4+Female+Key+Players

The French Revolution was inspired by America's(although not yet established) revoult against Great Britain. In turn, it lead to many people rising up and becoming key players in the Revolution. Some might be suprised to find that some of those key players are in fact women.
 * //The Key Women Players of the French Revolution// **

Olympe de Gouges (1745-1793) advocated the French Revolution among other French intellectuals. She was born to a washerwoman and a butcher in Montablm, France; as Marie de Gouzes. At the young age of 20, she married a wealthy old man by the name of Louis Aubry. After being widowed early in the marriage, she was left with only son Pierre. In Paris, she adopted her known name and became a playwright despite certain disabilities to the job. After the publication of the //Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen// in 1789, Olympe wrote the //Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen//. This didn't sit well with many, for her article declared that women recieve an equality among society. Her article was aimed at Marie Antoinette, whom she described as "the most detestable woman". Some people had seen the declaration as a joke and noted how it replied to the original Declaration with a bit of anger as she points out how women have the ability to be punished like a man for her crimes, but is denied the full rights of man. Within her document, stating that women have the right to "mount the scaffold...also have the right to mount the speaker's rostrum". She later released works on equality in marriage and her support for the French Revolution in 30 political pamphlets.Her ideas were once agian rejected and she was declared a martyr, an enemy of the Revolution and she was exectuted in 1793, almost at the age of 50.

Like Olympe de Gouges, not all were liked. Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette, were not as beloved by thier subjects as other rulers. Born November 2, 1755 in Vienna, Austria; she was the youngest of the children of Emporer Francis I and Maria Theresa, the rulers of the Holy Roman Empire. As their favorite, they had high hopes for her becoming the Queen of France and when she married the crown prince of France and he became King Louis XVI, thier hopes were fufilled. As the Queen of France, her subjects had grown a dislike for the royal pair. For Marie particularly, they disliked the fact she spent a lot of money on gowns, jewels, gambling and other such things. Her gowns were not tight fitting, they were loose cotton, which caused some controversy among the silk industry and also the elderly. As for her gambling 'addiction', she lost the equivalent of 1.5 million american dollars in a single year. She interviened in the Fench government often since her indecisive husband did nothing. She was inevitably blamed for the corruption of the French Court and paid little attention to the financial crisis of the country. Viscious stories were spread like wildfire which added to the fire beneath her. Then she was an Austrian princess; which was France's enemy. However, she was a pretty, lighthearted and a charming woman. The French Revolution began and Marie lost her eldest son, starting the tragic spiral downward that lead to her death. When Louis lost control Marie tried to strengthen his will, her plan backfired and people disliked her more. The king gathered troops, partly from her advice, and called them back a second time to guard Versailles. In October 1789, Louis and Marie were made prisoners and forced to move to Paris into the Tuileries palace. Marie planned on military support from her brother and others that would never come. Marie eventually began to influence Louis again, telling him to escape Paris. The family went into guise and went by carriage to the eastern frontier of France. Louis XVI was recognized via his paper money and went the family was sent back he agreed to a new constitution, which surrendered some of his power.

Then matters got worse. Marie turned traitor when war with Autria and Prussia occured. She fed intel to the enemy and thus made the people suspicious of treason. August 10th, 1792; the family was thrown in jail which caused the inevitable end of the monarchy. Louis XVI died January 21, 1793 on the guillotine. Marie followed suit October 16, 1793; after she was tried for treason after her brave imprisonment.

Now, a woman that should be very much known; married to Napoleon. Empress Josephine. Born June 23, 1763; daughter to a French planter of the west Indies, she was married early on. At 17, she married Vicomte Alexandre de Beauharnais. Given a son and daughter she was blessed also with narrowly escaping the guillontine after being in prison as one of the last victims of the Reign of Terror. When trying to reclaim her husband's property she met Napoleon. He fell madly in love instantly and were soon married in 1796. Although madly in love, they had no children.

Throughout the marriage, rumors and stories flared about her affairs while Napoleon was away with his military duties. Sometimes he would receive news of this and be brought in a fit of rage. Also to add to his frustrations was the fact he had no heir. Almost like Henry VIII, Napoleon saw the solution as divorcing his love to find a new wife to bear his sons. As gently as he could, he revealed his intentions to Josephine and without doubting his love she retired into a small Paris estate Napoloeon purchased for her. She died in 1814, quietly.

Females are mysterious beings. They are very strong and very able - if only earlier times were aware of this. That knowledge was on the rise and then a woman was one of he founders of the //Republican Revolutionary Society//. August 4, 1765; France welcomed Claire Lacombe. She began her early life as an small success actress, who appeared in many plays before the revolution. But like many people, she asn't content with her life's direction. Her acting agency moved often which is believed to have influenced her decision to leave and become a revolutionary. August 10, 1792; She quit acting to pursue her 'calling'. She fought in the storming of Tuileries where she was awarded her her endurance after a bullet was taken to her arm. Among some of her titles, "Heroine of August Tenth" is among them. Struggles loomed as she and another female revolutionary organized a club. The //Republican Revolutionary Society//. Upon its establishment, many enemies rose thus making the club have setbacks.A few revolutionary men that the two met helped the club and Claire lived with one Theophile Leclerc before he ran off to be with Pauline Leon, the female revolutionary who discovered and organized the club with Claire. And things spiraled down, and Claire found herself with fewer and fewer allies. Claire then considered going back to acting, having enough of her life's direction yet again. April 1794, after her iscolation from politics, Claire was to return to theaters. Specifically, one in Dunkirk. Her journey was interupted when she was suddenly arrested and hed in capitivity for 16 months with the frequent prison transfers. When released in 1795, she went back to theater as she strived for but was once again find herself with thoughts of leaving. Three months after her return she left again. In 1798, she disappeared without a trace and hadn't been heard of since. When she died, down to the year even, is unknown.

Normandy, France can be famous for D-Day and some other events and names to recent entertainment that pertain to the city name. July 27, 1768; Normandy housed the newborn Charlotte Corday. When a young girl, Charlotte's mother and older sister died. With her father in an intense state of mourning, he sent Charlotte and her younger sister to Caen, where she discovered the writings of Pluratch. Early in her life she established herself as a French Patriot and performed assassination jobs. She is named responsible for the July 13, 1793 death of Jean-Paul Marat, a leader of the French Revolution. While she never truly established if she were a Girondist, she openly sympathized with them. The group known as the Girondists were French legislature representatives. When the Girondist leaders were arrested Charlotte planned revenge. She concluded her intention to kill Marat, an opponent of the legislature. She went under the guise of someone looking for an interview and while Marat bathed for relief from his skin disease, Dermatitis Herpetiformis. This disease had confined him - in a way - to his cold bath. When Charlotte appeared the evening of his death (after being turned away earlier in the day) she claimed to know the names of people who planned a Girondist uprising in Caen. As he wrote down the names, she pulled out her kitchen knife and stabbed him repeatedly in the chest. The blade punctured his lung, aorta, and left ventricle. In his last moments, he cried out for help and died in his bath soon after. Charlotte saw his death as a way to end the violence. He was a part of the Jacobin faction which was a lead cause for the Reign of Terror. She believed his influence was a potential cause to an all-out civil war. Charlotte had her feelings set on his demise and saw that he should be the one executed and not Louis XVI.