Women and the Limits of Citizenship in the French Revolution

by Olwen H. Hufton

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.

Genres: History, French Revolution, France, 18th Century, Feminism, Nonfiction, Politics

236 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1992

About the author

Olwen Hufton DBE is one of the foremost historians of early modern Europe and a pioneer of social history and of women's history. She is an expert on Early Modern, western European comparative socio-cultural history with special emphasis on gender, poverty, social relations, religion and work. In 2006 she joined Royal Holloway as a part-time Professorial Research Fellow in the History Department.

Olwen Hufton is a Fellow of the British Academy (FBA) and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

Reviews

[Nienke Bakker · Rating 3 out of 5]

used it for a project

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't usually add books that I've read for uni on here but I read this from cover to cover so thought I might as well.

Very useful for my presentation on the role of women from 1750-1914, written accessibly and pretty enjoyable for a non-fiction.