The revolutionary guillotine: From the embodiment of penal humanism to a terrifying machine? (1789-1794)
Debat, Guillaume
The revolutionary guillotine: From the embodiment of penal humanism to a terrifying machine? (1789-1794) - 2020.
82
This article examines the construction of the “Black Legend” of the guillotine and, particularly, the important place it occupied in the Thermidorian period. By comparing the depictions and emotions produced by the guillotine in Paris and in certain provincial regions, the article underscores the widespread malaise in the face of this decapitating machine. This unease was perceptible from the first months of the guillotine’s operation. It reveals the authorities’ aim to maintain order. The fear of the guillotine was above all a social fear, a fear that the public spectacle of violence would itself induce violence in the crowd. If the image of the guillotine was readily identified with the “Terror” during the Thermidorian Reaction, it was because of the sensibility and fear that already predated Thermidor, which favored the later development of the “Black Legend” of the guillotine.
The revolutionary guillotine: From the embodiment of penal humanism to a terrifying machine? (1789-1794) - 2020.
82
This article examines the construction of the “Black Legend” of the guillotine and, particularly, the important place it occupied in the Thermidorian period. By comparing the depictions and emotions produced by the guillotine in Paris and in certain provincial regions, the article underscores the widespread malaise in the face of this decapitating machine. This unease was perceptible from the first months of the guillotine’s operation. It reveals the authorities’ aim to maintain order. The fear of the guillotine was above all a social fear, a fear that the public spectacle of violence would itself induce violence in the crowd. If the image of the guillotine was readily identified with the “Terror” during the Thermidorian Reaction, it was because of the sensibility and fear that already predated Thermidor, which favored the later development of the “Black Legend” of the guillotine.
Réseaux sociaux