significant as it reflects the collective sentiment of a nation, embodying the republican
principle of ‘fraternité’. The other republican principles of ‘egalité’ and ‘liberté’ are
also denoted in the song, which emphasises how proud the French were of the values
their republic had acquired. The former is reflected in le refrain by the use of the new
word ‘citoyens’: this word is highly significant as it emphasises equality among all
sectors of french society, unlike prior to the Revolution, where everybody was
subject to the monarch. The demand for ‘egalité’ by the French in La Marseillaise is
further displayed in the manner in which the monarchy is criticised for being ‘de Rois
conjurés’ and ‘de vils despotes’s. France’s demand for the latter features noticeably in
the song, mainly because France faced possible invasion from foreign monarch’s who
supported Louis XVI and therefore ‘liberté, liberté chérie’ is called for. The people’s
passionate support for the republican principles, creates the image of a revolutionary
France who is trying to eradicate the monarchy.
La Marseillaise seems to take French nationalism to the extreme, to the point
that they come across as racist. In the refrain it says:
Marchons, marchons,
Qu’un sang impur
Abreuve nos sillons!
The fact that it is saying ‘let impure blood drench our fields’ is extremely racist.
Therefore, the French appear as being extremely proud people, who believe
themselves to be superior. Furthermore, they seem xenophobic, as it says ‘Quoi! Des
cohortes étrangères/feraient la loi dans nos foyers?’. Although, the song embodies
fraternity it is made clear, that it is exclusively for French people only.
La Marseillaise displays France as being a militaristic country. It is no
surprise that this song portrays this image of France for the song was originally
entitled ‘Chant de guerre de l’armée du Rhin’, highlighting that it was designed for
war purposes. The song has an extensive amount of military vocabulary, such as
‘cohortes’, ‘guerriers’, ‘soldat’, emphasising the France’s desire to fight for a
democracy. Moreover, the enemy is depicted as ‘de vils despotes’, which accentuates
French people’s positive action in fighting against the monarchy. Consequently, the
song is full of vocabulary evoking victory, such as in the last stanza where the song
calls for ‘tes ennemis…/voient ton triomphe et notre gloire’. This therefore, creates an
image of a glorious and invincible nation.
La Marseillaise creates the image of a patriarchal nation for it excludes
women. The song’s language exclusively revers to men for it says ‘egorger vos fils,
vos compagenes’ and ‘que la victoire/Accoure à tes mâles accents’. This ultimately
shows that women, although they participated in the revolution did not achieve the
same civil rights as men. Some may argue that it is natural that the song excludes
women since it is a military song, because it was not common during this era for
women to participate in the army.
The image of France being a patriarchal nation is further reflected in the song
La Marseillaise des cotillons. Women still remained 56 years after the revolution in
the public sphere: unable to vote and without rights. This song therefore parodies the
original La Marseillaise, as now the enemy is no longer the monarchy but men. This
song creates the image of feisty women whose ‘patience est à bout’, and who are
determined to achieve equality:
Tremblez tyrans portant culottes,
Femmes notre jour est venu!
Their will-power is accentuated by the imperative ‘tremblez’ and the exclamation
mark at the end of ‘venu !’. Moreover, the word ‘tremblez’ is repeated in the refrain,
as it says ‘tremblez, tremblez maris jaloux/respect au cotillon’, emphasising women’s
wish to make men feel threatened. The fact that the song demands respect for women,
creates the image of women being utterly subservient to the male sex. Also, the call
for ‘liberté sur [leur] fronts’ reiterates their socially deprived situation.
The song portrays men in a negative light, revealing french women’s lack of
respect for men and their dislike of their social condition. Men are portrayed as
‘tyrans’ and are referred to as being a ‘despote sauvage’: this is significant as it
parodies La Marseillaise, as these same words were used to describe the national
enemy, so it shows the extent of women’s resent towards men. Furthermore, the song
demands women to ‘mettons en botte/tous les torts du sexe barbu’, which indicates
women’s dissatisfaction with the way men govern. As a result, they threaten to do a
revolution if ‘l’homme en l’an 93/eut soin de penser qu’à lui/faisons nous une
Marseillaise!’.
The language used in both songs shows the different level of education in
France. La Marseillaise is a far more eloquent song, full of new words such as
‘citoyens’ and expressive images like ‘la terre en produit de nouveaux/contre vous
tout prêts à se battre’, whereas the language used in La Marseillaise des cotillons is
more colloquial. Although the writer of La Marseillaise des cotillions is anonymous;
the difference in the language between the two songs is significant, as the fluency of
La Marseillaise reinforces the intellectual superiority of men and thus shows the
difference in education of both sexes during this era in France.
In conclusion, both songs create different images of France and of its People.
La Marseillaise portays a militaristic, nationalistic, sexist country who wishes to
defeat the national enemy to maintain the republic. Whereas La Marseillaise des
cotillons presents determined women who wish to share the same right’s as men.
Although the demands expressed in both song’s are distinct, they both portray a
nation full of determined people who are fighting for their ideals in order to make a
country where ‘liberté, égalité and fraternité’ exists.
Bibliography.
- The Making of Modern France dossier.