Linda+-+Famous+French+Women

Why were some women from the French Revolution famous?

=Famous Women During the French Revolution= toc Women in the spotlight of the French Revolution were often considered to be scandalous among the public sphere. The three general notorieties, such as outspoken criticism, extravagance, and murder were what shaped these famous women to become scandalous.

Outspoken Criticism
In 1791, which was after the outbreak of French Revolution and a year before the publication of //A Vindication of the Rights of Women// by Mary Wollstonecraft, Olympe de Gouge released a scornful and public response to the //Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen// adopted by the French National Assembly in 1789 by her pamphlet, //The Rights of Women//. On behalf of “the mothers, daughters, sisters, and female representatives of the nation,” de Gouges declared that inequality of gender rights was against the laws of nature, and outlined the rights of women in 17 articles that each replied to 17 articles of the //Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen//. Without any intentions for claiming special treatment for women, de Gouges stated that “if woman may mount the scaffold of the guillotine, she must certainly be allowed to speak on the public stage.” Men who were not enlightened and were distasteful of logical women like de Gouge during the era of the French Revolution also disliked her declarations on //The Rights of Women//.

Extravagance
Being a favorable target of gossip and slander, Marie Antoinette was often the victim of insulting rumors. Having grown up in an environment where she explored all kinds of luxury in the Habsburg court, Marie Antoinette grew a habit of spending money wastefully, which led to taxation of the royal treasury and shrunk the good side of her reputation. Furthermore, she was accused as a thief in the Diamond Necklace Affair in 1785, which people erroneously believed that it was Marie Antoinette who was involved in theft of jewelry. Soon, Marie Antoinette became the symbol of a frivolous, profligate, and immoral queen. Therefore, her ineffective nobility as a queen led to revolution.



Murder
In the early summer of 1793, Charlotte Corday has met members of moderate faction of revolutionaries, named, the Girondins. Admiring their coinciding liberal views on moderate revolution as her own, she thought the radical rivals, the Jacobins, were violent and reckless. Having Marat’s newspaper, //The Friend of People// introduced to her, she soon began to think that it was he who stirred the people of Paris to violence, and that Marat, being one of Jacobins, was the demagogue of the revolution. On July 13, 1793, Charlotte Corday was on her way to end all of the public and ruthless executions of the innocent people. The solution to ending this was to plot for an assassination of Marat. Disguising her views as one of Jacobins, Corday claimed that she had important information on Girondin conspiracy in Caen. In coincidence, Marat was working on a newspaper article on just that subject, and soon they were about to meet face-to-face. As Marat was writing down the Girondin names Corday listed, Corday stabbed him on the chest, and her infamous reputation was born.



Cited Sources
"Charlotte Corday." World History: The Modern Era. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 30 Nov. 2011. "French Revolution." World History: The Modern Era. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 30 Nov. 2011. "Marie Antoinette." World History: The Modern Era. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 30 Nov. 2011. "Olympe de Gouges." World History: The Modern Era. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 30 Nov. 2011. "Russian Paintings Gallery - Baudry Paul Jacques Aime - 'Charlotte Corday'." Russian Paintings Gallery - Russian oil paintings of Russian painters for sale and wholesale in Russian art gallery of contemporary paintings, graphic arts, sculpture and crafts. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Dec. 2011. . "Sightseeing in Vienna | 48 Hour Visit." 48HourVisit.com - Your ultimate city guide for short visits. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Dec. 2011. .