Daily Life During the French Revolution (14 page)

To amuse the courtiers, there was a prodigious amount of
pornography, which had evolved particularly in the last years of Louis XV, when
stories of his private brothel at Versailles and the
Parc aux Cerf
(Stag
Park) were circulating. Not only did Versailles have a number of bookshops
where it was possible to buy just about anything, including erotica, but also
the towns where the court habitually moved according to the season, Compiègne,
Fontainebleau, and Saint-Cloud, had similar bookstores. The material was often
of foreign origin. Noblemen and women were ideal to carry such merchandise,
since they were normally immune from search and seizure.

Pornography at court would have distressed no one more than
the queen, since she was the brunt of much of it. The salacious songs,
drawings, and writings about her were circulated far and wide. By 1787,
Marie-Antoinette was seldom seen outside court, and on the few occasions when
she went to the theater now, she was met with silence or hisses. The
pornographers and the insulting songs in the Paris cafes made her shun the
public. Speculation in the lowest form made the rounds concerning the size and
potency of the king’s penis, while the numbers and identification of the
queen’s lovers, male or female, were a constant subject of gossip. The king’s
brother, Artois, was the prime candidate for gossip related to her supposed
sexual escapades as the two were often seen together. Whatever was in the
fertile and fanciful minds of her enemies was put to pen and paper. Much of
their inspiration came from the work
Essai historique sur la vie de Marie-Antoinette,
first published in 1781 and continually added to up to the time of her
death. It took the form of an imaginary autobiographical confession and was
widely circulated in Paris. In it the queen “confesses” to such crimes as
learning new positions for copulation from Artois at the Petit Trianon,
lesbianism with her ladies-in-waiting, sexually abusing her then 11-year-old
son and being a sexual monster infected by sleeping with a diseased cardinal.

These “charges” and that of treason, including claims that
she spied for the Austrian emperor, sent him money, and plotted against the
National Assembly, contributed to the swift decline of royal prestige in the
late 1780s. These same accusations were presented to her at her trial.

CHILDREN, DOGS, AND OTHER DISTRACTIONS

Children of members of the court were uncontrolled and
often underfoot, running through the corridors, up and down the stairs, playing
games with each other as well as with the dogs. Marie-Antoinette had two curly-tailed
pugs who were allowed the run of the rooms, chewing on or scratching holes in
the curtains and tapestries. They gnawed on the gilded chair legs and romped on
the damask-covered furniture, and they were allowed to relieve themselves
wherever they pleased.

The royal children had tutors who took care of their
education and their affairs. The dauphin had a priest who taught him, and the
girls’ education was looked after by Madame de Fréminville.

Homeless barefoot children dressed in rags carried messages
within the palace. They stole food when they could and slept in the stables and
other outside buildings. Former servants of other households stood about the
palace in groups, hoping to be noticed and given work. With hundreds of staff
hurrying through the great building, guards lounging about in their spare time
gambling and boasting, tradesmen waited in the hallways for a chance to show
the queen their latest creations in jewels or fashions. All the while,
messengers scurried past, while attendants and visitors waited in outside rooms
and antechambers for a word or message from the queen.

The palace at Versailles was probably an unhealthy place
where food was handled carelessly, people and animals fouled the dark corners,
and courtiers were neither tidy nor clean. Pages, servants, and strangers trod
in the dirt and mud from outside. Especially in the long winter months, when
the rooms were cold and a fire might just take off the chill, the denizens of
the palace were not inclined to worry about keeping themselves washed. But then,
the rest of France was not given over to unrestrained bathing, either.

5 - CLOTHES AND FASHION

In
the eighteenth century, people dressed according to their social level.
Aristocrats wore richly colored and extravagant clothes, setting themselves apart
from the masses; clerics wore robes according to their place in the church
hierarchy; and members of the upper middle class were identified by the
good-quality cloth and discreet ornamentation of their apparel. Tradespeople,
artisans, and market workers were identifiable by their aprons, and the readily
recognizable urban poor were generally clad in rags. Black was the color worn
by the less well-to-do as an economy measure, since not only did it not show
the dirt so much but also it doubled as a mourning outfit.

On the death of a member of the royal family, a year of
mourning was required by tradition; this period was reduced to three months
just before the revolution. At such times, the entire palace staff was provided
with new, black uniforms, and all the furnishings were draped in dark materials
and the king’s carriages in violet. The change in fashion could disrupt the
entire luxury-trade industry, and when the court went into mourning, an abrupt
end was put to the sale of colored silk and other material.

As the century advanced, attire began to change as people
started to dress above their station. Such behavior could invite police
suspicion, and even arrest might follow. To dress below one’s status was
equally contemptible, as it suggested that the individual was on a downward
social slide. Class distinction was one of the first casualties of the
revolution; afterward, clothing was used to demonstrate not the wearer’s class
but his or her politics. A good republican had to be easily recognizable, and
it could be dangerous not to conform.

THE UPPER CLASS

There was little change in men’s apparel throughout most of
the prerevolutionary century. The
habit à la française,
with the coat
opened wide in front to reveal a vest and breeches, continued to be worn at
court. The preferred colors were apple green and light yellow with a white
vest. Around 1780, the general trend changed as an English influence became
noticeable; for example, the frock coat and the
redingote à la lévite
(riding
coat) were introduced into France, the latter a double-breasted long coat with
turned-down collar, worn along with several shoulder capes. The vests were
generally white with silk embroidery in patterns of colored flowers. Breeches
were skin tight, covering the thighs and ending just below the knees, fastened
at the bottom with buckles or buttons. Stockings of silk or cotton, usually
white, were pulled up over the bottom of the breeches and folded back over a
concealed garter. Shoes had square toes and, for dressy occasions, red heels.
Walking boots were of soft black leather. In bad weather, leather leggings
buttoned up the sides were attached.

On either side of the vest, fob chains, charms, or tassels
were displayed, and watches on chains, one of which might be false, were
popular, They were often made (and carried) in pairs in case one failed to
work. Buttons were enameled, often painted, or cut from steel.

Silk and velvet were the preferred materials for men, and
coats were heavily embroidered, with ruffles, ribbons, and laces, depending on
the latest fads. Gentlemen spent an interminable amount of time on clothes
fittings, which proved costly to individuals, many of whom were in debt to
their tailors. Swords were usually worn at the side of the noble leg. Shirts of
silk, linen, or cotton had a ruffled bib, as well as wrist ruffles, sometimes
embroidered. Most men wore muffs in winter and carried canes with tasseled
cords.

Members of the nobility who attended the Estates-General in
1789 were instructed to wear coats or cloaks of black with gold decoration,
along with matching vest, black breeches, and white stockings. With this outfit
went a lace cravat and a white-plumed hat. In contrast, regulations required
that members of the Third Estate who attended the Estates- General wear a
short, black coat, with black vest, breeches, and stockings, a cravat of
muslin, and a hat turned up on three sides. Later, when Convention members were
sent as representatives on missions, they wore a blue coat and a red vest.

European women tried to follow the fashions set by
Marie-Antoinette and her
modiste
, Mlle Rose Bertin at Versailles. As a
preview of what was going to be worn in French high society, large dolls,
called fashion babies, dressed in the latest creations, were sent out to the European
capitals to the eagerly waiting clientele.

At Versailles, wearing paniers (or hoops) beneath the
petticoats and skirts of their stiff, formal gowns along with long trains that
flowed from the waist, women had to be careful not to step either on their own
skirts or on the trains of others. Tightly laced whalebone-lined corsets worn
above the petticoats were drawn in to accentuate a small waist and curved out
to show the line of the bosom; the neck and chest were bare, giving the body a
long, slim look. Negotiating the corridors of the palace of Versailles, the
women appeared to glide, but, as soon as they were able, they abandoned their
constricting formal wear for something more comfortable.

The
à la française
robe, dating back to the previous
reign, with its broad paniers and black pleats, ornamented with garlands of
artificial flowers, pearls, and other gems, became the full dress for court,
balls, and theater. Variations on this were the
polonaise
(with three
paniers—one in back); the
circassienne,
with double sleeves; the
caraco,
a long gown with a ruffled peplum and sometimes a long train; and the
lévite,
a type of
redingote,
also with a train. Another
redingote,
adopted
for horseback riding, had a double-breasted jacket and wide lapels.

Many exquisite and extravagant jewels were evident in
necklaces, lockets, and crosses; even the little flat heelless slippers were
encrusted with diamonds. A pair of handsome watches or charms often hung from
under a vest in a style similar to that popular with men. Ivory writing tablets
with tassels and fancy needle cases were sometimes carried, as well as
eyeglasses mounted in gold and enamel. Buttons and buckles were of steel.
Necklaces were finally supplanted by a simple velvet ribbon tied around the
neck. Later, a pendant or miniature was suspended from the ribbon, and a
boutonnière
of fresh or artificial flowers was frequently worn by both sexes. Pale
lavender, cream, light blue, green, and yellow were the preferred colors.
Heavily embroidered materials were trimmed with lace and adorned with flowers,
feathers, silk ribbons, fringes, and ruffles.

Women painted their faces red and white, and patches of
black taffeta in various shapes were stuck on as beauty spots. The use of heavy
perfumes declined because the queen preferred more delicate scents such as rose
and violet.

The attire worn by the queen as she played on her fantasy
farm at Le Trianon engendered a short-lived vogue for prints, aprons, and
shawls, as well as large leghorn hats combined with feathers and jewels.
Marie-Antoinette was also responsible for the popular
chemise à la reine,
a
dress of sheer cotton or light silk with a ruffle at the low neck. A wide sash
was tied around the waist. It was not an outfit for everyone, as prints and cottons,
still imported from India, were expensive.

Wide side paniers were made from metal bands that were
connected by tapes so that the hoops could be drawn up under the arms. In the
1780s, however, fashion went from wild extravagance to extreme simplicity, and
paniers were replaced by bustles, although the hoops were still used for formal
court wear. By 1783, skirts hung straight, and shoes had flat heels and
sometimes were decorated with a tiny bow. The simpler, plain- colored satin
robe
à l
’
anglaise
(in the English style), with its tight bodice, long
full skirt, and long, slim sleeves, sometimes with an elbow puff, came into
vogue, with a soft, full, shawl finishing off the neck.

By 1789, people in Paris were still judged by their
appearance. However, by that time, the lower classes, for example those in
trade, who had the money could buy whatever they fancied, and they began to
dress themselves in clothing normally worn by the nobility; thus, a tradesman’s
wife could wear the clothing of an aristocrat. The last sumptuary law of 1665,
restricting people to certain forms of dress according to their level in
society, was no longer enforced.

Dress for children had also begun to change, and they no
longer wore the tightly fitted clothes donned by their elders. A portrait of
Marie-Antoinette with her two children, painted in 1785 by Wertmüller, portrays
the dauphin in long trousers and a short, buttoned jacket. There is a frill at
his open neck. The little girls wore simpler English-style dresses, and these,
too, had frills at the low, round neck. A sash was worn around the waist.

Gentlemen continued to wear the tricorne hats, some with a
rather flamboyant ostrich fringe. The most popular was a kind of Swiss army
cocked hat that had two horns (bicorne), with a front and back flap. In the
1780s, a precursor of the top hat, with a high crown and a brim, also made its
appearance, along with several other styles of headgear such as the Jockey hat,
the Holland or Pennsylvania hat, and the Quaker hat.