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Charlotte Corday
Charlotte Corday, a young woman from the provinces, came to Paris in the summer of 1793, at the height of the Revolution. In the capital, the mob held sway, and the Montagnards were preparing the Reign of Terror. Jean Paul Marat, the fiery voice of the Parisian radicals, became her target. A committed Girondin, she resolved to kill him. Posing as someone ready to expose fugitive deputies, she gained entry to the home of the Ami du Peuple, who was bathing. As Marat leaned forward to take notes, she drew a knife and struck him dead. She offered no resistance when arrested, and walked to the scaffold with almost religious fervor. She had fulfilled her mission.
1768 - 1793
- July 27, 1768 · Charlotte Corday naît à Les Champeaux, fille de Jacques-François de Corday d’Armont, ancien lieutenant, et de Charlotte-Jacqueline-Marie de Gautier.
- 1776 · Her family moves to Caen.
- April 8, 1782 · Her mother dies when Charlotte is thirteen. She is placed in the Abbey of Sainte-Trinité.
- March 1, 1791 · When the abbey is dissolved, Charlotte returns to live with her father.
- June 1791 · She becomes a companion to her aunt in Caen. While her two brothers emigrate as royalists, she sympathizes with the moderate Girondins.
- June 1793 · She attends meetings of the Girondins who have fled Paris and are now in Caen, planning an uprising against the Jacobins. Charlotte decides to act on her own.
- July 9, 1793 · She boards a stagecoach to Paris and arrives two days later.
- July 13, 1793 · Charlotte stabs Jean Paul Marat in his apartment. She is arrested and imprisoned.
- July 17, 1793 · She is tried by the Revolutionary Tribunal and executed on the Place de la Révolution in Paris.
Quotes
I come from Caen. Your love for the fatherland must make you eager to learn about the plots being woven there. I await your reply.
First message from Charlotte Corday to Marat, July 13, 1793
I killed one man to save hundreds of thousands.
Charlotte Corday after her arrest
I’ve never seen such a thing before. In my situation, one is naturally very curious.
Charlotte Corday to the executioner, upon seeing the guillotine
Le Moniteur
Samedi 20 juillet 1793, l'an deuxieme de la République Francaise
The Interrogation of Charlotte Corday
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Jan Knupper 2025 | CCXXXIV
