The Great Cat Massacre

Robert Darnton is a prolific writer in the realm of cultural history, having written a fair amount of books focusing on 17th and 18th century France. The Great Cat Massacre and Other Episodes in French Cultural History is one of these books, and arguably, his famous work. The Great Cat Massacre is a book comprising of six loosely related essays, called “episodes”, which explores the lives of the French populace during the Old Regime through the means of primary sources. These primary sources vary

The Great Cat Massacre: And Other Episodes in French Cultural History. First Edition. Robert Darnton. New York: Basic Books, 1999 XIII + 298. The Great Cat Massacre with out a doubt has one of the most unusual titles ever created especially for a book about history. Now this unusual title perhaps fits this book better than any other straight - forward title Mr. Darnton could have conjured. You see the text contained in the book isn't just your standardized, boring, and redundant view of history

Overall, the argument of The Great Cat Massacre was that a historian could use the writings of a particular point in history to determine the psychology of the people of that time. In this case, it was of the French people in the decades before the French Revolution. Like Natalie Zemon Davis, Darnton claimed he had the ability to know the mental landscape of the people he studied, understanding their motives based on the few words that were placed before him. But is this determination of a people’s

he Great Cat Massacre: Unpacking Folktales Robert Darnton’s, Peasant Tell Tales, is a wonderful first chapter that explores the French peasantry of the Old Regime, through the lens of folktales. A cultural historian, Darton tediously unpacks several folktales, revealing the harsh lives of the peasants, as well as their worldviews. As argued by Darnton, folktales must be studied as they serve as historical testimonies--examining man's experiences and desires. In the first section of the chapter

At first glance, The Great Cat Massacre by Robert Darnton seems to be about a senseless killing of cats; however we quickly learn that it examines how class conflicts plays a role in this story. During the 18th century, workers of the lower class were brutally mistreated. First of all, there were tension between the lower and middle class. In addition, Darnton describes how the bourgeois would mistreat the artisans as an example of the tension between each social class. Furthermore, the abusive

The Great Cat Massacre Although the title of this book strikes the reader as unusual it begins to make complete sense once it is read. This book is a series of short essays by Darnton. The second section, which is titled “Workers Revolt: The great Cat Massacre of the Rue Saint-Sérverin” brings the reader directly into the views of the working class during the 1700s in France. This style of writing allows situations to be viewed through the lens of those who are experiencing it, making for a more

The Great Cat Massacre with out a doubt has one of the most unusual titles ever created especially for a book about history. Now this unusual title perhaps fits this book better than any other straight - forward title Mr. Darnton could have conjured. You see the text contained in the book isn’t just your standardized, boring, and redundant view of history. Most historical text looks at history from a political standpoint, of which king did what and what were the political effects of a war; then what

The Forces of Change: Exploring the End of the Old Regime through Robert Darnton’s Finding in “The Great Cat Massacre”. Dead cats, secret societies, revolution, and more, 18th century Europe witnessed turmoil and chaos, which was brought about by the major changes that were occurring at the time. Robert Darnton's "The Great Cat Massacre" reveals the complex nature of change that ultimately led to the end of the Old Regime. Darnton explains throughout the book that the "Old Regime" was the

during this time reason and individualism were emphasized rather than tradition. Great philosophers helped shape and change the world. It was considered to be a time of great change and growth, however the Enlightenment was not experienced by all. The workers and peasants of the time were unaware of these amazing things because it was not something that affected them in their daily lives. The book “The Great Cat Massacre” by Robert Darnton, gives essays that help to show how exactly the non-intellectuals

Darnton does a fantastic job about inviting the reader into to the text. This can best be described a tour of Darton’s mind and thoughts with no particular bias. Through further analysis of Darton’s The Great Cat Massacre reveals that not all subjects in the seventeenth and eighteenth century benefited from the enlightenment. These essays and short stories tell us that the peasants, described in “Peasants Tell Tales” have violent, nasty, and brutal outlooks on life based on their harsh upbringing