More about Charlotte Corday

Contributor

Ever wonder what Death of Marat looked like from another point of view? This is it.

Marie-Anne Charlotte de Corday d'Armont (1768 – 1793) was the daughter of a poor aristocrat who sympathized with the Royalists. She took the revolution into her own hands and sought to publicly kill Marat. Her original plan was foiled because the Bastille Day Parade was canceled so she improvised. She told Marat’s people that she had information about Royalists, so Marat let her in. Charlotte then stabbed him with a butcher knife when he was most exposed, literally, he spent most of his days soaking in a tub while making lists of people to kill.

Charlotte then waited quietly in the house for her arrest. During her trial she remained calm and collected (invented male virtues – because women are apparently hysterical) saying, “I killed one man to save 100,000.” They guillotined her four days after she killed Marat.

Baudry created this painting of “l'ange de l'assassinat” in her honor, almost 70 years after Corday was executed.

Most people think of the French Revolution as an overthrow of corrupted Monarchy. And yeah, the crown was pretty wealthy when the normal people had nothing to eat. But as LibertéEgalitéFraternité illustrate – where’s the Femme? The Revolution was a chauvinistic boy’s club. 

Oh yeah, and back to female virtues invented by men – the Jacobin men were convinced there had to be a man that coerced her (i.e. her lover) but in her autopsy she was still virgo intacto. She didn't have a head, but still had her virginity. Suck it boys!