Women and the Limits of Citizenship in the French Revolution (Heritage) - Softcover

Hufton, Olwen

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0802068375 ISBN 13: 9780802068378

Publisher: University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division, 1999

Synopsis

The French masses overwhelmingly supported the Revolution in 1789. Economic hardship, hunger, and debt combined to put them solidly behind the leaders. But between the people's expectations and the politicians' interpretation of what was needed to construct a new state lay a vast chasm. Olwen H. Hufton explores the responses of two groups of working women – those in rural areas and those in Paris – to the revolution's aftermath.

Women were denied citizenship in the new state, but they were not apolitical. In Paris, collective female activity promoted a controlled economy as women struggled to secure an adequate supply of bread at a reasonable price. Rural women engaged in collective confrontation to undermine government religious policy which was destroying the networks of traditional Catholic charity.

Hufton examines the motivations of these two groups, the strategies they used to advance their respective causes, and the bitter misogyinistic legacy of the republican tradition which persisted into the twentieth century.

About this title

About the Author:

Olwen H. Hufton is a professor of European History and Women's Studies at Harvard University.

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0802068375
• ISBN 13: 9780802068378
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 236