festival of Marriage
Although festivals drew much smaller audiences during the final years of the Revolution, the government continued to celebrate them. Now, however, they tended to commemorate apolitical events: thus a festival, and hymn, devoted to the subject of marriage.
1798
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<i>Anecdotes on the Countess du Barry</i> (1775)
Since the royal family’s ability to procreate was crucial to the perpetuation of the reign and thus to the continuity of the monarchy, the obsession shown in pamphlets about the bodies and sexual activities of King and Queen must be seen as having not just prurient interest for readers but also political overtones.This particular pamphlet, by a journalist named Mathieu Pidansat de Mairobert who had been an active supporter of the pro–<i>Parlement</i> party in the magistrates’ recent conflicts with the crown, was published anonymously early in the reign of Louis XVI. It purportedly described the liaison between the recently deceased Louis XV and his long–term mistress, the "Countess" of Barry, a common courtesan who had supposedly been procured to satisfy the aging King’s lusts. The entire book could be (and was) read as a parody of the mounting problems facing Louis XV, all of which center on the disorder he had created at Versailles by giving such a prominent place to a wholly inappropriate person, a woman, a courtesan, and a commoner.Whether or not the "anecdotes" were true is of less historical interest than the wide readership they drew and the negative influence they had on the reputation of the current King, Louis XVI, and the Queen, Marie Antoinette.
[Pidansat de Mairobert], <i>Anécdotes sur la comtesse du Barry</i>, Nouvelle édition augmentée et corrigée (London [Paris], [1775] 1776).
1775
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<i>Historical Essays on the Life of Marie–Antoinette, of Austria</i> (1783)
Although by law, political power could not pass through the Queen’s body (only male heirs could succeed to the throne in France), there was great political interest in the body of Louis XVI’s Queen, Marie Antoinette, a Habsburg princess whose marriage into the Bourbon household solidified a diplomatic alliance between France and Austria. From nearly the moment she arrived at Versailles in 1770, she was widely suspected of deviousness, and by the late 1770s (by which time she had become Queen), her reputation was being maligned in clandestinely published, pornographic pamphlets known as "libels." The <i>Historical Essays on the Life of Marie–Antoinette of Austria</i>, first published in 1783 and immediately suppressed by the royal censors, was republished secretly several times in the ensuing years, and as many as 20,000 copies may have been in circulation by 1789. It compared Marie Antoinette to the Countess du Barry, suggesting that they had the same fondness for nighttime walks in the gardens of Versailles, which often degenerated into orgies with courtiers of all sexes, ranks, and ages. Again, what is of interest is not whether or not the stories were true but that they further contributed to the view that the monarchy was degenerating—physically, morally, and politically.
Anonymous, <i>Essais historiques sur la vie de Marie-Antoinette, d'autriche</i> (London, 1789), 1–69.
1783
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"Memorandum to Her Majesty the Queen Concerning the Diamond Necklace Affair" (1786)
Controversy surrounding the Queen reached a fever pitch in 1785–86 in what was known as the "diamond–necklace affair." A court schemer, Jeanne de la Motte, wove a complex web of intrigue, in which she convinced Cardinal Louis de Rohan—an aristocrat from a long–standing noble family who was determined to become the Queen’s lover—to purchase for Marie Antoinette an elaborate jewel necklace (made by two highly reputed jewelers) on which she had supposedly set her sights. In reality, the Queen had no knowledge of either the jewel or Rohan’s purchase, and de la Motte was able to make off with both Rohan’s money and the necklace. When the scheme came to light several months later, the cardinal was arrested along with de la Motte; during the ensuing trial, numerous pamphlets were published speculating on and mocking the Queen’s potential involvement in the intrigue, further damaging her reputation. This pamphlet, supposedly from the jewelers, describes their difficulties in obtaining payment from Rohan and asking the Queen herself to intervene.
"Mémoire rémis à S. M. La Reine," in Anonymous, <i>Réceuil de pièces authentiques et intéressants, pour servir d'éclaircissement à l'affaire concernant le cardinal prince de Rohan </i>(1786)..
1786
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<i>Curious Proposal of the Women of the Maubert Marketplace</i> (1785)
As a result of the "libels" against the court and especially the Queen, asense was spreading that the monarchy was not fulfilling its obligations inruling over France. Demonstrating that sentiment, this pamphlet is writtenin the voice of Parisian working women from the open–air market of theplace Maubert. It describes how such hardworking, salt–of–the–earth,honest, family–oriented women could do a better job raising the Dauphinthan the Queen, thus suggesting that the future of the realm should beentrusted to its people rather than the royal family.
Anonymous, Motion curieuse des dames de la place Maubert (Paris:Guillaume, 1785)..
1785
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Petition of Women of the Third Estate to the King (1 January 1789)
Little is known about women’s grievances or feelings in the months leading up to the meeting of the Estates–General in November 1789. They did not have the right to meet as a group, draft grievances, or vote (except in isolated individual instances) in the preparatory elections. Nevertheless, some women did put their thoughts to paper, and though little evidence exists about the circumstances or the identities of those involved, the few documents offering their views bear witness to their concerns in this time of ferment. In this document working women addressed the King in respectful terms and carefully insisted that they did not wish to overturn men’s authority; they simply wanted the education and enlightenment that would make them better workers, better wives, and better mothers. The petitioners expressed their deep apprehensions about prostitution and the fear that they would be confused with them; like prostitutes, working women did not stay at home but necessarily entered the public sphere to make their livings. Most of all, however, the women wanted to be heard; they saw the opening created by the convocation of the Estates–General and hoped to make their own claims for inclusion in the promised reforms.
The materials listed below appeared originally in <i>The French Revolution and Human Rights: A Brief Documentary History, </i>translated, edited, and with an introduction by Lynn Hunt (Boston/New York: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1996), 60–63.
January 1, 1789
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Condorcet, "On the Admission of Women to the Rights of Citizenship," July 1790
Condorcet took the question of political rights to its logical conclusions. He argued that if rights were indeed universal, as the doctrine of natural rights and the <i>Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen</i> both seemed to imply, then they must apply to all adults. Condorcet consequently argued in favor of granting political rights to Protestants and Jews and advocated the abolition of the slave trade and slavery itself. He went further than any other leading revolutionary spokesman, however, when he insisted that women, too, should gain political rights. His newspaper article to that effect caused a sensation and stimulated those of like mind to publish articles of their own. But the campaign was relatively short–lived and ultimately unsuccessful; the prejudice against granting political rights to women would prove the most difficult to uproot.
The materials listed below appeared originally in <i>The French Revolution and Human Rights: A Brief Documentary History, </i>translated, edited, and with an introduction by Lynn Hunt (Boston/New York: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1996), 119–121.
July 1790
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Olympe de Gouges, <i>The Declaration of the Rights of Woman</i> (September 1791)
Marie Gouze (1748–93) was a self–educated butcher’s daughter from the south of France who, under the name Olympe de Gouges, wrote pamphlets and plays on a variety of issues, including slavery, which she attacked as being founded on greed and blind prejudice. In this pamphlet she provides a declaration of the rights of women to parallel the one for men, thus criticizing the deputies for having forgotten women. She addressed the pamphlet to the Queen, Marie Antoinette, though she also warned the Queen that she must work for the Revolution or risk destroying the monarchy altogether. In her postscript she denounced the customary treatment of women as objects easily abandoned. She appended to the declaration a sample form for a marriage contract that called for communal sharing of property. De Gouges went to the guillotine in 1793, condemned as a counterrevolutionary and denounced as an "unnatural" woman.
The materials listed below appeared originally in <i>The French Revolution and Human Rights: A Brief Documentary History, </i>translated, edited, and with an introduction by Lynn Hunt (Boston/New York Bedford/St. Martin's, 1996), 124–129.
September 1791
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Discussion of Women’s Political Clubs and Their Suppression, 29–30 October 1793
On 29 October 1793, a group of women appeared in the National Convention to complain that female militants had tried to force them to wear the red cap of liberty as a sign of their adherence to the Revolution, but they also presented a petition demanding the suppression of the women’s club behind these actions. Their appearance provided the occasion for a discussion of women’s political activity more generally. Philippe Fabre d’Eglantine (1755–94) gave a speech denouncing both the agitation about dress and the women’s clubs. Fabre, a well–known poet and playwright, took an active role in the dechristianization movement that was getting under way in the fall of 1793. He went to the guillotine in April 1794, supposedly for financial fraud but really for opposing Robespierre’s policies. (Robespierre distrusted the dechristianization movement) The National Convention immediately passed a decree reaffirming liberty of dress but put off to the next day consideration of the clubs. On 30 October 1793, Jean–Baptiste Amar (1755–1816) spoke for the Committee of Public Security and proposed a decree suppressing all women’s political clubs, which passed with virtually no discussion. He outlined the government’s official policy on women: women’s proper place was in the home, not in politics. Broad agreement about the role of women did not prevent internal dissension among the men. Amar himself denounced Fabre a few months later and then joined the opposition to Robespierre in July 1794, which ended in Robespierre’s own execution. The club at issue in the October debate was the Society of Revolutionary Republican Women, founded in May 1793 to agitate for firmer measures against the country’s enemies. The club supported the establishment of companies of amazons, armed to fight internal enemies, but it did not advance specifically feminist demands such as the demand for the right to vote. Nonetheless, the deputies found any organized women’s political activity threatening and forbade it henceforth.
The materials listed below appeared originally in <i>The French Revolution and Human Rights: A Brief Documentary History, </i>translated, edited, and with an introduction by Lynn Hunt (Boston/New York: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1996), 135–138.
October 29, 1793
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<i>Universal Declaration of Human Rights</i>
The <i>Universal Declaration of Human Rights</i> was passed by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1948 to provide an authoritative list of human rights that could serve as an international standard for all peoples and nations. An affirmation of human rights seemed especially urgent once the horrors of the German genocide against the Jews and Japanese atrocities in China became well known. Although many of the rights in this document can be found in the traditional rights recognized by the <i>U.S. Bill of Rights,</i> the <i>Universal Declaration</i> also includes a series of social and economic rights such as education, employment, and the ability to participate in the cultural life of the community that extend significantly the North American and French revolutionary conception of rights. The extension of rights to include economic and social issues has provoked continuing controversy.
<i>Yearbook on Human Rights for 1946</i> (United Nations, 1950), 466–68.
1948-12-10
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