French revolutionary salons. Politics and gender in the early years of the French Revolution, 1789-1793

Salons were a widespread phenomenon in late eighteenth-century Paris, but their political role during the first years of the French Revolution has been overlooked. As centres of news and information, places for education in political culture and political sociability, and public opinion shapers, salons were of vital importance for professional politicians and revolutionaries. The salonnière or hostess formed the centre of the informal conversation held between a select company of elite people, invited at her home and on her initiative. In this way she could wield power and have an informal political ‘career’. The flexible character of a salon, which is a concept changing according to its context rather than a fixed institution, makes it hard to give a definition. The case study of the political meetings at the home of Madame Roland questions the way in which salons have been regarded so far, for their place functioned as a headquarters of the Girondin political movement, a...Show moreSalons were a widespread phenomenon in late eighteenth-century Paris, but their political role during the first years of the French Revolution has been overlooked. As centres of news and information, places for education in political culture and political sociability, and public opinion shapers, salons were of vital importance for professional politicians and revolutionaries. The salonnière or hostess formed the centre of the informal conversation held between a select company of elite people, invited at her home and on her initiative. In this way she could wield power and have an informal political ‘career’. The flexible character of a salon, which is a concept changing according to its context rather than a fixed institution, makes it hard to give a definition. The case study of the political meetings at the home of Madame Roland questions the way in which salons have been regarded so far, for their place functioned as a headquarters of the Girondin political movement, a propaganda institution and a political salon in which she initially played little to no role. In the radicalising political environment leading towards the Terror, Jacobin revolutionaries who often were former visitors of the salons themselves increasingly regarded the salons with suspicion, rejecting its non-transparency, aristocratic character and female activities. By the end of 1793, both the revolutionary politicians and public opinion had turned against the salons and the elitist salon society, which disappeared from Paris.Show less

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French revolutionary salons. Politics and gender in the early years of the French Revolution, 1789-1793