African Descents and Women in Revolutionary France - Assignment Example

FRENCH This report looks at the concept of women and individuals of African descent, and the impact of the French Revolution on a conflicting drive for equality vs. the status quo of society, which was oppressive towards both groups at the time. The French Revolution put into motion a lot of change in society and the declaration and statements about human rights. Women also participated in the revolution and at the same time worked to establish equal rights on the same footing with men. However, the power of the times of the eighteenth century were somewhat against women and people of African descent in general, and strides forward that were made during the revolution in many cases were then made backwards again after the revolution was over. In other words, there was more talk about equality for women and people of African descent than there was actual action, and even those women and Africans who had fought, rioted, and protested in the revolution on an equal footing with white males, found soon afterward that the society was not truly ready for equal rights, and many cases went back to the status quo. The concept of citizenship that developed out of the French Revolution was one that was paradoxical in many ways, because on the one hand, it held such esteemed virtues as the pursuit of life, liberty, and property for all, but on the other hand, women and people of African descent were often not considered to be a part of this holistic account. This situation is typical of the stress that many French writers and commentators of the time put on fraternity, and while many French women played vital roles in the revolution, they did not really reap the same benefits from the process that men did, in terms of gender roles and the theoretical equity of Enlightenment ideals. The French Revolution was indeed a cataclysmic event in the history of Western Europe, but one has to ask whether the revolution really changed society that much in terms of gender roles. There was such a history of patriarchal effect in place in the French society before the revolution that these new principles of equity that came from the revolution were primarily equitable as seen from the point of view of the patriarch. Citizenship was defined in broad terms, but narrowed down in terms of gender and race regarding what exactly was expected of women and people of African descent, whose social and biological roles were assumed to be different. Both women and Africans living in France demanded citizenship rights during this time of revolution, but in the aftermath, the equation was again unbalanced between theory and reality, in the ways in which ideas about gender and race wound up influencing citizenship. This created a sort of environment in which the woman or African could actively participate in the political and protest activities of the revolution, and even demand to bear arms in conflict (DiCaprio and Wiesner, 2000) and then see in the aftermath (the closing of women’s clubs, or continued racial discrimination against Africans, for example) what the real situation was in terms of patriarchal gender roles and ideas of Nordic/Caucasian physical superiority that were encoded deep in French and other European societies, despite Enlightenment theory regarding such concepts as liberty and equality. As one writer of the time noted, “By recognizing man’s rights you have restored human dignity. Therefore, you will not leave women to suffer under an arbitrary authority. To do so would overthrow the fundamental principles on which rests the majestic edifice you are raising for the happiness of the French people” (D’Aelders, 1791). Unfortunately, this overthrow may be exactly what happened. This does not mean, however, that women and people of African descent during the French Revolution did not make serious strides towards gender and racial equity, even if some of the theory-reality split in the aftermath of conflict did not favor this side initially. Therefore, in many ways, initiatives that were started during this epoch were extended further into later movements for gender and racial equity in the nineteenth and even twentieth centuries (the revolution was also useful in this respect concerning the abolition of slavery) (DiCaprio and Wiesner, 2000). However, gender inequality and the supporting theories behind slavery were the by-products of this time-period in terms of how it has filtered down to the present day in the workplace and in quotidian life from historical roots. “It is wisdom in legislation, it is in the general interest to establish a balance between despotism and license; but the powers of the husband and the wife should be equal and individual. The laws cannot establish any distinction between these two authorities” (D’Aelders, 1791). These ideas may have been considered complete heresy before the revolution. France is a country in which tradition and radical innovation play a crucial and complementary role in the socioeconomic culture, and this is an instructive way of looking at the gender and racial dynamic before, during, and after the French Revolution. France has a history of being an effective diplomatic force, and this is reflected in many aspects of tolerance in its culture. This culture is relatively stable and has been seen by many to have contributed to the historical economic integration of Europe, as France was able to reconcile with Germany and become an cooperative and dynamic social and economic force. Socially, French culture is known internationally for producing great and well- respected works of art as well as being outspoken and expressive regarding the free exchange of ideas. Liberty and the open confrontation of that which threatens personal or national well-being is very important as a facet of the social culture at large. This has led to a strong sense of ethical responsibility among many French citizens, which is combined with a natural tendency to question and express ideas about that which seems unethical. This can be seen to be drawn from the historical period of note to the current report. “Man, are you capable of being just? Is it a woman who poses the question; you will not deprive her of that right at least. Tell me, what gives you sovereign empire to oppress my sex? Your strengths and talents? Observe the creator in his wisdom” (de Gouges, 1791). Voices like de Gouges rose up during the revolution to demand equality for women and people of African descent. France has a very long and rich political history which present constraints require to be narrowed somewhat temporally and in scope. The area of France was gradually unified throughout the middle ages and into the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in terms of shared language, culture, and religion. Absolute monarchs ruled France before the infamous and famous French Revolution, which set an international precedent for the liberty of individuals under a sovereign republic, but did not do everything it should have in terms of advocating new gender and racial norms in society. This revolution led to many other revolutions and eventually a period of extensive imperialism and empire. As most empires do, the French one began to crumble as ex-colonies gained independence as the modern era came about. “Is there a stronger proof of the power of habit, even over enlightened men, than the spectacle of equality of rights being invoked in favor of three or four hundred men that an absurd prejudice had deprived them of, and being forgotten in respect of twelve millions of women” (Marquis, 1790). This shows the demographic vagaries of equality. After researching this issue, what strikes this author the most about the progress of various revolutions during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries was how different they were in process and scope after having been united by the same basic ideological statements taken from the Enlightenment. Even though the French Revolution had the same basic premise in terms of equality and life, liberty, and whichever third substitute they inserted to keep from plagiarizing Locke, revolutions during this time were carried out in a variety of ways and had different outcomes. But is there a revolution of gender or race that accompanied this other shift? This multiplicity of outcomes stemming from the same basic ideological premise was the most interesting part of these particular readings in terms of thought being provoked. “Women, having qualities of sensibility and morals, have necessarily equal rights. Either no individual on the human race has genuine rights, or else all have the same; and he who votes against the right of another, whatever the religion color or sex of that other, has henceforth abjured his own” (Marquis, 1790). This seems to make sense. The French ideals of gender and race are more historically traceable and easy to define: they had a society that was basically founded on a religious backup of traditional white, male, patriarchal authority. This system encouraged the submission of females and non-whites. But women and people of African descent’s contributions in the French Revolution show us that even in these early days of French nationhood or civilization, there were voices of dissent that sought to bring out the hypocrisy of this power-structure and search for a new sort of gender and racial equality that was not based on traditional codes, but instead reflected the true spirit of the Enlightenment. However, from another angle this spirit represented “a refinement of despotism that renders the constitution odious to women. By degrading our existence in order to flatter your own conceit, it will lull you to sleep in the arms of a slave and thus blunt your energy, the better to enchain you” (d’Aelders, 1791). Note the language of slavery in this passage. Unfortunately, these concerns fell on deaf ears. The turmoil that followed as France sought to define itself amid restrictive church authority, old aristocratic systems, violent conflict, and civil war, defined a new shift in new patterns that would emerge from these events stressing liberty and a liberal system of rule. France was ready at this point to divorce itself from the past and look to the future through the eyes of the present, and strong female leaders helped the nation to see itself anew and start a new, more liberal type of society that would reduce the authority of the church, give the people essential guaranteed freedoms, and operate in a republican structure. During this time of sweeping social changes, everything seems possible, and it makes the average woman or African hopeful that they will be included in the society in a way that promotes equality. This move towards equality plays out to be true to a certain extent, because there is a converse relationship in the narrative between the revolution and the average French person’s feelings of alienation and isolation. The more strident and active the revolution is, the more likely the average person feels that s/he will be at last included as a legitimate member of the society in which s/he was raised. And conversely, when the revolution and the Terror begin to fade out past 1795, the average woman or individual of African descent starts to again feel more and more isolated and alienated within this society. S/he may feel that her/his position is false and s/he may feel excluded. Thus it can be seen that there is a relationship that is relative in the society between the isolation that the average person feels and how comfortable s/he feels in society, and how much the society is either changing or remaining the same. REFERENCE D’Aelders, E (1791). Despotism. Women, the Family, and Freedom. Stanford, CA: University Press. Decaprio, Lisa and M.E. Wiesner (2000) Lives and Voices. New York: Houghton Mifflin. De Gouges, O (1791). Declaration of the Rights of Women. Women, the Family, and Freedom. Stanford, CA: University Press. Marquis de Condorcet (1790). Women, the Family, and Freedom. Stanford, CA: University Press. Read More