Women's Club At The Cafe Hottot

The term “revolution” describes a series of events in which change is enacted. But, what exactly is and is not a revolution beyond this broad definition is a controversial topic amongst historians. Jack Goldstone believes that a revolution is defined, “in terms of both observed mass mobilization and institutional change, and a driving ideology carrying a vision of social justice” and that they “arise only… when elites begin to attack the government”. However, upon inspection of commonly accepted “revolutions” it becomes evident that Goldstone’s definition is not accurate. The French Revolution, for example, occurred with little aid from the “elites” and was fostered and carried through mostly by the people of the Third Estate. One important

faction of the French revolutionaries were peasant women, the epitome of an oppressed group. These women not only helped overthrow the monarchy, but also helped uphold the core values that started the revolution: that of liberty and equality for all. The women of the Third Estate upheld these principles by participating actively in the revolution and by advocating for gender equality and women’s rights, the result of these efforts culminated in a change in the way French society viewed women.
The women of the Third Estate defied gender stereotypes of the time by actively participating in the Revolution. A prime example of this was the Women’s March on Versailles in which as many as 4,000 women mostly from Paris, marched on the king’s palace in Versailles to protest raising bread prices and gross social inequality. The women, outraged by the extravagance in which the King Louis XVI lived, demanded that he move his court to Paris, to which he acquiesced. The actions of Charlotte Corday are another example of active female participation in the French Revolution. Corday, although technically from aristocratic background, can be likened to the women of the Third Estate due to the fact that she grew up practically an orphan. Corday was a young woman from rural France who became renowned for the assassination of Jean-Paul Marat. Marat, a journalist and revolutionary, quickly gained popularity and helped govern France after the execution of Louis XVI. On July 13, 1793, Corday murdered Jean-Paul Marat whom she held directly responsible for the guillotining of as many as 40,000 civilians who were considered enemies of the state.
The actions of Charlotte Corday and the women who marched on Versailles helped break the gender stereotypes of the time. Rousseau, considered one of the greatest French philosophers, wrote in 1762 that the ideal woman should be “weak and passive”. The actions of these women directly contrasted the notion of the ideal women. Corday’s actions for example completely redefined the notion of the capabilities of a woman. In fact, some Jacobins were so perplexed by the fact that a woman committed murder that they became certain that Corday must have been influenced by a man, and after her death, they ordered an autopsy to be performed on her to determine whether she was a virgin. When the results of the autopsy proved that she was a virgin, the Jacobins were in utter disbelief. The idea of a woman committing murder was so foreign to the way in which French society viewed the female sex that Corday, through her assassination of Marat, single-handedly changed how French society perceived gender. Furthermore, the success of the Women’s March on Versaille showed that even the women of the Third Estate could enact change despite their economic situation and the oppression they faced as a result of their gender.
As a result of the actions of women such as Corday and the women who marched on Versaille, the way in which society viewed women changed.

One way in which this can be seen is through an examination of the way in which women were depicted in art created during the French Revolution. Having witnessed the actions of women during the French Revolution and thus armed with a new perspective on gender, many artists portrayed the women of the French Revolution in a masculine manner. In a drawing titled “Women’s Club at the Café Hottot during the French Revolution” attributed to Pierre Alexandre Wille, women are depicted assuming stereotypically masculine roles, illustrating the deconstruction of gender norms. Given that the drawing was set in Café Hottot, a place renowned for harboring and fostering the thoughts and ideologies of the French Revolution, the artwork is most likely a comment on the relationship between the French Revolution and the evolution of gender roles. In the drawing, the women are portrayed in a positive light and appear to be strong and independent with some of them even possessing swords. This portrayal directly contradicts the ideal woman as defined by Rousseau. The fact that the drawing depicts the masculinization of women in a positive light displays a change in the way French society viewed gender. Women like Corday and those who marched on Versailles, showed that women no longer had to be “weak and passive” and that being independent and strong was

acceptable. Because true gender equality cannot be fostered when one gender is told to dominate and the other to act submissively, by helping to break down this notion of the ideal female and normalize the idea of female independence and strength, the women of the Third Estate were able to promote gender equality, thereby upholding the founding principles of the French revolution.
In addition to redefining notions regarding femininity, the women of the Third Estate pushed for equality through self advocacy.

Because women were not allowed to participate directly in government, they relied on media such as pamphlets and brochures to influence policy or draw attention to issues. One of the most important documents in the earlier years of the French Revolution was the “Petition of the Women of the Third Estate”. This petition was created on July 1, 1789 and was sent to Louis XVI asking for equality and opportunities for women. In the document, the women wrote, “We demand enlightenment and jobs, not in order to usurp the authority of men, but to be held in greater esteem by them”. This document is one of the first examples in which the women of the Third Estate played a role in pushing for the advancement of the ideas of liberty and equality. These women did so by advocating for women’s rights. In the document, the women explain their request for more freedom as stemming from their desire “be held in greater esteem” by men. Through the petition, the women clearly display discontent at the restrictions placed on them as a result of their gender and their self advocacy shows the beginning of the formation of feminism in the French Revolution. Furthermore, by petitioning for gender equality, the women of the Third Estate were helping to advance the revolution ideologies of equality and

freedom.
Like the women of who authored the petition for more rights, Olympe de Gouges also advanced liberty and freedom by using media to advocate for gender equality during the French Revolution. On September 5, 1791 de Gouges published perhaps her most famous work, “Declaration of the Rights of Woman” created in response to the “Declaration of the Rights of Man” as she felt that the revolution, although it preached equality and freedom, did nothing to address the issue of gender inequality. The “Declaration of the Rights of Woman” is an almost exact copy of the “Declaration of the Rights of Man” except for the fact that it establishes the rights provided to “Man” as pertaining to both sexes. Through her pamphlet,“Declaration of the Rights of Woman”, Olympe de Gouges provides one of the first examples in French history in which a document asserts that men and women are equals and should be entitled to the same rights. This idea of complete gender equality stressed by the pamphlet was relatively novel amongst the French, making the “Declaration of the Rights of Woman” extremely popular amongst feminists in France. In fact, so influential and apparently harmful were de Gouge’s ideas, that the French Government sentenced her to death. But, even after her death, de Gouge’s work remained relevant and helped pave the way for a more equitable society in France.
Through advocacy and active protest, the women of the Third Estate proved to be invaluable in terms advancing the driving ideological principles of the French Revolution. These women showed