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Fork and Knife in Hand

Women's Mobilization and Influence through Consumer Culture and Culinary Activities in Revolutionary France

Published onApr 25, 2023
Fork and Knife in Hand
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Introduction

The French Revolution was a period of intense social and political upheaval that occurred in France from 1789 to 1799. While nuanced, the revolution was a response to widespread poverty, inequality, rising food prices, an inefficient monarchy, and a lack of political representation for the vast majority of the population. Throughout the conflict, the French government underwent significant, unprecedented transformations— catalyzed by political repression and violence, with far-reaching consequences for the emergence of modern democracy and nationalism. 

Against the backdrop of major societal turmoil, the mobilization of women during the French Revolution was a complex and multifaceted phenomenon. Not only did notions and patterns of gender structured French revolutionary practices, but the Revolution also facilitated the emergence of new gender ideals and simultaneously reinforced existing ones. During the French Revolution, women were excluded from political participation and the revolutionary government’s efforts to establish universal male suffrage; the Reign of Terror saw the persecution of many women maintaining prominent roles in revolutionary movements, particularly those openly challenging traditional gender roles. Nevertheless, women played a critical role in shaping the course of events. Despite facing significant challenges and obstacles, Enlightenment ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity elevated the ethos of women’s mobilization through a variety of means, including political clubs and societies, petitions and protests, consumer culture, and even culinary activities. While these advances ultimately failed to achieve gender equality and women's full political participation, the revolution’s impact made possible a range of social and political movements that supported later struggles for gender equality.

Revolution ruptures societies and upsets the broader patterns that govern social, political, and economic behavior. In the aftermath of revolution, power is negotiated and reappropriated among actors. New patterns are established– and gender power relations are no exception. Gender is rooted in perceived difference and is “a primary way of signifying relationships of power. As such, gender is implicated in every social relationship, every social institution, every historical process, and every ideological structure.”1 Gender in this sense is not just a personal characteristic, but a constructed category that molds power relations in society. Using gender as a guide for historical inquiry deepens our understanding of the processes whereby women leveraged deep ruptures caused by the French Revolution to challenge the traditional division of labor and shape the emerging French national identity.

Women in revolutionary France were specifically appealed to through their roles in the procurement and preparation of food to construct a cuisine that was both egalitarian and nationalistic; as such, women– through their collective involvement in consumer culture and culinary activities– wielded significant influence when shaping the political and economic landscape of the period, demonstrating their capacity to mobilize and effect change across both formal and informal spaces. 

Consumer Culture

A french revolution woman holding a sword is centered, leading a crowd of female protestors. One of the protestors, a man, is holding a war drum. Another, a woman, is holding a banner captioned "DU PAIN" which translates from French to English as "Bread." The image appears to be an etching, captioned "The Insurrection of Women."

(Montgomery, Walter, Ed. Stories of the French Revolution. [Boston, Estes and Lauriat, 1893] Pdf. https://www.loc.gov/item/05035938/.)

Women’s participation in consumer culture in the French Revolution allowed them to exert significant influence and economic power. Women were often responsible for managing their households’ finances and making purchasing decisions on behalf of their families– they carried the “power to decide how much to spend on food, which types of products to purchase, and from whom to buy them.”2 As a result of this indirect control of the economy, “the home kitchen became a site for political expression, one that was not controlled by the state, which struggled to monitor the actions of all its citizens.”3 

Women “organized markets and participated in boycotts, and thus gained the attention of the authorities” as they demonstrated their collective ability to mobilize in protest of "rising food prices and for the defense of the household economy.”4 These actions forced merchants and government officials to pay attention to women's concerns. Uniquely positioned by their role in the procurement of food, women in the French Revolution exhibited their political convictions by participating in the price control system. Throughout the period of significant economic upheaval, the revolutionary government introduced price regulations on goods– such as grain and bread– to prevent inflation. As the primary providers of food for their families, women were actively involved in advocating for the lowering of grain prices. 

In The Women's March on Versailles,  Pauline Léon and Claire Lacombe recount how women declared their political agency, rallying around their roles as wives, mothers, and caretakers, stating “we will no longer suffer…to see our children die of hunger…we have arms, and we will use them to make our oppressors tremble…Let us demand that the price of bread be lowered…Let us march, and our enemies will tremble…The Constitution should be made in the homes of the people. It is not only our right, but our duty to be present there.”5  Women utilized their purchasing power to enforce these price controls– by boycotting and reporting merchants who refused to comply with the government mandate and sharing knowledge on where to purchase similar products for less money. By participating in the price control system, women maintained social order, prevented unrest, and demonstrated their commitment to the revolutionary ideals of liberty, equality, and justice. In this sense, women drew on their autonomy in the home to support substantial challenges to the oppressive power structures of the time period.

However, women’s activism was not merely limited to economic issues. They sought to leverage their economic power to influence the broader political landscape. In the Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Female Citizen, Olympe De Gouges reflects this sentiment as she states “women have the right to mount the scaffold; they must equally have the right to mount the rostrum.”6 Here, De Gouges calls for women's full and equal participation in society, including in the political realm. As women in the French Revolution pushed for greater visibility in the public sphere– as they advocated for notions of equality, universal suffrage, and citizenship– they also sought to challenge traditional gender roles. 

Culinary Activities

The illustrative painting shows a well-dressed middle-class French woman nursing an infant. She is riding on the back of a noblewoman who is clinging to the shoulders of an old, crone-like nun. The image represents a realignment of the Estates General as led by women. The image is captioned "Vive le roi, vive la nation J'savois ben qu'jaurions not tour." This translates from French to English as "Long live the king, long live the nation I knew well that I would not turn."

(George Iv, King Of Great Britain, Collector. Vive le roi, vive la nation J'savois ben qu'jaurions not tour. France, 1789. [France:] Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2009633429/.)

Women’s collective action was seen not just in their role as active consumers in the marketplace– but also “in their homes and communities. Women’s participation in culinary activities such as communal cooking and recipe sharing provided them with a space to share knowledge, skills, and ideas.”7 Recipe sharing was a key avenue for women to mobilize during the French Revolution, as some women supported revolutionary causes by purchasing recipe books, such as La Cuisinière Républicaine, that displayed their political allegiance. 

La Cuisinière Républicaine was published anonymously during the French Revolution in 1794, but is frequently attributed to a woman, Madame Mérigot. The recipes included in the cookbook took simpler, locally-sourced ingredients that signify a break from the traditional notions of grand cuisine intended for aristocracy. Instead, the cookbook promotes revolutionary ideals, indicating the need for a more egalitarian approach to life and politics in which “women must take part in everything that interests the public. They must concern themselves with the laws of the state, with the general welfare of the people, and, by their example, teach men themselves that they are capable of everything, even of serving their country in the most important matters.”8 

 Culinary activities enabled women’s political mobilization during the Revolution by forging “connections among women across class and regional divides,” contributing to the development of a shared identity and political ideology.9 La Cuisinière Républicaine further discusses ideas of rights, egalitarianism, and nationalism through cuisine. By declaring that “the Republican cook must make her table a school of equality, where all people are treated the same regardless of rank or birth,” the cookbook denotes the authority to foster these ideas within the home to a specifically feminine figure.10 It highlights how the “true spirit of patriotism should be reflected in the way we cook and eat, and every meal should be an occasion to celebrate our shared values and our commitment to building a just and egalitarian society.”11 In doing so, La Cuisinière Républicaine reinforces the idea that culinary activities can be political acts.

In this way, traditional notions and patterns of gender also structured French revolutionary practices. Within the home, women were to “reign as mistress and sovereign” as they fulfilled  “one of the most important duties of the state, the maintenance of the family”; they held a sense of authority, to discern how to best provide for and raise their children as “all the duties that a good citizen owes to his homeland, [women] also owe to the home.”12 Wives and mothers, in their roles in the domestic sphere, were uniquely positioned to promote the virtues of a republican society through the foods they served. Women were able to establish a stronger sense of autonomy and political expression in the home, within the existing gendered division of labor. 

Conclusion

In the illustrative painting crowd of well-dressed, modest-looking peasant women in multi-colored dresses surround a cart with a cannon. The women appear to be marching forward, holding weapons that look like spears, long swords, and axes.

(A Versailles, à Versailles [To Versailles, to versailles]. Le 5 octobre 1789, gravure anonyme. Bibliothèque nationale de France, 1789, http://journals.openedition.org/lrf/docannexe/image/1313/img-1.jpg)

Women’s participation in consumer culture and culinary activities were closely tied to their political mobilization in the French Revolution. Significant cultural, social, political, and economic shifts brought on by the Revolution provided new openings for “women's involvement in the processes of production, distribution, and consumption” and to gain “access to civic assemblies and public places of discourse.”13 By using their economic power and their skills in the kitchen women were enabled to advance and assert their “rights as citizens.”14 While ultimately these advances failed in the face of deeply ingrained patriarchal attitudes and societal norms, women's activism in these areas helped to lay the groundwork for the emergence of a more democratic society in France.

By collectively engaging in consumer culture and culinary pursuits, women in revolutionary France exerted considerable influence in reworking broader patterns of governance, society, and economic behavior of the time, demonstrating their ability to challenge existing power structures and gender norms. 

In many cases, women in this period were primarily responsible for managing household finances and making purchasing decisions. Women leveraged their role in consumer culture and their significant economic power to effect change and direct attention to their concerns about high food prices, poor quality goods, and other grievances.  Women’s traditional involvement in communal cooking forged connections across class and regional divides. As women gathered in marketplaces and other public spaces, they developed a sense of shared identity as they shared knowledge, skills, and ideas. These activities were closely tied to women’s political mobilization. From the kitchen to the streets, women’s political activism challenged traditional gender roles and furthered the establishment of a democratic society in early-modern France.

Gender is crucial for understanding how patriarchal social norms may dictate traditional understandings of women’s political mobilization in the wake of atrocity. In allowing gender to guide historical interrogations of the French Revolution, scholars may develop a more accurate rendering of how women capitalized on the Revolution’s transformative disruptions to contest traditional gender roles and influence the emerging French national identity.

It is important to note that women’s experiences of oppression and discrimination during this period are not monolithic; women's mobilization in the Revolution was shaped by a range of factors. One area of future research could be to situate women’s political participation within other axes of power, such as class, race, and ethnicity. There appears to be a pressing need to address the gap in the analysis of the experiences of women of color in the French Revolution, how they differed from the experiences of white middle-class women, and how these differences may have impacted their political mobilization. Along these same lines, one potential research question could interrogate how the abolition of slavery in the French colonies impacted women’s political mobilization in France. How might women of African descent play a unique role in the Revolution as a result? Ultimately, by examining the intersectional nature of women's political agency during the French Revolution, we as historians could deepen our understanding of the diverse ways in which women confronted and reshaped gendered structures.

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