Pompadour Identity

There is no question in the fact that Napoleon Bonaparte was a significant character in France. However, there have been debates among historians for years around the central question: “Was Napoleon Bonaparte a hero or a villain?” The answer here relies on how one looks upon the situation. Was Napoleon Bonaparte a savior to the French, or was he a tyrant to the French? Although many historians’ answers do rely deeply onto perspective, their answers also lie within which stage of life Napoleon Bonaparte was in, as well as the shift in opinions that come as time changes. Paul Stock and Phillip Dwyer analyze Napoleon Bonaparte’s influence and through the analysis, debate on whether Napoleon Bonaparte should be considered a hero or a villain,

In Timothy Tackett’s When the King Took Flight, it’s explained how Louis XVI’s flight to Varennes resulted in escalating events to happen in the French Revolution that changed and shaped the history of France. In his flight to escape the revolution and upon his capture, he unintentionally created a domino effect that rippled throughout France with consequences that were far from his original plans when attempting to escape the country. This essay will explain how the flight to Varennes radicalized the revolution by further weakening the monarchy and its authority along with its image, that the most significant reaction was that it opened ideas to new forms of government, and that the seeds for this radicalism was already present.

Still, the negative aspects of France’s rule under King Louis XIV far outweigh the positive ones. His reign can best be described by the statement “L’état, c’est moi,” (I am the state) that is attributed to him. King Louis XIV spent state money to pay for his own luxuries and monuments that glorified his image. It was also customary for the artists King Louis XIV sponsored to include direct or indirect allusions to him in their productions thus creating a god-like image of him. The Palace of Versailles alone used 5% of France’s income. This liberal

Part A: Women participated in almost every aspect of the French Revolution. This investigation will answer the question, to what extent did women contribute to the French Revolution? This question is important because the choices of the women during this time still leads a major impact of history even today. The scope of this investigation was The French Revolution during a period of time between the years 1787 to 1799, and was known to be a very controversial time period in the history of France.

While the arguments are generally in stasis that Marie Antoinette was not the sole cause of the French Revolution, the legacy of Marie Antoinette continues to be a point of disagreement. This debate does not directly influence the history of the French Revolution, but it does affect the overall understanding of Marie Antoinette and her actions throughout her queenship. The first side of the argument presents Marie Antoinette more negatively, blaming her for her unconcerned attitude. David Grubin supports this viewpoint, establishing Antoinette’s failings as a queen by explaining her indifference towards her subjects and the wealth that made her ignorant toward the needy. Grubin

During the 16th century peasants held agriculture, farming, and sex as important. Intercourse was not viewed as pleasure but rather a way to create heirs to the family. Peasants married for money not love. Throughout the book The Return of Martin Guerre, Natalie Zemon Davis uses sex and sexual references were used to support the claim that Bertrande knew Arnaud was not her husband, but with knowledge brought up in Robert Finlay ’s argument it becomes aware that Davis’ argument contains assumption and lacks evidence which raises the debate of whether or not Bertrande knew Arnaud was her husband.

A glint of good news came to the now-impoverished family when the merchant heard that a ship containing his merchandise had just arrived in port. The merchant was overjoyed and went to claim his wealth, only to find that there had been a legal ordeal and he had, indeed, lost it all. Here, the author tries to illustrate the French government’s inadequacy in meeting the needs of the people. In the 1850s, great minds, including the Swiss/French political philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, were writing that the authority to rule came from the people themselves. Furthermore, philosophers argued that the government’s duty was not to serve their own decadence but rather to serve the people. The French government, being an absolute monarchy, was ruled by only the word of Louis XV, and the royal Bourbon family had a history of ruling to meet their own selfish desires. The French monarchy did not uphold the intrinsic promise and duty of any government to protect, feed, and serve its people. De Beaumont symbolizes this by failing to deliver the goods to the impoverished former merchant. In other words, just like the merchant’s undelivered goods, the

Catherine De’ Medici was an Italian noblewoman who became Queen of France under the rule of King Henry the first of the Valois Dynasty. However, the title queen did not mean that Catherine was entitled to any power nor that her own husband would mind her much attention. Diane de Poitier who was Catherine’s cousin was the true Queen of France although it was in an unofficial capacity as she was uncrowned and only the mistress of the king. For a decade into their marriage, Catherine bore no children and her marriage was a complete failure. King Henry the 1st would meet with Diane de Poitier every single evening to discuss the affairs of the nation and Catherine was left completely unattended.

How can one separate a mere normal man from a king? And which is more important between men with a passion from a man with a selfish desire? King Louis XVI was an example of a king unfit to rule. We will discuss King Louis’s early life, his reign as king, and the role he played in the French revolution.

Voltaire discusses the exploitation of the female race in the eighteenth century through the women in the novel. Cunegonde, the Old Woman, and Paquette are continuously subjects to violent male desire as seen through rape, enslavement, and prostitution. However, these women strangely seem to accept their situations, describing rape as “the usual practice of war” (17). When Cunegonde recounts her experiences, she says “a modest woman may be ravished once, but her virtue is strengthened by it” (17). This acceptance shows her understanding of the limited options women had at the time, and what little power they possessed.

In Carmilla, Sheridan Le Fanu uses vampires to identify and challenge gender roles of women in the Victorian age. From the outset, Carmilla and Laura’s relationship appears to transcend mere homosocial characteristics; Carmilla awakens sensations in Laura which she has never known before because her sexuality has always been suppressed. This suppression is inherently motived by the dominant ideology in Victorian culture that lesbianism, and homosexuality more generally, are “unnatural” forms of sexuality. According to Colleen Damman, “as a woman, Carmilla can only claim her sexuality after death” (). This is an interesting statement because it provides context for the idea that vampirism is the only way Carmilla can express her own carnal desires; She too is then subject to the constraints of Victorian culture. This to say that, for Le Fanu, the only way to have an open discussion concerning homosexual desire is to employ the vampire. Bearing this concept in mind, by analyzing certain key passages and elements of Carmilla and by applying some modern conceptualizations on gender and sexuality, one can see that Carmilla and Laura are merely byproducts of a period rife with sexual desire, frustration, and tension.

The Madame de Maintenon was restricted by society; as the daughter of a vagabond and Protestant champion, there were only certain things that she could involve herself with without creating too much outcry (Bryant 37). As a result, she was relegated primarily to issues of religion and family and although her influence did encroach into politics and diplomacy, the majority of her influence remained rooted in religion. In his 1955 biography of the marquise, Jean Cordelier noted that “sur la fin, elle participe aux délibérations et discute des affaires, mais elle n’impose jamais sa décision” (qtd in Bryant 23). Even though she was restricted, Madame de Maintenon still possessed a great amount of influence; however, it is interring to entertain Cardinal d’Estrées remark, “She was but a woman; though had she been a man, would it have made any difference in the case, I pray you?” (qtd.

The nobility of the Kingdom of France has been evaluated by various scholars of history. There is something to be said, however, for those who chronicled their impressions while living them in the 17th and 18th centuries. The excerpts of Charles Loyseau’s A Treatise on Orders, written in 1610, and Isabelle de Charriere’s The Nobleman, written in 1763 provide two very different glimpses on the French nobility from differing time periods. From these two accounts, it is clear that there was a marked shift in the way some viewed the nobility and their role in the operation of the French state. While Loyseau praises the nobility nearly wholeheartedly,

A kiss of the hand used to be a traditionally ceremonial and sacred gesture in the past, and its history can be traced to ancient Greece and Rome. The author received an unforgettable kiss of the hand from Jacques Chirac who was the French president in 2002. For most of the French, it is only a kiss which can show a man’s gallantry and politesse toward a woman, but it is also a first lesson in understanding the meaning of seduction in France for Sciolino. In this article, Sciolino shows how the powerful kiss from the president helped her understand the importance of seduction in France and explains the difference of seduction between France and America.

She moved far from the bodies and went to a stream. There she swooned. She was in a condition of shortcoming and obliviousness. She got to be distinctly mindful that something preceded onward her body. When she opened her eyes she saw a white man of good appearance who moaned in Italian that he was a eunuch. The reader comes to know a considerable measure about the old lady. She is the little girl of Pope Urban X. Really there has never been a Pope by such a name. Be that as it may, it ought to be noticed that this name is not just a production of Voltaire's dream. He has taken care not to malign a known Pope by attributing an ill-conceived girl to him. Voltaire is said to have composed a not adulating his own particular discretion. The readers have different references to the most exceedingly terrible sort of sexual perversion. The troopers strip and assault the woman and her mom. When they achieve Morocco the Head's child's battle to win her and some different women. It is stunning that her mom and some other Italian women are destroyed only to fulfill the desire of some