Du Pain, S'il Vous Plaît? (Some Bread, Please)

Many of the problems of the French Revolution stemmed from the fact that there were different goals and interests for society depending on the social class of each individual person. While the nobles enjoyed lavish meals and levied for a greater say in their government, the poor commoners barely had enough bread to survive. This divergence can be summed up in a simple explanation...the rich people already had more than their fair share of food; therefore, they focused their attention on what they wanted, i.e. more political power. The poor people, on the other hand, focused their attention on what they needed, i.e. bread and more economic power. This does not seem like an unreasonable plea, right? I mean, who doesn't like bread. I, for one, love bread.

The peasants were all like....

While Marie Antoinette was all like...

Sorry for that disturbing image....Anyway, while the members of the Third Estate were pressing for equality with the nobility and the clergy, economic hardship was hitting the common people in France. Because of the extremely poor grain harvest and the high bread prices, a severe depression was unleashed. Thousands of people lost their jobs, notably artisans and small traders. The people shifted from feelings of misery and despair to feelings of revolution and revolt. The revolutionaries blamed their economic woes on human causes; more specifically, they feared the growing power of the aristocratic landowners and grain speculators. Fear of vagabonds and criminals, coined the term "The Great Fear," added to the intensity of the rebellion. 

Surprisingly, women were the driving force behind the violence of the Revolution. During the 18th century, it was widely believed that a woman's place was in the home. This belief, commonly referred to as the "cult of domesticity," is precisely what motivated the women for their extreme acts of violence. It was the woman's job to buy the food and to manage the few resources of her poor family. When mothers could not provide for their children because they could not afford a simple loaf of bread, their hatred and desire for revenge was unveiled. As seen below, women were usually at the front of the lines during the famous events, like the march at Versailles.

Thus, women were mean and people were hungry. However, Marie-Antoinette had a simple solution to these problems....