Will+Calhoun

Will Calhoun 10/5/11 C Period AC English Mrs. Davis

"The Scarlet Pimpernel"

__**Author and Book Information**__ The Scarlet Pimpernel is one of the great world's great literary characters which is set in the 18th century against the backdrop of the French Revolution. The book was written by Baroness Emma Orczy - a young woman forced to flee her native Hungary because of fear of a peasent revolt against the ruling class. Her ficticious character, Sir Percy Blakeney, is the leader of a secret society of English aristocrats called the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel. As the Pimpernel, he rescues French aristocrats who have been condemned to death by the blade of the guillotine The Scarlet Pimpernel takes his nickname from the small red flower with which he signs his messages. No one except his small group of followers, and possibly the Prince of Wales, knows his true identity. Baroness Emma Magdalena Rosalia Maria Josefa Barbara Orczy was born on 23 September 1865 at the rambling family estate Tarna-Örs in Hungary, the second daughter of Baron Felix Orczy, composer and conductor, and his wife Emma. She led an idyllic childhood, climbing the acacia trees and enjoying the constant company of her extended family and friends coming to feast and dance traditional Hungarian //csàrdàs//. After a peasant uprising on 22 July 1868, the Orczys moved to Budapest. Orczy then attended schools in Brussels and Paris studying the arts before the family moved to London. At the age of fifteen and just starting to learn english, she entered the West London School of Art, then Heatherley's, which started her lifetime love of painting and drawing. Some of her works were exhibited at the Royal Academy. Although shy and quiet, the young Baroness was maturing with aristocratic poise, dark haired with an intense gaze. There was constant socialising at the Orczy home with writers, members of the court and such noted musical composers as Franz Liszt. It was in the studio at Heatherley's that Orczy met fellow artist and future husband Henry Montague Barstow. They married in London in 1894 and would have one son. __http://www.online-literature.com/orczy/__ __http://www.scarletpimpernel.com/__

__**The French Revolution**__ The French Revolution began in 1789 with the meeting of the States General in May. On July 14 of that same year, the Bastille was stormed: in October, Louis XVI and the Royal Family were removed from Versailles to Paris. The King attempted, unsuccessfully, to flee Paris for Varennes in June 1791. A Legislative Assembly sat from October 1791 until September 1792, when, in the face of the advance of the allied armies of Austria, Holland, Prussia, and Sardinia, it was replaced by the National Convention, which proclaimed the Republic. The King was brought to trial in December of 1792, and executed on January 21, 1793. In January of 1793 the revolutionary government declared war on Britain, a war for world dominion which had been carried on, with short intermissions, since the beginning of the reign of William and Mary, and which would continue for another twenty-two years.The Committee of Public Safety and the Revolutionary Tribunal were instituted immediately after the execution of the King. The Reign of Terror, during which the ruling faction ruthlessly exterminated all potential enemies, of whatever sex, age, or condition, began in September of 1793 and lasted until the fall of Robespierre on July 27, 1794: during the last six weeks of the Terror alone (the period known as the "Red Terror") nearly fourteen hundred people were guillotined in Paris alone. The Convention was replaced in October of 1795 with the Directory, which was replaced in turn, in 1799, by the Consulate. Napoleon Buonaparte became Emperor in May of 1804. __http://www.victorianweb.org/history/hist7.html__

The United Kingdom lies between the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea, and comes within 35 km (22 miles) of the northwest coast of France, from which it is separated by the English Channel. Northern Ireland shares a 360 km international land boundary with the Republic of Ireland. The Channel Tunnel bored beneath the English Channel, now links the UK with France. France is located in Western Europe, bordering the Bay of Biscay and English Channel, between Belgium and Spain. Southeast of the UK, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Italy and Spain __http://geography.about.com/library/cia/blcfrance.htm__ __http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/questions/geography.html__
 * __Geography__**

__**Guillotine**__ The guillotine is one of European history's most bloody icons. Although designed with the best of intentions, this hugely recognisable machine soon became associated with events that have overshadowed both its heritage and its development: the French revolution. Yet, despite such a high profile and chilling reputation, histories of la guillotine remain muddled, often differing on quite basic details. There have been many methods of execution used in Europe, including the mainstay of hanging and the more recent firing squad, but none have quite the lasting reputation or imagery as the guillotine, a machine which continues to provoke fascination. The guillotine's creation is often blurred into the, almost immediate, period of its most famous use and the machine has become the most characteristic element of the French Revolution. Indeed, although the history of decapitation machines stretches back at least eight hundred years, often involving constructions that were almost identical to the guillotine, it is this later device which dominates. The guillotine is certainly evocative, presenting a chilling image entirely at odds with the original intention of a painless death.

 __http://europeanhistory.about.com/cs/frenchrevolution/a/Guillotine_5.htm__

 __**Fashion and Culture**__  Ladies' clothing was made from fabrics like muslin, cotton and linen. Many dresses were nearly sheer. During the Terror, many favored dark, solid colors. The Grecian,

  empire-waisted dresses of the later era were white or pastel colored. Women wore chemises still but dropped the corset; underpinnings ended up coming back as "short stays" later on. Hair was more natural, worn up in curls or chignons. The ornate cosmetics of the past were frowned upon as the domain of the elite.  Men's fashion was inspired by military style. Taking after sailors, men abandoned fitted breeches for pants. The almost dandy-like colors and patterns soon settled into darker shades. Hair was worn natural, without powder; the wig was phased out.  __ http://www.ehow.com/about_4570555_fashion-french-revolution.html __

**__Character Descriptions__**

Percy Blakeney appears to us first as the maligned husband of Lady Blakeney -- one of the richest, most fashionable men in England, but also a reputed dunce. He is built like a truck, apparently, with big shoulders and muscles, but this only adds to his reputation as a stupid stooge. But Percy is of course secretly the Scarlet Pimpernel who raids the barricades of France to save condemned French aristocrats from the guillotine. Lady Blakeney, while living in France as an actress, was famous for her beauty, but even more for her charisma, wit, and intelligence. When she marries Percy Blakeney, no one's quite sure what she's thinking. Since he's considered a dull turkey and she a renowned socialite, the consensus is that she's married down. But she discovers her husband's secret identity and we see her husband's heroism through her eyes. Chauvelin, the novel's chief villain, is a French agent who has English diplomacy rights. He is in England looking for the Pimpernel and anyone else who is attempting to rescue French aristocrats. His 'hard-hearted, vengeful' nature contrasts with the dashing Pimpernel. Armand St. Just, Marguerite St. Just's brother, is in cahoots with the Pimpernel. Chauvelin uses Armand to blackmail Marguerite in an attempt to get to the Pimpernel. Sir Andrew is one of the Scarlet Pimpernel's devoted followers. Marguerite goes to him when she first learns that Percy is the Pimpernel and is thus in danger of being arrested by Chevalier. Lord Antony does not last long in the novel, as he is one of the members of the League of the Pimpernel who is captured by Chauvelin at the pub in Dover. The Comtesse is a French aristocrat rescued by the Scarlet Pimpernel in the opening section of the novel, but her husband is left behind, prompting the dramatic rescue that dominates the novel's main plot. She does not like Marguerite St. Just because she thinks that she caused the demise of the St. Cyr family by denouncing them to the tribunal. The Comte de Tournay is the Comtesse's husband, rescued from France by the Scarlet Pimpernel. Lord Grenville is an English governmental secretary who holds a grand ball after the opera, a ball which acts as the setting for Chauvelin's and Marguerite's plan to catch the Pimpernel. Mr. Jellyband is the propietor of the Dover pub called The Fisherman's Rest, which the Scarlet Pimpernel and his league use for convocations. Degas is Chauvelin's most trusted henchman who is sent to retrieve soldiers to arrest the Pimpernel. He consistently arrives too late to trap Percy. Brogard is the pugilistic owner of the Chat Gris inn in Calais where Chauvelin and Percy meet for their face-off. The Marquis de St. Cyr is a French noble who was condemned because Marguerite made a statement about him to a French tribunal. __http://www.gradesaver.com/the-scarlet-pimpernel/study-guide/character-list/__
 * Percy Blakeney (a.k.a the Scarlet Pimpernel)**
 * Marguerite St. Just / Lady Blakeney**
 * Chauvelin**
 * Armand St. Just**
 * Sir Andrew Ffoulkes**
 * Lord Antony Dewhurst**
 * Comtesse de Tournay**
 * Comte de Tournay**
 * Lord Grenville**
 * Mr. Jellyband**
 * Degas**
 * Brogard**
 * Marquis de St. Cyr**

he Palace of Versailles was the official residence of the Kings of France from 1682 until 1790. It was originally a hunting lodge, built in 1624, by Louis XIII. It was expanded by Louis XIV beginning in 1669. He used it as a little lodge as a secret refuge for his amorous trysts with the lovely Louise de la Valliere and built a fairy tale park around it. Jules Hardouin Mansart, the king's principal architect, drew the plans to enlarge what was turning more and more into a palace from A Thousand and One Nights. The terrace that overlooked the gardens was removed to make way for the magnificent Hall of Mirrors, the Galarie de Glaces. It is here from which the king radiated his power and where the destiny of Europe was decided over a century. The French classical architecture was complemented by extensive gardens. __http://www.castles.org/castles/Europe/Western_Europe/France/france6.htm__
 * __Versailles__**

It was originally built in the 14th century to guard one of main entrances to Paris, but by the 18th century the Bastille served only as a prison - mainly for political, [|aristocratic] prisoners who could not be thrust into the crowded [|gaols] with common criminals - and occasionally as a store for arms.The fortress also accommodated printers, booksellers and authors who produced works that the authorities considered seditious. Voltaire was imprisoned there twice: first in 1717 when he was suspected of writing verses accusing the [|//Régent//] of incest, and then again in 1726. Throughout the 18th century there were never more than 40 inmates, most of them serving short sentences. On July 14, 1789, when the Bastille was stormed, there were only half a dozen prisoners, two of whom were insane.
 * __Bastille__**

__http://library.thinkquest.org/C006257/revolution/storming_of_bastille.shtm__l

__**The Declaration of Rights of Woman and Citizen**__ ** Preamble ** 1. **Woman** is born free and lives equal to man in her rights. Social distinctions can be based only on the common utility. 2. The purpose of any political association is the conservation of the natural and imprescriptible rights of **woman and man,**; these rights are liberty, property, security, and especially resistance to oppression. 3. The principle of all sovereignty rests essentially with the nation, which is nothing but the **union of woman and man**; no body and no individual can exercise any authority which does not come expressly from it [the nation]. 4. Liberty and justice consist of restoring all that belongs to others; thus, **the only limits on the exercise of the natural rights of woman are perpetual male tyranny**; these limits are to be reformed by the laws of nature and reason. 5. Laws of nature and justice proscribe all acts harmful to society; everything which is not prohibited by these wise and divine laws cannot be prevented, and no one can be constrained to do what they do not command. 6. The law must be the expression of the general will; **all female and male citizens** must contribute either personally or through their representatives to its formation; it must be the same for all; **male and female citizens**, being equal in the eyes of the law, must be equally admitted to all honors, positions, and public employment according to their capacity and without other distinctions besides those of their virtues and talents. 7. **No woman is an exception; she is accused, arrested, and detained in cases determined by law. Women, like men, obey this rigorous law.** 8. The law must establish only those penalties that are strictly and obviously necessary, and no one can be punished except by virtue of a law established and promulgated prior to the crime and legally applicable to **women**. 9. Once any **woman** is declared guilty, complete rigor is [to be] exercised by the law. 10. No one is to be disquieted for his very basic opinions; **woman has the right to mount the scaffold; she must equally have the right to mount the rostrum, provided that her demonstrations do not disturb the legally established public order**. 11. The free communication of thoughts and opinions is one of the most precious rights of **woman, since that liberty assures the recognition of children by their fathers. Any female citizen thus may say freely, I am the mother of a child which belongs to you, without being forced by a barbarous prejudice to hide the truth; [an exception may be made] to respond to the abuse of this liberty in cases determined by the law.** 12. The guarantee of the rights of **woman and the female citizen** implies a major benefit; this guarantee must be instituted for the advantage of all, and not for the particular benefit of those to whom it is entrusted. 13. **For the support of the public force and the expenses of administration, the contributions of woman and man are equal; she shares all the duties [corvees] and all the painful tasks; therefore, she must have the same share in the distribution of positions, employment, offices, honors and jobs [industrie].** 14. **Female and male citizens have the right to verify, either by themselves or through their representatives, the necessity of the public contribution. This can only apply to women in they are granted an equal share, not only of wealth, but also of public administration, and in the determination of the proportion, the base, the collection, and the duration of the tax.** 15. **The collectivity of women, joined for tax purposes to the aggregate of men, has the right to demand an accounting of his administration from any public agent.** 16. No society has a constitution without the guarantee of rights and the separation of powers; the constitution is null if the majority of individuals comprising the nation have not cooperated in drafting it. 17. **Property belongs to both sexes whether united or separate;** for each it is an inviolable and sacred right; no one can be deprived of it, since it is the true patrimony of nature, unless the legally determined public need obviously dictates it, and then only with a just and prior indemnity.
 * Mothers, daughters, sisters [and] representatives of the nation demand to be constituted into a national assembly. Believing that ignorance, omission, or scorn for the rights of woman are the only causes of public misfortunes and of the corruption of governments, [the women] have resolved to set forth in a solemn declaration the natural, inalienable, and sacred rights of woman in order that this declaration, constantly exposed before all the members of the society, will ceaselessly remind them of their rights and duties; in order that the authoritative acts of women and the authoritative acts of men may be at any moment compared with and respectful of the purpose of all political institutions; and in order that citizens' demands, henceforth based on simple and incontestable principles, will always support the constitution, good morals, and the happiness of all. **
 * Consequently, the sex that is as superior in beauty as it is in courage during the sufferings of maternity recognizes and declares in the presence and under the auspices of the Supreme Being, the following Rights of Woman and of Female Citizens. **

__http://faculty.fullerton.edu/nfitch/history110b/decfr.html__

__**The Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen**__ The representatives of the French people, organized as a National Assembly, believing that the ignorance, neglect, or contempt of the rights of man are the sole cause of public calamities and of the corruption of governments, have determined to set forth in a solemn declaration the natural, inalienable, and sacred rights of man, in order that this declaration, being constantly before all the members of the social body, shall remind them continually of their rights and duties; in order that the acts of the legislative power, as well as those of the executive power, may be compared at any moment with the objects and purposes of all political institutions and may thus be more respected; and, lastly, in order that the grievance of the citizens, based hereafter upon simple and incontestable principles, shall tend to the maintenance of the constitution and redound to the happiness of all. Therefore the National Assembly recognizes and proclaims in the presence and under the auspices of the Supreme Being, the following rights of man and of the citizen: 1. Men are born and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions may be founded only upon the general good. 2. The aim of all political association is the preservation of the natural and imprescriptible rights of man. These rights are liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression. 3. The principle of all sovereignty resides essentially in the nation. No body nor individual may exercise any authority which does not proceed directly from the nation. 4. Liberty consists in the freedom to do everything which injures no one else; hence the exercise of the natural rights of each man has no limits except those which assure to the other members of the society the enjoyment of the same rights. These limits can only be determined by law. 5. Law can only prohibit such actions as are hurtful to society. Nothing may be prevented which is not forbidden by law, and no one may be forced to do anything not provided for by law. 6. Law is the expression of the general will Every citizen has a right to participate personally, or through his representative, in its formation. It must be the same for all, whether it protects or punishes. All citizens, being equal in the eyes of the law, are equally eligible to all dignities and to all public positions and occupations, according to their abilities, and without distinction except that of their virtues and talents. 7. No person shall be accused, arrested, or imprisoned except in the cases and according to the forms prescribed by law. Any one soliciting, transmitting, executing, or causing to be executed, any arbitrary order, shall be punished. But any citizen summoned or arrested in virtue of the law shall submit without delay, as resistance constitutes an offense. 8. The law shall provide for such punishments only as are strictly and obviously necessary, and no one shall suffer punishment except it be legally inflicted in virtue of a law passed and promulgated before the commission of the offense. 9. As all persons are held innocent until they shall have been declared guilty, if arrest shall be deemed indispensable, all harshness not essential to the securing of the prisoner's person shall be severely repressed by law. 10. No one shall be disquieted on account of his opinions, including his religious views, provided their manifestation does not disturb the public order established by law. 11. The free communication of ideas and opinions is one of the most precious of the rights of man. Every citizen may, accordingly, speak, write, and print with freedom, but shall be responsible for such abuses of this freedom as shall be defined by law. 12. The security of the rights of man and of the citizen requires public military forces. These forces are, therefore, established for the good of all and not for the personal advantage of those to whom they shall be intrusted. 13. A common contribution is essential for the maintenance of the public forces and for the cost of administration. This should be equitably distributed among all the citizens in proportion to their means. 14. All the citizens have a right to decide, either personally or by their representatives, as to the necessity of the public contribution; to grant this freely; to know to what uses it is put; and to fix the proportion, the mode of assessment and of collection and the duration of the taxes. 15. Society has the right to require of every public agent an account of his administration. 16. A society in which the observance of the law is not assured, nor the separation of powers defined, has no constitution at all. 17. Since property is an inviolable and sacred right, no one shall be deprived thereof except where public necessity, legally determined, shall clearly demand it, and then only on condition that the owner shall have been previously and equitably indemnified. __http://faculty.fullerton.edu/nfitch/history110b/decfr.html__