Born in 1768 to Pierre-Paul Léon and Mathrine Telohan, Anne Pauline Léon’s life would take her far away from her fortunate beginnings. Her childhood and adolescent years were relatively peaceful, but disaster struck the family in 1784 when her father regretfully passed away. As a result, she was forced to help her mother not only raise her five younger siblings, but run the family business as well. While Léon’s situation may not appear as devastating to some because of her financial standing it is important to keep in mind the tremendous pressures placed on young girls and women to maintain societal standards. These restraints, alongside her experiences as a relatively independent woman, would push her to the arms of the Revolution.
At the time of her father’s death, Léon was only a 16-year-old girl. While the protests and fighting did not reach their peak until about a decade later, these intermediate years let her reflect on her father’s philosophical teachings that “did not leave [her] with any prejudices.” She was raised in an environment that valued respect and equality, yet what she was firsthand witnessing was a complete juxtaposition of these values. Léon was one of the many that were forcefully subjugated to follow a political system that perpetuated a level of violence and neglect that resulted in unlivable conditions. As a response to this, instead of becoming idly complicit in her country’s demise, she decided to take up arms and combat these institutions of injustice.
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