What Is The Impact Of Daily Life In The French Revolution

The text ‘Daily Life in the French Revolution’ focuses upon the impact of the French Revolution and the ways in which the daily lives of French citizens were influenced and disrupted by this event. Author Peter McPhee looks at French society in the turmoil of Revolution with the influence of source and statistical evidence integrated throughout to back up his historical claims. McPhee considers the reflections of French citizens present at the time of Revolution and how the event individually impacted upon their lives.

The overall theme of the text details the intricate workings and outcome of the French Revolution, focusing particularly on the significant impact it had upon the daily life of the French people. McPhee is an Australian academic …show more content…
He talks of the Revolution as an example of prominent social change as apposed to the political change that is generally the driving force of such an event. McPhee argues that the French Revolution was one in ‘perceptions of identity’ as the French people became more politically and socially aware. The author follows this view with the statement that the most significant and revolutionary transformation of the decade ‘was that from subject to citizen’4. A critique that could be drawn from this is the possibility that the growth of peasants was perhaps not the most overwhelming aspect of the Revolution. Popkin’s source analyses the foundations of the Revolution in ‘The Origins of the French Revolution’. The author refers to the ‘popular protests’ of citizens, which often had a ‘political impact’ contradicting the views of McPhee to some extent5. However, the sources can agree on the emergence of public opinion throughout the Revolution. Popkin explains that the opinions of men and women were formulated informally allowing the ‘collective thinking of private individuals, independent of their social status or political position’6. McPhee similarly refers to this as he describes the Revolution as a period in history when those of lower social standing ‘felt sufficiently confident to express themselves directly to …show more content…
Premature death was the tragic reality of the Revolution with around two million men serving in the army over the decade. The author supports this claim with statistical evidence, explaining that the reality of the situation was a grave number of deaths, with an estimated half of the 30 000 volunteers and conscripts dead by 1799. The Revolution began with desperate hope of a New France, with political, social and economic change. However, this belief was far from the reality of the ‘political instability, civil war, and armed conflict with the rest of Europe’ the people were subjected to7. McPhee highlights the views of many citizens who argued that the Revolution brought no significant change to their lives aside from the struggle endured throughout this decade. The author asserts that whilst women suffered significantly in terms of the loss of their men, their own roles in society became more prominent during the Revolution. Women were found to be placed in a ‘stronger position within the family’ following new laws of inheritance and the abolition of seigneuraialism8. This view is supported in the text ‘Feminism, Women and the French Revolution’ in which the author describes an image of ‘active, participating revolutionary women’. The author further refers to the introduction of greater female participation