Madame Roland

The French Revolution’s Baby Girl .

I read a book called “Liberty” by Lucy Moore. The whole time I was completely entranced by Madame Roland. Right after I finished “Liberty” I had to read her diary. She wrote a sort of memoirs when she was locked away in the Bastille. Here we see the bloody revolution from her eyes. Let me tell you tell you, she had affairs with all the right men. From forging passports to plotting schemes, to writing new laws. She ranks a baddie right up to facing the guillotine with the greatest of dignity. She is the perfect example of pragmatic feminism, controlling and manipulating politics through the men she slept with.

French Revolution and Fashion: The French Revolution changed fashion drastically and rapidly because the shifting social and political values. Coming out of the Marie Antoinette period with high hair and big garments with lots of luxurious fabric to quickly shifting into more masculine and simple garments with clean lines and cheaper fabrics.

During this time in search for better form of government, people looked to antiquity for definitions of liberty. This was also reflected in the fashion of the time. During the 1790’s women looked to Ancient Greece and Rome for toga like draped layers, high waisted lines and empire silhouettes.

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Several literary figures influenced Roland's philosophy, including Voltaire, Montesquieu, Plutarch, and others. Most significantly, Rousseau's literature strongly influenced Roland's understanding of feminine virtue and political philosophy, and she came to understand a woman's genius as residing in Rousseau's definition of feminine virtue as "a pleasurable loss of self-control," which for Roland meant the courage of maternal self-sacrifice and suffering.

In prison Roland struggled with her concept of a woman’s place in the nation of France after having been forced to lurk in the shadows to gain her own influence over the nation.

On 8 November 1793, she was conveyed to the guillotine. Before placing her head on the block, she bowed before the clay statue of Liberty in the Place de la Révolution, uttering the famous remark for which she is remembered:

O Liberté, que de crimes on commet en ton nom! (Oh Liberty, what crimes are committed in thy name!)
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https://cdnhistorybits.wordpress.com/2016/01/19/womens-fashion-during-and-after-the-french-revolution-1790-to-1810/