Conference II
The Revolution and beyond: from Charlotte Corday to Bernadette Chirac
The motto of the Revolution was “liberty, equality, fraternity”, and women certainly gained a number of rights under this new regime.
Several women were indeed instrumental in inciting and leading insurrections. True equality was still a distant dream, however.
A number of women showed the way in that respect, some well known, others much less so. They did this through political advocacy or by forging pioneering careers in fields previously dominated by men, such as science. Others fought for workers’ rights.
Meanwhile, with the leadership of France remaining firmly in the hands of men, it is as wives and mistresses that some women exerted their influence, just as they had done under the old regime. Plus ça change…
Figures whose role will be examined in this second lecture include Charlotte Corday, Olympe de Gouges, Flora Tristan, Isabelle Gatti de Gamond, Hubertine Auclert, Jeanne Villepreux-Power, Marie Curie, as well as some head-of-state spouses, from Josephine to Eugénie de Montijo, all without forgetting Bernadette Chirac.
Where: Alliance Française d'Adelaide
When: Tuesday 27 August, 6:30pm to 8:00pm
Tickets: $20 for one lecture & $30 for both, glass of wine included
About the lecturer:
John West-Sooby is Emeritus Professor of French at the University of Adelaide. He has worked for many years on Nicolas Baudin’s voyage of
discovery to Australia and has authored or co-produced numerous books and articles on the subject. He has also published widely on
nineteenth-century French literature and crime fiction (French and Australian). John has been a long-time partner of the Alliance
Française d'Adelaide, having done many conferences and talks about France history and literature.