29 Floréal
An CCXXXIV
Pauline Léon
With a pike in her hand, the young Pauline Léon took part in the storming of the Bastille. The daughter of a Parisian chocolatier thus became a key figure of radical feminism during the French Revolution. Women should not only live as equals but also be willing to die—actively fighting against tyrants. As a co-founder of the Society of Revolutionary Republican Women, she demanded that women be armed. Yet this never came to pass. She was arrested during the Reign of Terror, which she herself had supported. Her views went too far even for the radicals. After Thermidor, she was released and chose a more peaceful life as a mother and teacher—without betraying her convictions.
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1768 - 1838
- September 18, 1768 · Born in Paris, daughter of a chocolate maker.
- 1784 · Death of her father. Pauline takes over his work in the family business.
- July 14, 1789 · Takes part in the storming of the Bastille.
- July 17, 1791 ·
- March 6, 1792 · Petition to the Legislative Assembly calling for the arming of women.
- May 13, 1793 · Together with Claire Lacombe, she founds the Society of Revolutionary Republican Women.
- October 30, 1793 · The Convention bans all women’s associations.
- November 1793 · She marries Jean-Théophile Leclerc, a member of the Enragés around Jacques Roux.
- April 3, 1794 · She is arrested together with her husband.
- August 22, 1794 · Léon and Leclerc are released from Luxembourg Prison.
- September 13, 1795 · Birth of her son. Pauline Léon has by then withdrawn from political life.
- 1804 · Works as a teacher in Paris.
- October 5, 1838 · Death in Bourbon-Vendée (today La Roche-sur-Yon).
Quotes
We wish only to defend ourselves the same as you. You cannot refuse us, and society cannot deny the right nature gives us, unless you pretend the Declaration of Rights does not apply to women, and that they should let their throats be cut like lambs, without the right to defend themselves”
Pauline Léon, 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
Le Moniteur
Décadi, 1ere décade du Brumaire, l'an II de la République une et indivisible
(October 31, 1793)
Women's Patriotic Club
External links
