Abstract
The celebration of the Bicentennial of the French Revolution in Paris provided a setting for the theatrical introduction of patriotic heroines whose very existence had been virtually ignored for nearly two hundred years. In three plays: Monick Lepeu's Elles etaient citoyennes (They Were Citizens), Marianik Reveillon's Theroigne de Mericourt, l'Amazone de la Revolution, (Theroigne de Mericourt, the Amazon of the Revolution) and Michele Fabien's Des Francaises (Frenchwomen), historical figures such as Olympe de Gouges, Manon Roland, Theroigne de Mericourt and Claire Lacombes look back on their participation in the struggle to create a new Republic. This article discusses the plays and focuses on how each of these women, in her own way, comes to the realization that, ultimately, her identity as a woman overrode every other consideration of her merits and that, ironically, her brave deeds, inspiring words and vision of equality had only succeeded in bringing about a humiliating defeat for all women.
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