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anotherhumaninthisworld · 2 years ago

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Some info on Simone Évrard? :3

I’m basing the majority of this answer on this great article, so if I’m not citing a source for where I’ve found something, just assume it’s from there.

Simonne was born and baptised on February 6 1764. Here is her baptism record:

Simonne, legitimate daughter of Sr Nicolas Évrard, boat carpenter, and of Dame Catherine Large, her father and mother, was baptized on February 6, 1764 by the vicar of Saint-André, undersigned. The godfather was Sr Jacques Rivaud, and the godmother Dame Simone Rivard who signed with the present father.” Signed: Nicolas Évrard, Jacques Rivaud, Simone Rivard and Fontanel, vicar.

Simonne’s father Nicolas (born May 4 1724) had already been married to one Catherine Baret, with whom he had had a daughter, Philiberte (born February 28 1762). After remarrying Simonne’s mother Catherine Large he had three daughters more, Simonne, Etiennette (born October 4 1766) and Catherine (born September 16 1769). It’s most probable is that they benefited from a certain education at the free school of the hospice of charity of Tournus.

Nicolas Évrard was was a boat worker-carpenter and owned a house located in the Pêcherie district, Saint-André parish, on the Quai du Nord, in Tournus. Catherine Large owned a copse in Charne and another piece of land, of little value, five kilometers from Tournus. In 1774, she died, and two years later, on February 18, her husband did as well. Philiberte was 14, Simonne, 12, Etiennette, 10 and Catherine, 7. According to oral tradition, the girls were then sent to Paris where they worked for a lingerie workshop ran by a woman from Tournus. It’s indicated that Etiennette and Catherine, the two youngest sisters, married Antoine Bezancenot, a cook, and Jean-Antoine Corne, a printer, respectively.

A brochure written by Jacques Roux (Jacques Roux à Marat) in response to an attack made by Marat on July 4 1793, reveals both the adress on which Simonne lived on during the revolution, as well as the fact that she lived with two of her sisters (we know one of these was Catherine, the youngest).

You (Marat) must remember that about fifteen months ago you sent Citizen Fainault, sculptor, to my house to ask me to come and speak to you on important business. You were then staying with the three Hevrard (sic) sisters, rue Saint-Honoré, n. 243, opposite the Café Richard, Maison du Pelletier.

That Marat lived at Simonne's home, was also confirmed by Simonne herself during the unsealing of her apartent on July 26, 1793. Here we also learn that Simonne played an active role in the printing and distribution of Marat’s works:

When citizen Marat came to live with her (Simonne), he was in the greatest distress; to help him with the printing and distribution of his newspaper she consumed the greater part of her fortune in order to serve him and stand up for what she believed right.

When it comes to Simonne’s first meeting with Marat (who was 19 years older than her), we only know it happened before January 1 1792. From that date we have this promise written in Marat’s hand:

The fine qualities of Mademoiselle Simonne Évrard having captivated my heart from which she received the homage, I leave her as a pledge of my faith, during the trip I am going to make to London, the sacred commitment to give her my hand immediately after my return; if all my tenderness were not enough for her to guarantee my fidelity, may the oblivion of this commitment cover me with infamy. Paris, 1 January 1792. Jean-Paul Marat, l’ami du peuple

Marat and Simonne were never officially married, just engaged. According to an article in Journal de la Montagne written ten days after Marat’s death — that is to be taken with some grain of salt — the two had had an unofficial wedding ceremony:

Marat, who did not believe that a vain ceremonial was what formed the engagement of the marriage, wishing nevertheless not to alarm the modesty of citoyenne Évard, called her one fine day at the window of his room; clasping his hand in that of his lover, both prostrate before the face of the Supreme Being, "It is in the vast temple of nature," he said to her, "that I take for witness to the eternal fidelity that I swear to you, the Creator who hears us.

Simonne was present when Marat was murdured. In the interrogation of Charlotte Corday, we can read the following:

I arrived at Marat’s in a carriage around eleven or eleven-thirty.

What did you do when you arrived?

I asked to speak with him

You asked to speak with him?

Having asked to see him in his antechamber, two or three women presented themselves and told me that I would not enter. I insisted and one of the women went to tell Marat that a citoyenne wanted to speak with him. He answered that I couldn't enter. I went back home where I returned around noon.

[…]

I went out seven o’clock in the evening to go home to Marat (again).

Did you find him there?

Yes.

Who introduced you?

The same women that had refused me that morning. The women here are Simonne, her sister Catherine and the portress Marie-Barbe Aubain.

Simonne was later called as a witness to Corday’s trial, during which she said the following:

Citoyenne Évrard deposes that the accused presented herself on the morning of July 13, at citizen Marat’s place, where she, deponent, lived; that on the replies that the deputy was ill and could receive no one, she withdrew, murmuring.

The accused interrupts the testimony of the witness, saying: it was I who killed him.

”Citoyenne Évrard (Simonne) testified that the accused appeared on the morning of July 13 at the home of citizen Marat, where she, the deponent, lived; that she wrote a letter which made him receive her on Saturday at 8 o'clock in the evening; that a cry from the chamber where Marat's bathtub was made her come running; she found the accused standing against a curtain in the antechamber, grabbed her by the head and called for neighbors; these neighbors having come, she ran to Marat who looked at her without saying a word; she helped him out of the bath and he expired without uttering a word.”

Other witnesses were also called, many of which reported Marat’s last words to have been a call for help to Simonne:

”Laurent Basse, courier, testifies that being on Saturday, July 15 (sic), at Citizen Marat's house, between seven and eight o'clock in the evening, busy folding newspapers, he saw the accused come, whom citoyenne Évrard and the portress refused entrance. Nevertheless, citizen Marat, who had received a letter from this woman, heard her insist and ordered her to enter, which she did. A few minutes later, on leaving, he heard a cry: Help me, my dear friend, help me! (À moi, ma chere amie, à moi !). Hearing this, having entered the room where citizen Marat was, he saw blood come out of his bosom in great bubbles; at this sight, himself terrified, he cried out for help, and nevertheless, for fear that the woman should make an effort to escape, he barred the door with chairs and struck her in the head with a blow; the owner came and took it out of his hands.

The president challenges the accused to state what she has to answer.

I have nothing to answer, the fact is true.

One listens to another witness.

Jeanne Maréchal, cook, submits the same facts; she adds that Marat, immediately taken from his bathtub and put in his bed, did not stir.

The accused says the fact is true.

One listens to another witness.

Marie-Barbe Aubin, portress of the house where citizen Marat lived, testifies that on the morning of July 13, she saw the accused come to the house and ask to speak to citizen Marat, who answered her that it was impossible to speak to him at the moment, attenuated the state where he had been for some time, so she gave a letter to deliver to him. In the evening she came back again, and insisted on speaking to him. Aubin and citoyenne Évrard refused to let her in; she insisted, and Marat, who had just asked who it was, having learned that it was a woman, ordered her to be let in; which happened immediately. A few moments later, she heard a cry: "Help me, my dear friend (À moi, ma chere amie !);she entered, and saw Marat, blood streaming from his bosom; frightened, she fell to the floor and shouted with all her might: À la garde! Au secours !

The accused says that everything the witness says is the most exact truth.

Catherine Évrard gives the same story as her sister.

Once again, the accused answers that all the facts are true and she has nothing to respond.

As already mentioned, Simonne was present for the removal of seals of her apartment on July 26 1793, two weeks after the murder:

In front of us appeared citoyenne Simonne Évrard, an adult, residing in the apartment where we currently are [30 rue des Cordeliers] who told us and declared that she is the tenant of said apartment which she rents from citizen de Lafondée, that all its furniture and effects belong to her, with the exception of the mirrors and papers that belong to said de Lafondée and the papers, linens and clothes of the deceased Marat. S. Évrard

On 8 August, less than a month after the death of Marat, Simonne presented herself at the Convention and defended his memory, in her eyes hijacked by the Énrages:

”Citizens, you see before you the widow Marat; I do not come to ask you for favors coveted by cupidity or demanded by poverty. The widow Marat needs only a tomb. Before arriving at this happy end of the torments of my life, I come to ask you for justice for the new attacks committed against the memory of the most intrepid and most outraged defender of the people. These watches, how much gold they lavished! How many hypocritical libellists they have paid to cover his name with opprobrium! With what horrible obstinacy they endeavored to give him a colossal political existence, and a hideous celebrity, with the sole view of dishonoring the cause of the people which he faithfully defended; today all covered with his blood; they pursue him to the bosom of the tomb; every day they still dare to assassinate his memory; they strive at will to paint in the features of an interesting heroine the monster who plunged the parricide blade into his bosom. One sees even in this enclosure the most cowardly of all the folliculars, Carra, Ducos, Dulaure, boasting of it shamelessly in their periodical pamphlets, to encourage their equals to cut the throats of the rest of the defenders of liberty. I am not speaking of that vile Pétion who, at Caen, in the assembly of his accomplices, dared to say, on this occasion, that the assassination was a virtue.

Sometimes the villainous perfidy of the conspirators, pretending to pay homage to his civic virtues, multiplies at great expense infamous engravings, where the execrable assassin is presented under favorable features, and the martyr of the fatherland, disfigured by the most horrible convulsions. But here is the most perfidious of their maneuvers: they have bribed Scelerais writers who impudently usurp his name, and disfigure his principles, to perpetuate the empire of calumny of which he was the victim. The cowards, they flatter first the pain of the people by their praise; they trace some true pictures of the evils of the country; they denounce some traitors dedicated to its contempt; they speak the language of patriotism and morality, so that the people believe they still hear Marat; but it is only to defame afterwards the most zealous defenders whom the patrie has preserved; it is to preach, in the name of Marat, extravagant maxims that his enemies have attributed to him, and that all his conduct disavows.

I denounce to you in particular two men, Jacques Roux and the named Leclerc who claim to continue his patriotic sheets, and to make his shadow speak to outrage his memory and deceive the people: it is there that after having debited revolutionary common places, the people are told that they must proscribe all kinds of government; it is there that we order in his name to bloody the day of August 10, because from his sensitive soul, torn by the spectacle of the crimes of tyranny and the misfortunes of humanity, just anathemas have sometimes come out against public leeches, and against the oppressors of the people; they seek to perpetuate after his death the parricidal calumny which persecuted him, and presented him as a foolish apostle of disorder and anarchy.

And who are these men who claim to replace him? It is a priest wh, the very day after the day when the faithful deputies triumphed over their cowardly enemies, came to insult the National Convention by a perfidious and seditious address: it is another man, no less perverse, associated with the mercenary furies of this impostor.

What is quite remarkable is that these two men are the same as those who were denounced by Marat, a few days before his death, at the Cordeliers club, as people paid by our enemies to disturb the public tranquility, and who, in the same sitting, were solemnly driven from the bosom of this popular society. What is the purpose of the treacherous faction that continues these criminal plots? It is to debase the people who pay homage to the memory of him who died for his cause; it is to defame all the friends of the country, whom she has designated under the name of Maratists; it is to mislead perhaps all the Frenchmen of the entire Republic, who gather for the meeting of August 10, by presenting to them the perfidious writings of which I speak, like the doctrine of the representative of the people whom they slaughtered; it is perhaps to disturb these solemn days by some disastrous catastrophe.

Gods! what would be the destiny of the people, if such men could usurp their confidence! What is the deplorable condition of its intrepid defenders, if death itself cannot save them from the rage of their assassins! Legislators, how long will you allow crime to insult virtue? Whence comes to the emissaries of England and Austria this strange privilege of poisoning public opinion, of devoting the defenders of our laws to daggers, and of undermining the foundations of our nascent Republic? If you leave them unpunished, I denounce them here to the French people, to the universe. The memory of the martyrs of freedom is the patrimony of the people: that of Marat is the only good that remains to me; I dedicate to his defense the last days of a languid life. Legislators, avenge the fatherland, honesty, misfortune and virtue, by striking down the most cowardly of all their enemies.”

A few days after the speech, August 22 1793, Marat’s siblings signed the following decree:

We therefore declare that it is with satisfaction that we fulfill the wishes of our brother by recognizing citoyenne Évrard as our sister, and that we will hold as infamous those of her family members who does not share the feelings of esteem and gratitude that we owe her, and if against our expectation there could be some, we ask that their names be known, as we do not want to share their infamy. Written in Paris, August 22, second year of the republic. Marie-Anne Mara (sic) f. Oliver Albertine Mara (sic) Jean-Pierre Mara (sic)

In her Réponse aux détracteurs de l’Ami du Peuple (1793) Albertine Marat also wrote the following regarding Simonne:

Finding no recourse except in the poor, he would have succumbed to his misfortunes. People, your good genius decided otherwise: he allowed a divine woman, whose soul resembled his own, to consecrate her fortune and her rest to keep you your friend. Heroic woman, receive the homage your virtues deserve: yes, we owe it to you. Inflamed with the divine fire of freedom, you wanted to preserve its most ardent defender. You shared his fate and his tribulations: nothing can stop your zeal, you sacrifice to the Friend of the People, and the fear of your family, and the prejudices of your century. Forced here to circumscribe myself, I would wait for the moment when your virtues will appear in all their brilliance.

Both this extract and the decree cited before would imply that someone(s) in Simonne’s family didn’t appriciate her attachment to Marat/the revolution, although I’ve not found more info regarding it.

On September 15 1794, Robert Lindet, by then president of the committee of public intruction, wrote to Simonne asking her opinion on a republication of Marat’s works — ”Write as soon as possible and make known to what extent you can contribute to the requested edition of the works of Marat. This enterprise must be executed in a way that honors the author and the nation equally.”

But Simonne rejected this invitation, answering in November the same year that she did not want to entrust anyone but herself with this duty. The 15 volumes of Oeuvres politiques de Marat were indeed published with Simonne as the editor. A reedition of Marat’s 1790 work Plan de législation criminelle was also published, but after this the revolution took a swing to the right, during which it no longer needed Marat as a martyr. On February 22 1795 the republishing of his works was ordered to be interrupted.

Simonne spent the rest of her life together with the four years older Albertine Marat, whose attachment to her is confirmed not only via what she wrote in Réponse aux détracteurs… but by M. Goupil-Louvigny as well:

I have reason to believe that the widow Marat was not an ordinary woman, because her sister-in-law spoke to me about her with enthusiasm. Albertine religiously kept all that had belonged to her. I was personally charged in the last years of her life, when necessity compelled her to do so, to sell various objects and clothes which came from her, which were of a certain elegance and of great distinction.

The two sister-in-laws at first settled on Rue Saint-Jacques, as revealed through an interrogation of Simonne held December 30 1800:

Your name, your adress, your means of living?

I’m 36 years old, I have a pension, I live with my sister on rue Saint-Jacques, n 674, division of Thermes.

Why have you been arrested?

I don’t know.

Where were you on 3 nivôse (December 24)?

I was at my place the whole day

Who was it you received at your place?

Nobody.

You did however have company in the evening, one saw some people sitting at a table lighted up by three candles.

I soaped the whole day, I wasn’t finished until nine in the evening. My sister had only her lamp, she works at the horology. I only went out to buy a bottle of wine, and I supped with my sister. I haven’t received three people in one décade.

Who are the people you have been seeing since one month?

We only see citoyen Ranus, a watchmaker who lives on rue de la Barillerie who provides work for my sister. There came a citizen from our country who’s name I don’t remember.

Who are your neighbors?

Citoyen Digard, baker and owner, the rest of the house is inhabitated by women.

By refusing to name the people you’re receiving, you make it sound like you’re receiving enemies of the government.

I’ve told you the exact truth. I haven’t received anyone, because I find myself in great distress.

The commissioner sends her off, the case had no consequences.

Simonne and Albertine eventually moved from rue Saint-Jacques to Rue de la Barillerie n. 33 (today boulevard du Palais), where they stayed up until their deaths in 1824 and 1841 respectively. In 1847, a neighbor gave the following details regarding their stay there (cited in Marat et ses calomniateurs ou Réfutation de l’Histoire des Girondins de Lamartine (1847) by Constant Hilbe):

-[Albertine] was not happy, and she died in great destitution.

-I was told that her sister-in-law, Madame Marat, lived with her.

-Yes, Madame, she died here.

-What kind of woman was she?

-Oh ! Madame, she was an excellent woman. You know, we called her Madame Marat, but she was not his wife, she was his maid. However, I assure you that she did not look like a maid; she was very distinguished; she never spoke to anyone. This poor woman died after falling down the stairs.

-Was she beautiful?

-Beautiful!…she was very good (très bien)! she was angelically sweet.

-Did they work for a living?

-Madame Marat did not work. Mademoiselle Marat made watch hands; she even made some for my brother and my godfather. Madame Marat took care of the home.

-Did they stay in this house for a long time?

-Mademoiselle Marat stayed here for about forty years; her sister died long before her. This is how they came here: they had rented under the name of the demoiselles Albertine. One day, there is a knock on our door, my mother goes to open it, the person on the other side asks for Mademoiselle Marat. I will not hide from you, Madame, that my mother had a horror of this name Marat, who had caused so many people to be guillotined... My mother received the person very badly and told him that there was no tenant of this name in the house. The person insisted and described what the two ladies were like. Yes, said my mother, we have two people like those you describe to me, but they are the demoiselles Albertine; they live on the fourth floor above the mezzanine, the door on the right. The next day, my mother called the grocer from downstairs: “What is this,” she said, “so we have Marats in our apartment? you rented to the demoiselles Marat!!!” — “But no, Madame, I rented to the demoiselles Albertines” Later, as they were very quiet people, we greeted them in the stairwell. My father and my godfather gave them work, but they didn't speak to each other. […] [Albertine] had a portrait of Marat by David, she also had a portrait of Madame Marat that was very pretty. She often told me: ”I shall burn this portrait.” - ”Oh, mademoiselle Marat, that would be unfortunate, it’s so good!” - ”To who do you want me to give this…?”

-Do you know if she burned it?

-I don’t know, but I think so, because when she said she would do something, she did it.

We have some descriptions of Simonne’s apperence. An official minute from 1792, shortly after Marat’s death, affirmed the following: “Height: 1m, 62, brown hair and eyebrows, ordinary forehead, aquiline nose, brown eyes, large mouth, oval face.” The minute for her interrogation instead say: “grey eyes, average mouth.”

Finally, we have the following anecdote told by doctor Joseph-Souberbielle:

In the year 1820 I was often called in to attend a woman who was known in the house where she lived as the widow Marat. I am convinced she was only Marat's mistress. She told me in confidence that, since the Restoration, she had been met with such cruel treatment at the hands of the neighbours that she intended to migrate to another part of the town and change her name. She was extremely plain and could never have had any good looks. She assured me that in the whole course of her "married life" Marat had never given her a single cause for contempt; that he had all gentleness and consideration in his home relations, but his fanaticism was so intense that he would cheerfully have sacrificed his life to bring about the triumph of his ideals. I know nothing more of the woman.

Like in the case of Gabrielle and Louise-Sébastienne, I found texts about Simonne that listed more details regarding her (1, 2, 3, 4), but once again, I don’t know if those details are actually legit or just embellishments, since the authors don’t cite any sources.

There actually exists a full biography on Simonne, but 1, I couldn’t find it online for free, and 2, it’s written in Italian which I don’t know a word of.

#stupid tumblr wouldn’t let me post Simonne’s speech as one big paragraph #Simonne évard #marat #jean-Paul marat #albertine marat #albertine and simonne were basically the anti charlotte and éleonore #frev #ask

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usergreenpixel · 3 years ago

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Writing prompts, Part 6! 😱

(Apparently my brain hasn’t become exhausted nor deep fried yet...)

51. Two law students become fast friends during their first year of law school. At first, it seems like simply one of those friendships that young people strike up because they interact a lot and have similar interests.

But something seems familiar about this relationship, specifically the way one of the students admires the other and shows them exceptional and undying loyalty.

Not to mention, the two bond too quickly, even for fast friends, as if they had known each other before. Long ago.

Perhaps they had. Perhaps this is the reason why the two keep having nightmares about themselves as Robespierre and Saint-Just. Perhaps, sometimes, a friendship(or something more than that) can indeed be stronger than even death.

52. Terrible news shake France to its core. A beast that seems to be a kind of vampire is terrorizing Strasbourg.

Bodies of people keep turning up every night and the rest of the civilians are appropriately terrified. As for the authorities, they board themselves up in their fancy homes and only pretend to care about the situation and look for a way to get rid of the beast.

But not all hope is lost for the city. Robespierre and his colleagues, tired of the corruption and the incompetence rampant in Strasbourg, send two people on a mission to deal with the beast.

These people are Phillipe Le Bas and Louis Antoine de Saint-Just. The mission is dangerous but these two men will do anything to protect civilians.

So, without skipping a beat, they set off for Strasbourg.

53. A few years ago a defense attorney successfully proved the innocence of a strange man in outdated clothes straight out of the French Revolution era. The man was being accused of a murder because he had been spotted at the crime scene but the attorney managed to prove that he was not the culprit.

The attorney also helped that man out with an accommodation and a job, since the guy had no place to go and seemed completely disoriented in a modern city.

Now the man and the defense attorney are preparing to celebrate their one year wedding anniversary when the attorney suddenly falls victim to a knife attack and has to be hospitalized.

Furious and determined to track down the culprit, the man teams up with his teenage stepchild to find out who attacked his spouse. Little does the defense attorney know, their husband has a revolutionary past and quite a few tricks up his sleeve to crack the case.

54. Haiti, 18th century. A daughter of a nobleman and a slave is being fought over by two neighboring young nobles who decide that whoever wins their rivalry will get to “have” this young woman of incredible beauty as a “prize”.

Naturally, none of the suitors care about the woman’s feelings but neither does her own father, who technically owns both her and her mother and is more than willing to give his daughter away as a “present” for one of the suitors.

Furious and fed up with the situation, the young lady and her mother flee to Paris (under the guise of being purchased by the heroine’s uncle) where slavery has already been abolished so they can get as far away from the three men as humanly possible.

There, in Paris, the main character is finally able to enjoy at least relative independence and get a good education but her “suitors” are too determined to give up their dreams of having her so they too travel to Paris, not knowing what events are about to unfold.

Aware of the fact that to her suitors she will be a mere concubine at best and an object at worst, the heroine joins the side of the revolution, inspired by the idea of a republic with freedom and equality for everyone.

Thanks to the support of her uncle, her mother and her love interest named Augustin (who actually treats the heroine as a person), the young woman begins to fight alongside Augustin’s older brother, Maximilien, in his fight for a better future for all the citizens of France.

55. 1832, France. Another revolution is on the way. Inspired by their predecessors from the previous century, many people want justice for themselves and the country once again when it becomes apparent that not much has changed now that the monarchy is back in the building.

One of the people who want things to change is our protagonist, Citizen Évrard, who lost their guardian eight years ago. Taken in from the streets and raised by one Simone Évrard, the protagonist was given her surname and became a family member in all but blood, someone she raised, doted on and talked to about the first revolution and its heroes.

Now, inspired by those stories and Simone’s ideas, the protagonist founds a revolutionary society that is quickly joined by the relatives of the dead Jacobins. They all are just as determined as their predecessors and more than willing to fight for justice, no matter what odds are stacked against them.

With Simone’s old simple ring hanging on their neck as a memento of the woman, the protagonist is ready to continue what revolutionaries like her started all those decades ago.

After all, even when a person dies, the ideas and the impact on this world they left behind will never fade.

(Note: The following prompt is inspired by a discussion I had with some people months ago, they’ll probably know what I’m talking about already but I made it into a prompt specifically to see how it turns out in the hands of different people.)

56. In an alternative universe where the revolution goes mostly as planned but Charlotte Robespierre and Fouché have a more serious relationship than they did in real life, Charlotte accidentally gets pregnant as a result of this affair.

Considering how serious this delicate matter was at the time, Augustin and Maximilien do everything in their power to cover the situation up, with the latter adopting the baby at birth while claiming that it’s a foundling.

Knowing this and visiting the child in secret from time to time, Fouché must eventually choose a side when the Thermidorians begin to plan their coup.

Considering his feelings for Charlotte, gratitude to her family and love for the child, perhaps Fouché will be able to make the right choice for a change and grow at least some morals. Or maybe not.

57. Two scientists who are descended from the French revolutionaries and who happen to be ardent admirers of the French Revolution, build a time machine in order to save the Jacobins and change the course of history.

Unfortunately, they ended up being on the scaffold on the day Robespierre and his supporters were supposed to be executed so the “busting these people out” part took place in front of a giant mob, guards and the executioner. It’s only thanks to the shock of the people and the time machine that the couple succeeds.

But what next? Most Jacobins want to overthrow the traitors but, considering what state most of them are in, this will not be easy. Will they be able to reclaim their positions with the help of the scientists?

58. A summer job (or a part time job) at a bookshop always leads to exciting adventures. At least, that’s what multiple YA novels have been telling the protagonist, a high schooler who is rather bored with their life in a tiny nowhere town and is not looking forward to yet another uneventful summer in the company of their boring prim and proper “perfect” family.

Fortunately, soon the opportunity to combat this boredom presents itself when the teenager finds a summer job at a local bookshop run by the wife of the protagonist’s quirky energetic stuttering French teacher - the only person who believes in the kid and sees the hidden potential in them. Not to mention the fact that this job will provide a perfect excuse to interact with Horace, the son of the couple in question and the protagonist’s crush.

Excited, the protagonist signs up for the job without thinking, expecting the trope to kick in and lead to adventures. Let’s just say that reality doesn’t disappoint when one day some French Revolution-related books get stolen, the teacher goes missing and the town becomes a hub of strange time anomalies.

With Horace and his mother by their side, the protagonist decides to find their teacher and the missing books, all while trying to figure out how the anomalies can be ended.

Perhaps the secret has to do with a retro digital watch the protagonist got from their annoying stepfather who warned them not to change the time under any circumstances…

59. A cosplayer spends hours crafting their costume for a college Halloween party. Their outfit? That of a French revolutionary, complete with guillotine earrings, a cocade and a tricolor color scheme.

However, after getting plastered drunk at the party, the protagonist wakes up at the Festival of the Supreme Being in France of the revolution era. Almost immediately, they get mistaken for a prominent revolutionary and quite a few people begin to pursue them.

Confused, the protagonist soon realizes that reasoning with their pursuers is useless so they embark on a quest to locate their lookalike and, hopefully, deal with the pursuers together. But finding a person in a city in an unfamiliar epoch is easier said than done.

60. The heroine is a humble middle class citizen who sells flowers at a Parisian market and is focused on putting food on the table to feed her children now that her husband is gone.

At least that’s what the people around her think she is. In reality, this seemingly ordinary florist, influenced by other revolutionary women like Theroigne de Mericourt, is growing sick and tired of the situation in her country, much like most of the other merchants she knows.

So fed up that she readily joins hundreds of other women in their march on Versailles to teach the monarchs a lesson or two on not ignoring their own subjects.

It is through the eyes of this regular woman that we see the further events of the revolution unfold as she goes from being a humble merchant to becoming a full blown revolutionary, all while writing her memoirs about the event so her descendants will be able to know what had transpired.

When one such descendant finds the memoirs, they’re in for a trip down the memory lane as the story challenges their views on the French Revolution.

#french revolution #frev writing prompts #writing #writing prompts #frev #Phillipe le bas #Simone évrard #augustin robespierre #maximilien robespierre #camille desmoulins #lucile desmoulins #Horace desmoulins #theroigne de mericourt

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needsmoreresearch · 3 years ago

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I know we always come back to the same thing but Marat for the dating thing

Mmm, a final challenge. Reasons I would not date Marat, despite having said on this blog more than once that I totally would:

1. I'm actually chickenshit and don't want to deal with his everything.

2. I respect Simone Évrard too much.

3. Victor Hugo says that Marat is "reborn in the man who has no job, in the woman who has no bread, in the girl who has to sell her body, in the child who hasn’t learned to read; he’s reborn in the garrets of Rouen; he’s reborn in the basements of Lille; he’s reborn in the unheated tenement, in the wretched mattress without blankets, in the unemployed, in the proletariat, in the brothel, in the jailhouse, in your laws that show no pity, in your schools that give no future, and he reappears in all that is ignorance and he recreates himself from all that is darkness." That's a lot of people to date at once. I'm not sure how we'd schedule it.

4. This man is too cool for me, look:

How can I compete with a skeleton and medusa party in hell?

#teadrunktailor #marat #why i won't date this character #askbox meme #sorry anons i'm not going to get to the last few #but thank you for asking <3

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marat · 3 years ago

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Simone Évrard backstory

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montagnarde1793 · 5 years ago

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Ribbons of Scarlet: A predictably terrible novel on the French Revolution (part 1)

Parts 2, 3, 4 and 5.

Q: Why is this post in English? Isn’t this blog usually in French?

A: Yes, but I can’t bypass the chance, however small, that someone in the book’s target audience might see and benefit from what I’m about to say.

Q: Why did you even read this book? Don’t you usually avoid bad French Revolution media?

A: My aunt left the book with me when she came for my defense last November. I could already tell it would be pretty awful and might not have read it except that I needed something that didn’t require too much concentration at the height of the Covid haze and I — like most people who insisted on finishing their doctorate despite the abysmal academic job market — have a problem with the sunk cost fallacy, so once I got started I figured I might as well find out just how bad it got.

Q: Don’t you have papers to grade?

A: … Next question.

Q: Aren’t you stepping out of your lane as an historian by reviewing historical fiction? You understand that it wasn’t intended for you, right?

A: First of all, this is my blog, such as it is, and I do what I want. Even to the point of self-indulgence. Why else have a blog? Also, I did receive encouragement. XD;

Second, while a lot of historians I respect consider that anything goes as long as it’s fiction and some even seem to think it’s beneath their dignity to acknowledge its existence, given the influence fiction has on people’s worldview I think they’re mistaken. Besides, this is the internet and no one here has any dignity to lose.

Finally, this is not so much a review in the classic sense as a case study and a critical analysis of what went wrong here that a specialist is uniquely qualified to make, not because historians are the target audience, but because the target audience might get the impression that it’s not very good without being able to articulate why. To quote an old Lindsay Ellis video, “It’s not bad because it’s wrong, it’s bad because it sucks. But it sucks because it’s wrong.” Or, if you prefer, relying on lazy clichés and adopting or embellishing every lurid anecdote you come across is bound to come across as artificial, amateurish and unconvincing.

This is especially offensive when you make grandiose claims about your novel’s feminist message and the “time and care” you supposedly put into your research.

I also admit to having something of a morbid fascination with liberals creating reactionary media without realizing it, which this is also a textbook example of (if someone were to write a textbook on the subject, which they probably should).

With that out of the way, what even is this book?

The Basics

It’s a collaboration between six historical novelists attempting to recount the French Revolution from the point of view of seven of its female participants. One of these novelists is in fact an historian herself, which is a little bit distressing, given that like her co-authors, she seems to consider people like G. Lenotre reliable sources. But then, she’s an Americanist and I’ve seen Americanists publish all kinds of laughable things about the French Revolution in actual serious works of non-fiction without getting called out because their work is only ever reviewed by other Americanists. So.

Anyway, if you’re familiar with Marge Piercy’s (far superior, though not without its flaws) City of Darkness, City of Light, you might think, “ok, so it’s that with more women.” And you might think that that’s not so bad of an idea; Marge Piercy maybe didn’t go all the way with her feminist concept by making half the point of view characters men (though I’d argue that the way she frames how they view women was part of the point). It’s even conceivable that if Piercy had wanted to make all the protagonists women her publisher would have said no on the grounds of there not being a general audience for that. It was the 1990s, after all.

Except the conceit this time is they’re all by different authors, we have some counterrevolutionaries in the mix, and instead of the POV chapters interweaving, each character gets her own chunk of the novel, generally about 70-80 pages worth, although there are a couple of notable exceptions. We’ll get to those.

It’s accordingly divided as follows:

· Part I. The Philosopher, by Stephanie Dray, from the point of view of salonnière, translator, miniaturist and wife of Condorcet, Sophie de Grouchy, “Spring 1786” to “Spring 1789”; Sophie de Grouchy also gets an epilogue, set in 1804

· Part II. The Revolutionary, by Heather Webb, from the point of view of Reine Audu, Parisian fruit seller who participated in the march on Versailles and the storming of the Tuileries, 27 June-5 October 1789

· Part III. The Princess, by Sophie Perinot, from the point of view of Louis XVI’s sister Élisabeth, May 1791-20 June 1792

· Part IV. The Politician, by Kate Quinn, from the point of view of Manon Roland, wife of the Brissotin Minister of the Interior known for writing her husband’s speeches and for her own memoirs, August 1792-(Fall 1793 — no date is given, but it ends with her still in prison)

· Part V. The Assassin, by E. Knight, which is split between the POV of Charlotte Corday, the eponymous assassin of Marat, and that of Pauline Léon, chocolate seller and leader of the Société des Républicaines révolutionnaires, 7 July-8 November 1793

· Part VI. The Beauty, by Laura Kamoie, from the point of view of Émilie de Sainte-Amaranthe, a young aristocrat who ran a gambling den and who got mixed up in the “red shirt” affair and was executed in Prarial Year II, “March 1794”-“17 June 1794”

An *Interesting* Choice of Characters…

Now, there are some obvious red flags in the line-up. I’m not sure, if you were to ask me to come up with a list of women of the French Revolution I would come up with one where 4/7 of the characters are nobles/royals — a highly underrepresented POV, as I’m sure you’re all aware — but fine. Sophie de Grouchy is an interesting perspective to include and Mme Élisabeth at least makes a change from Antoinette? And though the execution is among the worst (no pun intended) Charlotte Corday’s inclusion makes sense as she is famous for doing one of the only things a lay audience has unfortunately heard of in association with the Revolution.

Reine Audu is actually an excellent choice, both pertinent and original. Credit where credit is due. Manon Roland and Pauline Léon are not bad choices either in theory, but given the overlap with Marge Piercy’s book, if you’re going to do a worse job, why bother? The inclusion of Sophie de Grouchy, while, again, not a bad choice, also kind of makes this comparison inevitable, as another of Piercy’s POV characters was Condorcet.

But Émilie de Sainte-Amaranthe? I’m not saying you couldn’t write an historically grounded and plausible text from her point of view, but her inclusion was an early tip-off that this was going to be a book that makes lurid and probably apocryphal anecdotes its bread and butter.

The absolute worst choice was to make Pauline Léon only exist — at best — as a foil to Charlotte Corday. (It turns out to be worse than that, actually. She’s less of a foil than a faire-valoir.)

Still, why does no one write a novel about Simone and Catherine Évrard (poor Simone is reduced to “Marat’s mistress” here, not just by Charlotte Corday, which is understandable, but also by Pauline Léon) or Louise Kéralio or the Fernig sisters or Nanine Vallain or Rosalie Jullien or Jeanne Odo or hell, why not one of the dozens of less famous women who voted on the constitution of 1793 or joined the army or petitioned the Convention or taught in the new public schools. Many of them aren’t as well-documented, but isn’t that what fiction is for?

Let’s try to be nice for a minute

There are things that work about this book and while the result is pretty bad, I think the authors’ intentions were good. Like, who could object to the dedication, in the abstract?

This novel is dedicated to the women who fight, to the women who stand on principle. It is an homage to the women who refuse to back down even in the face of repression, slander, and death. History is replete with you, even if we are not taught that, and the present moment is full of you—brave, determined, and laudable.

It’s how they go about trying to illustrate it that’s the problem, and we’ll get to that.

For now, let me reiterate that while I’m not a fan of the “all perspectives are equally valid” school of history or fiction — or its variant, “all *women*’s perspectives are equally valid” — and there are other characters I would have chosen first, it absolutely would have been possible to write something good with this cast of characters (minus making Charlotte Corday and Pauline Léon share a section).

The parts where the characters deal with their interpersonal relationships and grapple with misogyny are mostly fine — I say mostly, because as we’ll see, the political slant given to that misogyny is not without its problems. These are the parts that are obviously based on the authors’ personal experience and as such they ring true, if not always to an 18th century mentality, at least to that lived experience.

Finally, there are occasionally notes that are hit just fine from an historical perspective as well. The author of the section on Mme Élisabeth doesn’t shy away from making her a persistent advocate of violently repressing the Revolution. Manon Roland corresponds pretty well to the picture that emerges from her memoirs even if the author of her section does seem to agree with her that she was the voice of reason to the point of giving her “reasonable” opinions she didn’t actually hold.

I should also note that while the literary quality is not great, it’s not trying to be great literature and in any case, on that point at least, I’m not sure I could do better.

Ok, that’s enough being nice. Tune in next time for all the things that don’t work.

#en anglais #French Revolution #Révolution française

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usergreenpixel · 3 years ago

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And Theroigne de Méricourt, Reine Audu, the Duplay sisters, Simone Évrard, Albertine Marat and Charlotte Robespierre are more deserving of being notable women of the time period!

Robespierre was the real fashion icon of the French Revolution, Marie Antoinette who

#frev #french revolution #history

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enlitment · 6 months ago

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Merci beaucoup citoyen!!

Okay the Saint-Just choice is so bizarre I can't even begin to describe it (here I was thinking that having an actress in her late 40s play Simone Évrard in M/S was an odd choice...) but I'm kind of here for whatever Camille's actor has going on

(is there a rule that Camille's hair have to be bizarre in every adaptation? Looking at you LRF)

A reminder to all Polish frev fans that 'The Danton Case' will air on May 7 at 8:00 p.m. on the Channel TVP Kultura

#louis antoine de saint just #camille desmoulins #stanisława przybyszewska #the danton case #frev #french revolution

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septembriseuse · 10 years ago

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"Ich war seine Frau", schluchzte Simone. "Gut, er hat mich in keiner Kirche geheiratet, und im Rathaus auch nicht, aber er hat bei allen Göttern der Schöpfung geschworen, dass ich seine Frau bin."

Simone Évrard kurz nach Marats Tod zu Camille Desmoulins ("Brüder" von Hilary Mantel)

#brüder #hilary mantel #marat #simone évrard #buch #französische revolution #zitat

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enlitment · 6 months ago

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top 5 frev women?

Thanks for the ask! Oh, this one's going to be tough as well. But let's see...

Lucile Desmoulins

Much more than a pair of fine eyes, Lucile was, like her husband, heavily invested in politics. She shared Camille's convictions and is even reported to have defended him in front of others. She did pay the price for her loyalty in the end, when she was only my age (though it should be noted that the whole Germinal/Indulgent business is much more complex to be accurately presented in this short overview of course).

I also really like her writing! Her 'advice' to Marie Antoinette is definitely quite something. Go read it if you haven't! Her diary is also at times quite relatable. ("I feel that I am born to live far from men. The more I examine them, the more I seek to understand them, the more I see that one should flee from them.”)

Bonus - my favourite quote of hers on women's place in society:

To hear [men] speak, we are celestial beings, nothing is equal to us. Ah! may they deify us less and leave us free!

2. Simone Évrard

I have to confess I was sleeping on Simone for the longest time, but she is such an interesting figure! She continued to be so supportive of Marat even when times were incredibly tough for him. I'm convinced he wouldn't be able to achieve half as much as he did if it weren't for her. She then went on to defend his legacy long after his death, despite the fact that it caused quite a few problems for her. I find her incredibly inspiring!

3. Charlotte Robespierre

Listen, I'm always going to appreciate a single lady who made it her life's mission to try and take charge of the narrative.

In all seriousness, I'm still not quite sure how her mind worked, but I find her incredibly interesting. Especially the way she seemed to be so protective or Maximilien (re: Éléonore?), both during his life and after his death. She also seemed to have been so strong-willed, much like her brother, perhaps even more so. The fact that she accompanied Augustin to suppress the revolt in Nice is still kind of mind-blowing to me. And the fact that she was supposedly going to marry Fouché at one point? One of my favourite historical what-ifs, honestly. Just imagine!

(That said, my knowledge of her is quite lacking. If anyone can recommend a good biography on Charlotte, I'd be really thankful!)

4. Olympe de Gouges

Okay, here's a controversial one!

Obligatory 'am not a Girondist!', but I feel that I still have to give her some credit for her feminist ideas. Yes, her feminism was centred on upper-class women, but I still see her contributions as an important first step. Déclaration des droits de la Femme et de la Citoyenne is one of the most crucial documents in the history of feminism in my opinion.

I also appreciate the fact that while classist, her feminism was much less 'white-only' than that of a lot of women that came after her (case in point a lot of the Seneca Falls suffragettes in 19th century America). Again, not all of her views on slavery probably stand up to the test of time, but I will always appreciate anyone in the 18th century who expresses abolitionists sentiments, which she did.

She is also the author of many of my favourite french revolution era quotes:

"A woman has the right to mount the scaffold. She must possess equally the right to mount the rostrum."

She has a point and honestly? Well said.

(Side note - also kind of obsessed with her address to Robespierre. "I suggest we should bathe together in the Seine but to entirely depurgate you of those blemishes with which you have smeared yourself since 10th June, we should attach sixteen or twenty-four pound cannon balls to our feet , and together race into the flood ….")

That said, the narrative that she was executed for her feminist views is both incorrect and extremely tiring.

5. Pauline Léon

How can I not mention the leader of female Sans-culottes herself? To counter de Gouges, let me mention another French revolutionary feminist that is - in a lot of ways - an antithesis to Olympe, since she was: a) a radical republican b) a member of the working class.

She seemed to have been incredibly courageous and always managed to find herself right in the centre of the action (Bastille, Champ de Mars...). There are unfortunately not that many resources on her as on some of the other female figures, but I think her story is incredibly important. More so for the fact that she was one of female revolutionary figures we know at least something about that wasfrom a working class - as opposed to upper class - background.

My favourite fact about her is that she wanted to establish all-female militia group to defend the country against counter-revolutionaries. Not going to lie, it was a wild proposal, but it would be kind of amazing to see it happen.

(It was not easy to find her portrait, but this should be her I hope?)

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