With a pike in her hand, the young Pauline Léon stormed the Bastille on July 14, 1789. The daughter of a Parisian chocolatier thus became one of the best-known women of the French Revolution. On March 6, 1792, she appeared before the Legislative Assembly and demanded arms for women. They should not only live as equals, but also be allowed to die – actively fighting against tyrants. During the Reign of Terror, which she herself had supported, she was arrested. Her views went too far even for the radicals. After Thermidor, she was released. She chose a peaceful life as a mother and teacher.
September 18, 1768 · Pauline Léon is born in Paris, the daughter of a chocolate maker.
1784 · After her father’s death, Pauline takes over his work in the family business.
July 14, 1789 · She takes part in the storming of the Bastille.
July 17, 1791 · Léon supports the petition against the king on the Champ de Mars. The bloody suppression of the demonstration for the republic further drives her radicalization.
March 6, 1792 · She appears before the Legislative Assembly as spokesperson for the women citizens of Paris and demands that women be armed to defend the Revolution.
May 13, 1793 · Together with Claire Lacombe, Léon founds the Society of Revolutionary Republican Women.
November 1793 · Léon marries Jean-Théophile Leclerc, a member of the group of Enragés around Jacques Roux.
April 3, 1794 · Pauline is arrested together with her husband.
August 22, 1794 · Léon and Leclerc are released from the Luxembourg Prison.
September 13, 1795 · Birth of her son. Pauline Léon has meanwhile withdrawn from politics.
1804 · She becomes a teacher in Paris.
October 5, 1838 · Pauline Léon dies in Bourbon-Vendée (today La Roche-sur-Yon).
Pauline Léon lived to be 70 years old.
Quotes
Yes, arms are what we need, and we come to ask you for permission to procure them for ourselves. Pauline Léon before the Legislative Assembly, 6 March 1792
We no longer believe in the virtue of those men who are reduced to praising themselves Pauline Léon, 1793
I have devoted myself altogether to the care of my household, and I set an example of the conjugal love and domestic virtues which are the foundation for love of the Fatherland Pauline Léon, 1795
With a pike in her hand, the young Pauline Léon stormed the Bastille on July 14, 1789. The daughter of a Parisian chocolatier thus became one of the best-known women of the French Revolution. On March 6, 1792, she appeared before the Legislative Assembly and demanded arms for women. They should not only live as equals, but also be allowed to die – actively fighting against tyrants. During the Reign of Terror, which she herself had supported, she was arrested. Her views went too far even for the radicals. After Thermidor, she was released. She chose a peaceful life as a mother and teacher.
