Madame Roland - Imprisonment and Death

Imprisonment and Death

Perhaps some of the most interesting days of Madame Roland’s life took place in prison as she struggled with her concept of a woman’s place in the nation of France after having been forced to lurk in the shadows to gain her own influence over the nation. Though she had earlier stated that she would "rather chew off (her own) fingers than become a writer," Madame Roland began writing her memoirs during her stay in prison. Madame Roland wrote her memoirs in five months, with sections smuggled from the prison by her frequent guests. In her memoirs, she reflected upon her studies, passions, and political events. Madame Roland climbed the political scale by editing and modifying her husband’s platform but she established her historical significance through her recorded memoirs. Manon proved that women could significantly affect national politics. She proved women to be valuable active partners to political success. After Madame Roland helped her husband escape Paris, she accepted her fate of death on the guillotine as the only way to clear her name and reputation. Refusing to compromise her principles and remaining true to the ideals of Rousseau, Voltaire, and Plutarch, she died as a citizen of the republic, not a subject of the monarchy. After the revolution, her memoirs were published in 1795, so that Madame Roland continued to influence the formation of the French republic.

On 8 November 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:

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

Her corpse was disposed of in the Madeleine Cemetery. Two days after her execution, her husband, Jean-Marie Roland, committed suicide on a country lane outside Rouen.