Impact of the French Revolution on Women - Essay Example

?Impact of the French Revolution on Women The French Revolution was one of the historical events that have established the idea of liberty and equality in France. It was a movement that spurred demographic, economic, agricultural, industrial, and ideological reconstruction. Demographically, mortality rate was higher than the fertility rate which was a result of the agricultural production that was at high demand but low on manufacturing. Economically, the French Revolution started the organization process of the production and distribution of goods to improve on the efficiency of business activities. In the area of agriculture, this was a time where a lot of people had to leave their lands mandatorily to provide more labor opportunities that would encourage urban industrialization. Industrially, new machinery and the making of new roads were introduced to make transportation easier and faster. Lastly, ideological revolution took place as total freedom of thought, speech, and at the same time reliance on scientific method were embraced to improve education that was believed to be the key to a successful society (History 1C: The French Revolution and Women's Rights, n.d.). With the French Revolution being summed up into a list of ideals and movements that would seek to improve society as a whole, it was able to solve the inequality that existed between men and women. Before, the French embraced the mindset that women’s primary role would be to support and nurture their families while intellectual and political matters belonged to the authority of men. However, the French Revolution became the bridge that started empowering women’s natural and moral rights. Because of Mary Wollenstonecraft, who challenged French leaders to rethink the unequal educational opportunities for men and women where the latter were only allowed to get access to them in the confines of their own homes that limit learning, women are now able to enjoy freedom in education (Women and the Revolution, n.d.). She was able to convince the French leaders to believe in women’s capacity at par with that of men’s by asking them to prove first that women lack reason as compared to men. Another impact of the French Revolution on women would be earning them to be seen as fit as men to be involved in juridical proceedings. Women started being able to voice out what they think and feel in as simple as forming groups to protest against the high bread prices or the shortage of food (Women and the French Revolution, n.d.). A perfect example of which would be the case of Marie-Rose Barre, a twenty year old lace worker who was one of the hundred women who went to Versailles to ask for bread from the king because there was a limited resource of food made available to them. Though there were guards who watch the palace, they allowed the women to express their distress directly to the king which only the men were able to do before the French Revolution. Also, in this occasion, these women were also able to voice out what they think would be able to solve this worsening situation when they suggested that the king would arrange companions during flour transports in Paris to speed up the process and make sure the delivery intended for Paris are exactly provided as only a few wagons make it to the delivery at the bridge of Sevres (Levy, D.G., Applewhite, H.B., & Johnson, M.D., 1979). This single incident led to the opportunity of examining the relations between men and women. Men, who were seen as higher or of more value than women were now being seen to have certain attributes that are considered as their strength yet at the same time recognizes some of their weak points in which women are strong at. One of which would be in dealing with management of the house. However, the French Revolution did not only earn women’s rights to form groups and perpetrate a riot to fight for their grievances but they started to be seen as significant in political undertakings. A concrete example where the relations between men and women have been redefined in this area was when Marie-Jean Caritat and Marquis de Condorcet led the first publication of a newspaper article that held the political rights of women to be served, suggesting that women should enjoy equal political rights with men, involving them from the biggest to the smallest political decision to be made. After this have taken place, women now started to meet in groups which they called “Cercle Social” where they discuss issues such as prejudices against women especially in matters of marriage, education, divorce laws, and inheritance laws. Aside from that, their women’s campaign became stronger as they were now allowed to have these to be widely distributed (Women and the Revolution, n.d.). This has strongly helped in changing the traditional mindset on men and women that the French have been accustomed to. A significant part of the French Revolution would also be how it institutionalized women’s rights of citizenship. According to Rousseau, women are only to be seen as child bearers in society which degraded a lot of women. He reasoned out that women should not be seen as more than just that because women are emotional creatures who usually mix up personal relations and emotions to circumstances and cannot be able to device a decision merely based on facts which is considered the highest duty of citizenship. However, Marquis de Condorcet, a mathematician and philosopher defended women’s rights by stating the “Declaration of the Rights of Man” that did not support this theory of Rousseau (Women and the Revolution, n.d.). However, with all these said, the French Revolution did not really give women utmost political freedom as the political assemblies they were allowed to take part in was just a consolation to the fact that they were still hindered to vote and at the same time hold office. The practice of women’s rights was merely just about being allowed to form groups that fight for a certain campaign or lead a certain movement. The French government and people still think that the idea of total equality in women’s and men’s rights is not going to be helpful in fulfilling a successful society (Women and the Revolution, n.d.). Nevertheless, what was truly important would be the fact that the French Revolution has empowered women, establishing their moral identity, and a political constitution. It has given the French government a view of what change women can do for society, which they continually had to prove to gain more leverage in society. Gender equality has at least been recognized in some areas such as in politics where women were allowed to have a strong representation in courts, based on their choice which was entirely helpful in at least guaranteeing that their families always had food to eat (Women and the French Revolution, n.d.). Indeed, the French Revolution was a good start that made women not only a statutory part of society but made them a deciding and participating body in economic, social, and political matters. Bibliography: "Women and the French Revolution." Sunburst. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2013. . "Women and the Revolution." Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media . N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2013. . "History 1C: The French Revolution and Women's Rights." Home - CSU, Chico. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2013. . Levy, D.G., Applewhite, H.B., & Johnson, M.D. Women in Revolutionary Paris. Illinois: Universty of Illinois, 1979. Print. Read More