In the summer and Autumn of 1792 - with the Prussians bearing down on Paris, the streets thronged with the stirring swell of the Marseillaise, but also the rotting bodies of those brutally killed during the September Massacres - the French Revolution bore a new symbol of optimism and hope: Liberty. Embodied by a female figure, later known as Marianne, and famously enshrined in Eugène Delacroix’s iconic painting, she was an important reminder that the revolution was about more than just violence, but also the dream of a brighter future, in which all the people of France would have a steak. Marianne was the new Republic personified, and manifested all those virtues most desired by the new order; freedom, equality and reason. But, did this new symbol have any resonance for the actual women of the revolution? Certainly, they had played a major role in bringing the King and Queen back to Paris from Versailles in 1789, helping patriots who stormed Tuileries in 1792, and were keen spectators to the febrile politics of the revolution. For this, women were enshrined as ‘mothers of the nation’, a vital mass of humanity thought to be inspired by an animating emotional power. And yet, unlike their male counterparts, few women save Marie Antoinette, at whom sexualised misogyny was constantly hurled, have stood the test of time. So who were the women at the very heart of the French Revolution? And what did they do to change the course of history?
Join Tom and Dominic as they discuss the evolving ideology of the French Revolution - one of the most decisive moments of world history - and some of the women at the centre of it all from the very start.
EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/restishistory Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee!
_______
Twitter:
@TheRestHistory
@holland_tom
@dcsandbrook
Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett + Aaliyah Akude
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Плейлист
The Rest Is History
Why does Emily Brontë's novel, Wuthering Heights, have such an enduring romantic association? Is Heathcliff a romantic lead, or an abusive antihero? Are the characters aspirational in any way, or irre...
What happened when the Spanish conquistadors lead by Francisco Pizarro came face to face with the ruthless emperor of the Incan Empire, Atahualpa? How did the Incas treat their strange, pale, alien vi...
How does Henry Raeburn’s Skating Minister represent both the Scottish Enlightenment and the Romantic movement? In what ways does subject Reverend Robert Walker’s personal history connect to the famous...
Why was the Spanish conquest of the Incas one of the most pivotal moments in world history? Who was Francisco Pizarro, the buccaneer behind this bloody event? And, what was the glittering Incan Empire...
Three decades after the defeat of Hannibal, how had the Roman Empire managed to conquer vast swathes of the known world? Why did the predatory eyes of this terrifying behemoth turn once more to Cartha...
Why does Diego Velázquez’ Las Meninas represent the fading Spanish Golden Age? How did he challenge the boundaries between viewer and artwork? And, in what ways does his defining style foreshadow Impr...
Would the Roman general Publius Cornelius Scipio successfully march on Africa? What happened when Hannibal and Scipio - the greatest commanders of their age - came head to head at the Battle of Zama,...
What happened at the Battle of Ibera, a totemic though overlooked battle of the Punic Wars? With the forces of Carthage closing in on a depleted Rome, would a young Roman, Publius Cornelius Scipio res...
Why is Jan Van Eyck’s Arnolfini Portrait perceived as one of the greatest mysteries of the arts? What elements and symbolisms provoke debates about its identity and meaning? And, what do we know about...
Did Hannibal march on Rome after his legendary victory at the Battle of Cannae in 216 BC? How could Rome fight on after losing so many men? And, where would their next cataclysmic clash take place…?...
How did America respond after the American Embassy in Tehran was seized, and American citizens taken hostage? Would the hostages survive? And, what became of the Iranian Revolution, and Ayatollah Khom...
Why and how was the American Embassy stormed in 1979, at the height of the Iranian Revolution? Did America respond when large numbers of American civil servants were taken hostage? And, would a scienc...
What set off the final uprisings of the Iranian Revolution, against the last Shah of Iran, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi? Would President Jimmy Carter and America back the Shah’s forbidding opponent, the fire...
Why did the Iranian Revolution erupt in 1979? What was the nature of the relationship between President Carter and the ostentatious Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi? And, who was the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khom...
What were the harsh conditions of Joan of Arc’s imprisonment, at the hands of her English captors? How did Joan’s trial unfold, and with what was she charged? And, would Joan confess at the last momen...
How was Charles VII, with the help of Joan of Arc, able to fight his way to Reims to be crowned in the ancient seat of French kings? Why was she able to continually defeat the formidable soldiers of E...
How did a young, uneducated peasant girl dressed in men’s clothing, Joan of Arc, plan to crown the son of the mad and feeble Charles VI, the King of all France, and save them from the English? What ha...
What are the origins of the legendary Joan of Arc, the famous French maid who saved France from the English during the Hundred Years’ War, dressed all the while in men’s clothes? Why is hers one of th...
Was Richard Wagner a revolutionary artist who reshaped music forever, or an egotists mired in scandal, whose dangerous ideas were inseparable from the operas he created? How did the legendary worlds e...
What are the complex origins of Russia’s most renowned composer, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky? What inner conflicts and private contradictions lay behind his romantic music, and how did these struggles sh...
Did the Christmas Truce - which saw a number of unofficial ceasefires between the combatants of the First World War, during the Christmas of 1914 - really occur, or was it a myth? What is the real sto...
Who are the prime suspects for the identity of Jack the Ripper? Why did he suddenly halt his hellish killing spree, and never strike again? And, once and for all, who really was Jack the Ripper…?
Jo...
Why was Jack the Ripper’s final murder the most appalling of all? Who was the mysterious Mary-Jane Kelly, his unfortunate victim? And, what enduring impact would his crimes have upon the cultural clim...
How did Jack the Ripper manage to strike twice in the same night without getting caught? Did he have an accomplice? And, what chilling clues did the police discover in the wake of the murder…?
Join...
Who was Jack the Ripper’s second victim, and why was their murder considered the true starting point of his terrifying killing spree? How did the police investigation unfold? And, when and how did the...
| This episode is available a week early for members of The Rest Is History Club |
What happens when fame, drugs, and genius collide? How did the Beatles survive John Lennon’s “more popular than Je...
Was Jack the Ripper the first serial killer of all time? Who was his first victim, and why was the murder so shocking? And, what did the Ripper phenomenon reveal about the anxieties of Victorian Londo...
With Adolf Hitler at the apex of his power during the Second World War, how did he move on Britain? How did Winston Churchill respond? And, would Britain’s airforce triumph over Hitler’s Luftwaffe in...
How did four Liverpool teenagers become the most influential band on earth? What made their music and charisma irresistible to a generation? And, how did their ambition and timing spark a cultural rev...
How did the Battle of Dunkirk unfold in 1940? Why was it one of the key turning points of the Second World War for Hitler and his Nazi regime? And, how did the Allies manage to evade the jaws of annih...