At the dawning of the French Revolution, Pauline Léon was 21 years old, without husband, and childless. These are conditions she, as an “emancipated” woman, openly welcomed. It was these very conditions that allowed her to be such an active participant in radical protest groups and their violent efforts in toppling the monarchy. From the Storming of the Bastille in 1789 to the Champ de Mars congregation in 1791, Léon was present and ready to fight institutionalized evils. Described as a militant leader dedicated to her country and the fighting for the ideals of republicanism, Léon was truly an invincible force. In her own words, she “felt the greatest enthusiasm and even though I was a woman did not remain idle; one saw me from morning to night animating the citizens against the makers of tyranny ...barricading the streets and exciting them loose out of their houses.”
The strength of her character is further shown when in response to the National Assembly refusing to grant women the status of first-class citizenship, that is equal rights as men, Léon presented the committee with a petition signed by over 300 women. There, she called for the right of women to bear arms and be able to form their own militia unit in an attempt to assist the revolutionary efforts. She openly advocated for many of the ideals being championed by the Revolution – the condemnation the monarchy, violence against fellow aristocrats, and encouraged the weaponization of protest effort as a means to achieve progress – and felt that female voices were equally as capable of achieving these goals as their male companions. However, apparently these demands were far too radical. Nonetheless, in the face of such hostility Léon propelled forwards in her efforts and established the Société des Citoyennes Républicaines Révolutionnaires (Society of Revolutionary Republican Women) alongside Clare Lacombe. This organization was joined by hundreds of women who would meet up at the Jacobin library to communicate and exchange ideas, going on to become one of the most prominent examples of female engagement in the French Revolution. However, their success was to be short-lived. Merely five months after their start, the Society was perceived by male revolutionaries as a threat to their power and began restricting women’s involvement in political affairs. Eventually, after a campaign led by the Girondists and Jacobines, the National Assembly enacted a law that prohibited any and all political activity of women based on the need for “nature-based separate spheres.”
As a result, the Society and other female-led initiatives were to disband for their safety or risk they fear punishment, imprisonment, and, in the most severe of cases, death.
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