the napoleon series...charlotte corday was born in argentan, july 27th, 1768. she was the fourth...

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Page 1: The Napoleon Series...Charlotte Corday was born in Argentan, July 27th, 1768. She was the fourth child in a poor noble family. Her mother died when Corday was 13. The Abbess of the

The Napoleon Series

Page 2: The Napoleon Series...Charlotte Corday was born in Argentan, July 27th, 1768. She was the fourth child in a poor noble family. Her mother died when Corday was 13. The Abbess of the

Charlotte Corday was born in Argentan, July 27th, 1768. She was the fourth child

in a poor noble family. Her mother died when Corday was 13. The Abbess of the Abbaye

aux Dames at Caen, a friend of her mother’s, took charge of Corday and her younger sister,

and brought the girls to live in the convent. There, Corday received an education and

enjoyed reading the works of Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Guillaume Raynal.

These works made her passionate about politics in France.

Page 3: The Napoleon Series...Charlotte Corday was born in Argentan, July 27th, 1768. She was the fourth child in a poor noble family. Her mother died when Corday was 13. The Abbess of the

In 1790, convents were closed as part of the revolutionary process to dechristianize

France.1 Corday went to live with her cousin in Caen, where she had more freedom to

plunge into readings and discuss politics. She listened to the Girondins2 speeches and grew

very fond of the Girondist groups in Caen. She respected them and believed the Girondist

Party would ultimately save France. Gradually, though, the Girondin’s moderate approach

to revolution lost influence, especially when France went to war with other European

countries in 1792. The war did not go well, and other groups in the National Convention

began to undermine Girondin authority.

1 The dechristianization of France occurred over several years during the early Revolution.

National Constituent Assembly was formed from the Estates General, the parliament of France. It was

followed by the Legislative Assembly (October 1791 to September 1792) and the National Convention

(1792 to 1795). 2 Girondin: also known as Brissotin , a republican group which took moderate approach in

revolutionary France, it did not support the execution of Louis XVI.

Page 4: The Napoleon Series...Charlotte Corday was born in Argentan, July 27th, 1768. She was the fourth child in a poor noble family. Her mother died when Corday was 13. The Abbess of the

During Reign of Terror,3 the Jacobin4 party executed many Girondins by guillotine

under the pretense that they were enemies of revolution. Jean-Paul Marat was a leading

member of the radical Jacobin faction. As a journalist, he exerted influence through his

newspaper, L'Ami du peuple ("The Friend of the People") and successfully instigated

events like the September Massacre and the bread insurrection. Marat and Corday were

ideological opposites.

3 Reign of Terror: Conflicts between Jacobin and Girondin after Louis XVI died. Revolution

government decided to take harsh measure against suspected enemies of the Revolution 4 Jacobin: also known as Montagnard, a republican group which took moderate approach in

revolutionary France, they wanted to create revolutionary dictatorship and a strong central government.

Page 5: The Napoleon Series...Charlotte Corday was born in Argentan, July 27th, 1768. She was the fourth child in a poor noble family. Her mother died when Corday was 13. The Abbess of the

As a Girondist sympathizer, Corday strongly opposed the Reign of Terror and she

held Marat most responsible for the deaths of Girondins. She believed that Marat was a big

threat to the Republic, and that his death would terminate the violence in France. Fearing

an all-out civil war, she decided to take action.

Page 6: The Napoleon Series...Charlotte Corday was born in Argentan, July 27th, 1768. She was the fourth child in a poor noble family. Her mother died when Corday was 13. The Abbess of the

On the 9th of July, 1793, Corday went to Paris and bought a six-inch kitchen

knife. Upon arriving in Paris she discovered that Marat no longer attended party

meetings because he had an incurable skin disease. Marat had to soak in a bath of

medicinal herbs all day.

Page 7: The Napoleon Series...Charlotte Corday was born in Argentan, July 27th, 1768. She was the fourth child in a poor noble family. Her mother died when Corday was 13. The Abbess of the

Corday went to Marat’s home, but was turned away by Marat’s wife, Simmone

Evrard, twice. To gain access to Marat, in the evening, Corday brought a list of the names

of Girondins, and told Simmone she was there to betray the Girondins. Marat agreed to

meet her.

Page 8: The Napoleon Series...Charlotte Corday was born in Argentan, July 27th, 1768. She was the fourth child in a poor noble family. Her mother died when Corday was 13. The Abbess of the

Marat worked from a bathtub because of his debilitating skin condition. While

Marat was writing down the names of the Girondists that Corday provided, Corday pulled

out the knife and plunged it into his chest. She had succeeded. Marat was murdered in

his bath.

Page 9: The Napoleon Series...Charlotte Corday was born in Argentan, July 27th, 1768. She was the fourth child in a poor noble family. Her mother died when Corday was 13. The Abbess of the

Marat became a martyr and he received a hero’s funeral, which became one of the

greatest propaganda events during the Reign of Terror. Marat's assassination was

his apotheosis. The painter Jacques-Louis David painted his Death of Marat, which

beautified Marat’s diseased skin in order to glorify his figure, his role in the Revolution,

and his death.

Page 10: The Napoleon Series...Charlotte Corday was born in Argentan, July 27th, 1768. She was the fourth child in a poor noble family. Her mother died when Corday was 13. The Abbess of the

In contrast, Corday was captured and imprisoned at the Conciergerie, the

antechamber to the guillotine. She was executed by guillotine only four days after she killed

Marat, on the 17th of July, 1793. At the trial, Corday did not show any regret and testified

she carried out the assassination alone. She justified her act, saying,’ I killed one man to

save 10,000’.

Page 11: The Napoleon Series...Charlotte Corday was born in Argentan, July 27th, 1768. She was the fourth child in a poor noble family. Her mother died when Corday was 13. The Abbess of the

Public opinion on Charlotte Corday varied. People from outside of France tended

to admire her but people in France consider her a villain. She was the second most hated

woman after Marie Antoinette in revolutionary France. The French doubt her decision to

target a dying man to bring peace to the Nation.

Also, Corday’s act led to more deaths, rather than ending the violence as she

wanted. Since Jacobins believed Girondins were plotting with Corday to murder Marat,

even though this collaboration was never proven. By the end of 1793, most of the

Girondin deputies to the National Convention had been executed.

Despite Corday’s negative reputation within France, she is remembered for her

bravery and determination to act. Even though she was a woman, who were often

Page 12: The Napoleon Series...Charlotte Corday was born in Argentan, July 27th, 1768. She was the fourth child in a poor noble family. Her mother died when Corday was 13. The Abbess of the

considered uneducated and unpolitical, and were only good for raising children and

cooking during that time. It was unprecedented that young woman like Corday would

take a political stance and assassinate an influential person. Corday's act turned the

attention of the revolutionary French government towards the growing demands of

women’s liberation. Her action impacted Europe in a whole, inspiring women to stand up

and fight for their freedom.

Corday had a large influence on the revolution. Many artists created work about

her in memory of her spirit. Writer Alphonse de Lamartine gave Corday the posthumous

nickname l'ange de l'assassinat (the Angel of Assassination), as a testament of her

bravery.

Page 13: The Napoleon Series...Charlotte Corday was born in Argentan, July 27th, 1768. She was the fourth child in a poor noble family. Her mother died when Corday was 13. The Abbess of the

Bibliography

Primary Sources (Document collections, autobiographies, etc) Alstine, Jeannette V. Charlotte Corday. London: W. H. Allen, 1890. Print.

Perez, Damien, and Sophie Ricaume. L'ordre Du Chaos. Paris: Delcourt, 2014. Print.

Books (Secondary sources, biographies, textbooks, etc) Whitham, J. Mills. Men and Women of the French Revolution. Freeport, NY: for

Libraries, 1968. Print.

Montfort-Howard, Catherine. Literate Women and the French Revolution of 1789.

Birmingham, Ala.: Summa Publications, 1994. Print.

Journal Articles, Book Chapters (scholarly journals)

Towle, Sarah. "Charlotte Corday and the Bathtub Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat."

France Revisited Life in Paris Travel in France Charlotte Corday and the Bathtub

Assassination of JeanPaul Marat Comments. N.p., 31 July 2012. Web. 01 Apr. 2015.

<http://francerevisited.com/2012/07/charlotte-corday-and-the-bathtub-assassination-of-

jean-paul-marat/>.

Newspapers Frye, Patrick. "Assassin’s Creed 5: Female Assassin Like Charlotte Corday Would Make

The French Revolution Real For AC5." The Inquisitr News. 21 June 2014. Web. 23 Feb.

2015.

"Mad. Marie Ann Char. Corday." London Times 10 Aug. 1793: 2. 17 Feb. 2000. Web. 1

Apr. 2015. <http://oldsite.english.ucsb.edu/faculty/ayliu/research/around-1800/FR/times-

8-10-1793.html>.

"France." London Times 30 July 1793: 3. 17 Feb. 2000. Web. 1 Apr. 2015.

<http://oldsite.english.ucsb.edu/faculty/ayliu/research/around-1800/FR/times-7-30-

1793.html>.

Websites Golding, Dan. "Notes on Ubisoft's Charlotte Corday." Dan Golding — Notes on Ubisoft’s

Charlotte Corday. 13 June 2014. Web. 23 Feb. 2015.

Video Charlotte Corday A-t-elle Assassiné Marat. Secrets D'Histoire, 30 Jan. 2015. Web. 1 Apr.

2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_2ih2wsgDY>.

Placed on the Napoleon Series: May 2015