Mme Roland in a portrait by Adelaide Labille-Guiard, 1787

Viscountess Jeanne Marie Roland de la Platiere, born Manon Jeanne Philipon (March 17, 1754 – November 8, 1793), became the wife of Jean Marie Roland de la Platiere and is better known simply as Madame Roland. Both she and her husband were famous figures of the French Revolution. photo of a 1787 painting by Adelaide Labille-Guiard (1749-1803), no copyright NightCrawler 20:09, 1 Nov 2003 (UTC) This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100... photo of a 1787 painting by Adelaide Labille-Guiard (1749-1803), no copyright NightCrawler 20:09, 1 Nov 2003 (UTC) This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100... March 17 is the 76th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (77th in Leap years). ... 1754 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... November 8 is the 312th day of the year (313th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 53 days remaining. ... 1793 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Jean-Marie Roland Viscount Jean-Marie Roland de la Platière (February 18, 1734 – November 10, 1793) was a French statesman. ... The French Revolution (1789-1799) was a pivotal period in the history of France and Europe. ...

She was the daughter of Gratien Philipon (alternatively spelt Philippon), a Paris engraver, who was ambitious, speculative and nearly always poor. From her early years she showed great aptitude for study, an ardent and enthusiastic spirit, and unquestionable talent. She was largely self-taught; and her love of reading acquainted her with Plutarch — an author she continued to cherish throughout her life — thereafter with Bossuet, Massillon, and authors of a like stamp, and finally with Montesquieu, Voltaire and Rousseau. As her mind matured, she abandoned the idea of entering a convent, and, added to the enthusiasm for a republic which she had imbibed from her earlier studies, she was inspired by her reading with cynicism and daring. She married Jean Marie Roland in 1781, every bit his equal in intellect and character. Through him and with him she exercised a singularly powerful influence over the destinies of France, from the outbreak of the French Revolution till her death by guillotine. The Eiffel Tower has become the symbol of Paris throughout the world. ... Plutarch Mestrius Plutarchus (c. ... Jacques-Benigne Bossuet (September 27, 1627 - April 12, 1704) was a French bishop, theologian, and court preacher. ... Jean Baptiste Massillon (June 24, 1663 - September 28, 1742) was a French churchman and preacher, Bishop of Clermont from 1717 until his death. ... // Hlleadline text Portrait of Montesquieu in 1728. ... The last of Voltaires statues by Jean-Antoine Houdon (1781). ... Jean-Jacques Rousseau (June 28, 1712 – July 2, 1778) was a Franco-Swiss philosopher of the Enlightenment whose political ideas influenced the French Revolution, the development of socialist theory, and the growth of nationalism. ... This article is about an abbey as a religious building. ... In a broad definition a republic is a state or country that is led by people who do not base their political power on any principle beyond the control of the people of that state or country. ... Cynicism was originally the philosophy of a group of ancient Greeks called the Cynics (main article), founded by Antisthenes. ... 1781 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... The French Revolution (1789-1799) was a pivotal period in the history of France and Europe. ... The Maiden, an older Scottish design. ...

In the early days of their marriage, Madame Roland wrote political articles for the Courrier de Lyon. When the couple moved to Paris, she began to take an even more active role. Her salon on the rue Guénégaud in Paris became the rendezvous of Brissot, Pétion, Robespierre and other leaders of the popular movement. An especially esteemed guest was Buzot, whom she loved with platonic enthusiasm. In person, Madame Roland is said to have been attractive but not beautiful; her ideas were clear and far-reaching, her manner calm, and her power of observation extremely acute. It was almost inevitable that she should find herself in the centre of political aspirations and presiding over a company of the most talented men of progress. The rupture between the Girondist party and that section still more extreme, that of The Mountain, had not yet occurred. For a time the whole left united in forcing the resignation of the ministers. A salon is a gathering of stimulating people of quality under the roof of an inspiring hostess or host, partly to amuse one another and partly to refine their taste and increase their knowledge through conversation and readings, often consciously following Horaces definition of the aims of poetry, to... In French history, Jacques Pierre Brissot (January 15, 1754 - October 31, 1793), who assumed the name of de Warville, was a leading member of the Girondist movement during the French Revolution. ... Jérôme Pétion de Villeneuve Jérôme Pétion de Villeneuve (1756 - 1794) was a French writer and politician. ... Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre, (May 6, 1758–July 28, 1794), known also to his contemporaries as the Incorruptible, is one of the best known of the leaders of the French Revolution. ... François Nicolas Leonard Buzot (March 1, 1760 - June 18, 1794), was a French Revolutionary leader. ... Plato and his disciples. ... The Girondists (in French Girondins, and sometimes Brissotins), comprised a political faction in France within the Legislative Assembly and the National Convention during the French Revolution. ... The Mountain (in French La Montagne) refers in the context of the history of the French Revolution to a political group, whose members, called Montagnards, sat on the highest benches in the Assembly. ...

However, after Monsieur Roland had made a stand against the worst excesses of the Revolution, the couple became very unpopular. Once Madame Roland appeared personally in the Assembly to repel the falsehoods of an accuser, and her ease and dignity evoked enthusiasm and compelled acquittal.

However, the accusations continued. On the morning of June 1 1793 she was arrested and thrown into the prison of the Abbaye. Her husband escaped to Rouen. Released for an hour from the Abbaye, she was again arrested and placed in Sainte-Pelagie. Finally, she was transferred to the Conciergerie. In prison she was respected by the guards, and was allowed the privilege of writing materials and occasional visits from devoted friends. There she wrote her Appel à l'impartiale postérité, those memoirs which display a strange alternation between self-laudation and patriotism, between the trivial and the sublime. She was tried on trumped up charges of harbouring royalist sympathies; the plain fact was that she was to be expunged as part of the purge by Robespierre of the Girondist opposition, and was duly convicted. June 1 is the 152nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (153rd in leap years), with 213 days remaining. ... This article is about an abbey as a religious building. ... Location within France Rouen Cathedral The entrance to Rouen Cathedral Abbey church of Saint-Ouen, (chevet) in Rouen Rouen, medieval house Rouen (pronounced in French, sometimes also ) is the historical capital city of Normandy, in northwestern France, and presently the capital of the Haute-Normandie (Upper Normandy) région. ... The Palais de Justice, the Conciergerie and the Tour de lHorloge, after 1858 - by Adrien Dauzats The Conciergerie (French: La Conciergerie) is a former prison in Paris, located on the west of the ÃŽle de la Cité, near the Cathedral of Notre-Dame. ... Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre, (May 6, 1758–July 28, 1794), known also to his contemporaries as the Incorruptible, is one of the best known of the leaders of the French Revolution. ... The Girondists (in French Girondins, and sometimes Brissotins), comprised a political faction in France within the Legislative Assembly and the National Convention during the French Revolution. ...

On November 8, 1793, she was conveyed to the guillotine. Before placing her head on the block, she bowed before the clay statue of Liberty in the Place de la Révolution, uttering the famous remark for which she is remembered: November 8 is the 312th day of the year (313th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 53 days remaining. ... The Maiden, an older Scottish design. ... The Place de la Concorde seen from the Pont de la Concorde; in front, the Obelisk, behind, the Rue Royale and the Church of the Madeleine; on the left, the Hôtel de Crillon. ...

O Liberté, que de crimes on commet en ton nom! (Oh Liberty, what crimes are committed in thy name!)

Two days after her execution, her husband, Jean Marie Roland, committed suicide.

References

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain. The 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica, in turn, gives the following references: Encyclopædia Britannica, the 11th edition The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) is perhaps the most famous edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...

• Madame Roland's Memoires, first printed in 1820, have been edited among others by P. Faugere (Paris, 1864), by C. A. Dauban (Paris, 1864), by J. Claretie (Paris, 1884), and by C. Perroud (Paris, 1905). Some of her Lettres inedites have been published by C. A. Dauban (Paris, 1867), and a critical edition of her Lettres by C. Perroud (Paris, 1900-2).
• C.A. Dauban, Etude sur Madame Roland et son temps (Paris, 1864)
• V. Lamy, Deux femmes célèbres, Madame Roland et Charlotte Corday (Paris, 1884)
• C. Bader, Madame Roland, d'après des lettres et des manuscrits inédits (Paris, 1892)
• A.J. Lambert, Le ménage de Madame Roland, trois années de correspondance amoureuse (Paris, 1896)
• Austin Dobson, Four Frenchwomen (London, 1890) articles by C. Perroud in the review La Revolution française (1896-99).