1. Donaghue 1
Ian Donaghue
HIS 490
Prof. Moranda
13 December, 2015
Napoleon, Marriage, and Gender Roles in Post-Revolutionary France
Though remembered more for his militaristic and expansionist tendencies while First
Consul and Emperor of the French from 1799 to 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte also played an
important role in restoring stability and creating lasting social changes for the French populace
emerging from the chaos of the Revolution of 1789 and its subsequent Reign of Terror.
Napoleon, through the actions he took and words he spoke on the topic of gender, as well as
through the promulgation of his Civil or Napoleonic Code, did much to generate particular
gender roles and expectations throughout French society. More specifically, Napoleon made a
concerted effort to revert the role of women in France to a more domestic and subservient state
than it had been during the political and social upheaval of the previous decade. Napoleon, in his
overarching desire to stabilize French society, drew upon his belief in biological male dominance
to reassert traditional gender and familial roles of male over female and husband over wife. This
belief in the superiority of men was built upon Napoleon’s obsession with creating a lasting
legacy and lineage for himself, which placed himself and every other Frenchman at the fore of
his family, often to the detriment of women. The policies Napoleon enacted in his Napoleonic
Code greatly restricted and reduced the ability for women to be active members of French
society, and Napoleon’s own words and actions, both regarding his family and women in
general, reflected his limited view of the role of women, views he held from before his reign to
his second exile and death in 1821.

2. Donaghue 2
Napoleon, through his military prowess and charismatic leadership as brigadier general of
the French artillery, was able to garner the political support necessary to stage the coup of 18
Brumaire on November 9th
, 1799, which overthrew the Directory established during the
Revolution and heightened Napoleon to the position of First Consul. Following this dramatic rise
to power, Napoleon issued a number of radical changes that would have lasting impacts on
French society for centuries. Very early into his reign Napoleon restored Roman Catholicism as
the primary religion of France through the signing of the Concordat of 1801.1
The Napoleonic
Code was promulgated in 1804, which established a uniform set of laws and policies that
influenced nearly every aspect of French society.2
Among the most important sections of this
code specifically targeted the people of France, and many of these policies delineated the rights
and restrictions of people specific to their gender, to be discussed in detail later in this paper.
These policies reflected Napoleon’s personal views on women and men, and helped to create
long-lasting societal expectations for each.
Napoleon had a tumultuous experience regarding his relationships with women, as
demonstrated through his two marriages, first to Josephine de Beauharnais from 1796 to 1810,
and second to Marie Louise of Austria from 1810 to 1814. Letters Napoleon sent to Josephine
while he was away on campaign would lead most readers to believe his first marriage
consecrated the union of two people who were madly in love and cared deeply for each other.
However, this was not the case, to which the latter portion of their union would testify.
Napoleon’s second marriage was also about much more than love or affection, and these
relationships were shaped by and would shape Napoleon’s views on gender roles, particularly as
they relate to marriage and the family.
1
Fournier, August, Margaret W. Bacon Corwin, Arthur Dart Bissell, and Edward Gaylord Bourne. 1903. Napoleon the First, a Biography. n.p.:
Company, 1903, 213.
2
Ibid, 230-232.

3. Donaghue 3
The words Napoleon spoke and the actions he took in relation to gender roles and
expectations were influenced throughout his reign as emperor by his desire above all things to
create a lasting legacy for his family name, and particularly himself. Evidence of this
overarching goal would be shown from the beginnings of his relationship with Josephine to his
dying wishes in exile as explained in his will. This objective would have drastic implications on
Napoleon’s marriages and the relationships he shared with Josephine and Marie Louise, as well
as what he left his family with upon his death. All of these events, beliefs, and goals combined to
develop within Napoleon a desire to bring about significant change in the abilities and
expectations of women in the newly stabilized France.
Numerous historians have debated Napoleon’s views on gender roles and expectations
and the changes brought about under his rule. Diana Withee, in her article “Intimate Portrayals of
Napoleon’s Family,” described Napoleon as eager to restore the foundations of French society
that would stabilize the nation for years to come, which included the family unit.3
According to
Withee, Napoleon believed that “some of the new freedoms gained during the Revolution- such
as the more equitable rules governing inheritance, the freedom to marry whom one chose and to
divorce simply on the grounds of incompatibility- undermined family life and parental
authority.”4
Withee went on to state that the Napoleonic Code was promulgated partly to
strengthen family ties through reducing these new freedoms, and “giving the father an almost
despotic power over his wife and children.”5
Napoleon felt threatened by the increased activism
of women within French society during the years of the Revolution, and used his power as First
Consul and later Emperor of the French to reverse this trend.
3
Withee, Diana. "Intimate Portrayals of Napoleon's Family." Culture and Revolution: Cultural Ramifications of the French Revolution, 1989.
https://cortland.illiad.oclc.org/illiad/illiad.dll?Action=10&Form=75&Value=184954 308.
4
Ibid.
5
Ibid.

4. Donaghue 4
Dorinda Outram, in her article “Revolution, Domesticity and Feminism: Women In
France After 1789,” took a slightly different stance regarding women’s rights gained during the
revolutionary years, arguing that “as the sans-culottes demanded bread, terror and the
constitution, they were also systematically limiting the political participation of their own
women.”6
According to Outram, women in France during the Revolution did not truly “achieve
concrete objectives” in the realm of political participation, despite contributing to the Revolution
through events such as the march on Versailles, due to the “exclusion of women from all positive
rights in politics.”7
Despite Outram’s negative stance regarding women’s rights and participatory
opportunities at this time, she acknowledged in her article that women undoubtedly progressed in
the areas of inheritance and family law through “the introduction of and equalization of access to
divorce following legislation in the new law codes of 1791.”8
Outram further explained that
these advancements in women’s rights were halted and overturned under Napoleon’s reign “with
the reimposition of superior inheritance rights to male family members under the Code
Napoléon” and “the restriction of divorce in 1803.”9
Jeremy Popkin, in his article “Family Ties In Revolutionary Perspective,” analyzed the
arguments of several historians regarding women’s rights during the Revolution, including those
of Suzanne Desan, Joan Landes, and Dominique Godineau. According to Popkin, these three
historians took highly differing stances on the effects of the Revolution, with Landes arguing that
it was “a masculinist movement whose main result was to confine women to the sphere of
domesticity.”10
This view opposed that of Godineau, who argued that women’s efforts within the
public arena despite their lack of formal political rights reflected their increased opportunity for
6
Outram, Dorinda. "Revolution, Domesticity and Feminism: Women in France after 1789." Hist. J. The Historical Journal 32 (1989), 974.
7
Ibid.
8
Outram, 975.
9
Outram, 976.
10
Popkin, Jeremy D. 2007. "Family Ties in Revolutionary Perspective." Journal Of Social History no. 4:. Project MUSE, 993.

5. Donaghue 5
political activism.11
Desan took a more balanced stance than these other two historians, arguing
that while women writing pamphlets and petitions “had some effect on family legislation...she
did not see women’s engagement on these issues as evidence of conscious collective action.”12
On the other hand, Desan acknowledged that “the same Jacobin legislators who ultimately ruled
out women’s participation in politics altered family law in ways that were generally favorable to
women.”13
This included the creation of the egalitarian family court system in 1790, which
“simplified legal procedures and ensured that women’s interests were represented in family
disputes,” and the 1792 divorce law, which granted increased leverage for wives than they had
before.14
Desan further stated that the positive changes in women’s rights were systematically
undone by Napoleon in the next decade, calling the Napoleonic Code “genuinely hostile to
women’s rights within the family,” and Napoleon himself “bent on repealing much of the
movement’s egalitarian heritage.”15
She finished this argument claiming that “if Napoleon had
not intervened, the lives of nineteenth- and twentieth-century French women (and men) might
have been very different from what they were under his legal code.”16
Desan’s arguments
painted a stark contrast to the image of women’s participation in politics during and after the
Revolution, and placed Napoleon as the catalyst of this contrast.
In his article “The Shifting Landscape of Revolutionary Interpretations: A Death of the
Past and a Rebirth of History?” David Andress strongly opposed the views of such historians as
Outram and Landes who argued that the Revolution was overwhelmingly bad for women.
Andress cited Carla Hesse as a primary opponent to the perception that the Revolution was a
movement of misogynist aggression, who instead considered the Revolution to have been “a
11
Ibid.
12
Ibid.
13
Ibid.
14
Ibid.
15
Popkin, 994.
16
Ibid.

6. Donaghue 6
golden age for female authorship.”17
Andress also cited Desan’s work in revealing the
ambivalence of the effects of the Revolution on women’s rights, stating that while
revolutionaries “struck down legal rights to make claims of paternity against fathers of
illegitimate children,” they also were on an “ardent quest to do right by disinherited daughters
(and sons), and to grant divorce to thousands of miserable or abandoned wives (and
husbands).”18
In regards to Andress’s analysis of Desan’s work on the difference between
women’s rights during the Revolution and under Napoleon, “the entire structure of the
Napoleonic Code as it applied to family law” was described as “callously misogynist.”19
While contemporary historians of late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth century France
differ in their interpretations regarding the positive or negative effects of the Revolution on
women’s rights, the underlying agreement between all of these historians was that any perceived
advancements for women were short-lived. Napoleon through the promulgation of his
Napoleonic Code was described as highly misogynist and reactionary to the events of the
Revolution, and worked concertedly to reverse any of the aforementioned advancements. The
evidence provided by these historian accounts, in addition to the Code itself and the words and
actions of Napoleon, together formed the basis as to how Napoleon’s personal views on gender
roles and expectations helped to establish societal expectations for women relating to marriage
and family in France in the early 19th
century.
Napoleon’s relationships with his two wives were very much a factor in both shaping his
views on gender roles and reflecting them. His first marriage to Josephine was quite complex and
multifaceted, and could be seen as a balancing act by Napoleon between his admitted devotion to
her and his narcissistic devotion to himself and his legacy. Though Napoleon cared deeply for
17
Andress, David. 2009. "The Shifting Landscape of Revolutionary Interpretations: A Death of the Past and a Rebirth of History?." French
Historical Studies 32, no. 4, 651.
18
Ibid.
19
Ibid.

7. Donaghue 7
Josephine, as evidenced through the letters he sent her while he was on campaign in Italy and
Egypt, their union was about much more than love. It was notable that Napoleon was born in
Corsica, which had only come under control of France in 1769, the year Napoleon was born.
Because of this, Napoleon, during his time as brigadier general of the French artillery, was
careful to ensure that those in power in France recognized him as a loyal subject to France, in an
attempt to garner favor from his superiors. An example of this political maneuvering could be
found in a letter Napoleon sent in 1796 to the President of the Executive Directory announcing
his recent marriage to Josephine. In it he stated that “this is one more bond linking me to the
nation, another pledge of my firm resolution to seek honour only in the Republic.”20
In this letter
one could find evidence of Napoleon’s multifaceted view of Josephine’s role within their
marriage. To him, Josephine was a political tool for him to reaffirm his devotion to France to
members of the French government. Notable as well in this letter was the absence of any
mention of Napoleon’s affection for his new wife, but only of her role as political capital. Even
at the very beginning of his marriages Napoleon demonstrated his views of the woman’s role
regarding marriage as more of a tool than an equal partner.
In addition to Napoleon and the letters he sent, others helped to reveal his attitude toward
marrying Josephine, such as his personal secretary, Louis Antoine Fauvelet De Bourrienne.
These revelations came mostly through the collection of memoirs he wrote of his time spent with
Napoleon. Through his position as Napoleon’s private secretary, Bourrienne was in near constant
contact with Napoleon and his family, and as such was able to offer a deep glimpse into the
inner, more personal workings of the minds of Napoleon and Josephine. Of the beginning of
Napoleon’s and Josephine’s relationship, Bourrienne wrote “that his marriage with the young
20
Napoleon Bonaparte to Citizen Letourneur, 1796. Quoted in Howard, John Eldred. Letters and Documents of Napoleon. Vol. I. New York:
Oxford University Press, 1961. 68.

8. Donaghue 8
widow would probably assist him in gaining the objects of his ambition,” and that “his constantly
increasing influence with her had already brought him into contact with the most influential
persons of that epoch.”21
This conversation occurred in Paris in late 1795, as Napoleon was
rising in prestige within the French military. While one cannot fail to acknowledge that
Napoleon, according to Bourrienne, seemed enamored with Josephine, and believed her to have
amiable qualities, the fact that Bourrienne’s conversation with Napoleon left him with the
sentiment that Napoleon was more interested in the political advantages of such a union was
noteworthy, and provided another piece of evidence that Josephine was viewed as a tool to help
Napoleon reach his lofty goals.
Napoleon’s second marriage to Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria also exemplified
Napoleon’s views of a wife as a political tool. At the time of Napoleon’s separation from
Josephine, France was in the midst of the War of the Fifth Coalition, a conflict with the United
Kingdom, Spain, Austria, Sicily, and Sardinia. Napoleon, after escaping an assassination attempt
by a German nationalist during the signing of the Treaty of Schönbrunn, began searching for a
new empress to ensure the continuation of his family. He strongly desired a union with one of the
ruling families of Europe at the time, and eventually settled on Marie Louise of Austria. This
relationship, in Napoleon’s ideal mind, would prevent any future conflicts with Austria, and link
him to a legitimate and powerful family in Europe. While Napoleon’s marriage to Josephine was
a combination of love and political maneuvering, his marriage to Marie Louise, at least initially,
was entirely political. Compared to the affection Napoleon displayed toward Josephine in the
letters he sent her, his correspondence with Marie Louise was severely lacking. In his will, which
would be his final opportunity to profess his affection for his wife, he stated “[he had] always
21
Bourrienne, Louis Antoine Fauvelet De. Memoirs of Napoleon Bonaparte. Edited by Ramsay Weston Phipps. New and Rev. ed. Vol. I. New
York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1891. 42.

9. Donaghue 9
had reason to be pleased with [his] dearest wife, Maria Louisa,” and that he retained “for
her...the most tender sentiments.”22
One source stated that “as regards [Marie Louise’s] feelings
for him, they were a mixture of respect and fear, but it was doubtful if she ever had for him the
slightest love.”23
From the evidence gathered regarding Napoleon’s and Marie Louise’s feelings
toward one another, placed in the context of a continental conflict, Napoleon’s marriage to the
archduchess could be reasonably described entirely as a political move by Napoleon,
demonstrating again his views of women as a means to furthering his own ambitions.
Providing evidence to combat the notion that Josephine was more of a political tool than
equal partner with Napoleon was the long list of romantic letters he sent her while they were
apart from 1796 to 1798. Reading through these letters would lead any reader to believe that
Josephine was Napoleon’s entire world at that time, and that his devotion to her outweighed any
other aspect of his life. In one letter sent to Josephine in April of 1796 Napoleon wrote that she
had “taken more than [his] soul,” and that she was “the one thought of [his] life.”24
However
affectionate Napoleon seemed at this point in his marriage, it did not truly reflect is underlying
feelings regarding Josephine’s role in their union. Another letter sent a few weeks later on the
24th
began to reveal more of Napoleon’s true feelings toward Josephine, in which he stated
“there are many days when [she does not] write,” and asks her what she does with her time when
not writing to him.25
Prior to this Napoleon acknowledged receiving Josephine’s letters from the
16th
and 21st
of April, three days before sending this one.26
Reading into Napoleon’s genuine
words of alarm after going merely three days without receiving a letter, one can reason that
Napoleon was very demanding of Josephine’s attention when he was not with her. He seemed
22
Bourrienne, Louis Antoine Fauvelet De. Memoirs of Napoleon Bonaparte. Edited by Ramsay Weston Phipps. New and Rev. ed. Vol. IV. New
York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1891, 376.
23
Richardson, Hubert N. B. 1921. A Dictionary of Napoleon and His Times. n.p.: N[ew] Y[ork] Funk and Wagnalls company [1921], 1921, 294.
24
Napoleon Bonaparte to Citizeness Josephine. Quoted in Howard, 91.
25
Napoleon Bonaparte to Citizeness Josephine. Quoted in Howard, 103.
26
Ibid.

10. Donaghue 10
very concerned and critical of her taking time to do anything that was not focused on him, likely
stemming from the lofty regard he held for himself as well as his views stressing the superiority
of husband over wife. Examples of this need for control over his wife could be found throughout
Napoleon’s two marriages. His renaming of both his wives upon marrying them reflected
strongly on how much power he believed a husband held over his wife. Prior to marrying
Napoleon Josephine was originally named Marie-Josephe-Rose de Beauharnais, while Marie
Louise was named Maria Louisa. However, early in each relationship Napoleon decided he did
not like their names, and thus chose new ones for them.27
Napoleon’s view of Josephine’s role as an obedient wife was further revealed in another
letter he sent her in November of 1796. This letter covered much of what was said in his earlier
correspondence about Josephine’s failure to write to him, but with a much more scathing tone. In
it he wrote that he did not love her at all anymore, but that he detested her.28
He went on to call
her “a vile, mean, beastly slut,” and accused her of not writing to him and not loving her
husband.29
He went on to question again what Josephine did all day, and asked “what important
affaire stops [her] writing to [her] lover? What is this affection that stifles and brushes aside the
love, the tender and constant love that [she] promised him?”30
Napoleon was noticeably upset
with Josephine in this letter, claiming that through their marriage she had promised her love to
him. However, through Napoleon’s words here, it was clear that that promise was also one of
obedience, and Josephine at that point was not being what Napoleon considered to be a good
wife, as she was failing to devote her full attention to him. This demand for a wife’s obedience to
27
Schneider, John. "Napoleon and Josephine." The Napoleon Series. Accessed November 12, 2015. http://www.napoleon-
series.org/research/napoleon/c_napjos.html.
28
Napoleon Bonaparte to Citizeness Josephine. Quoted in Howard, 165.
29
Ibid.
30
Ibid.

11. Donaghue 11
her husband would resurface later in sections of the Napoleonic Code, as Napoleon’s views on
gender roles relating to marriage went beyond his marriage to the entire French population.
Josephine’s personality and habits were quite influential in forming Napoleon’s opinion
of her and of women in general. During their marriage Josephine spent copious amounts of
money on luxury for herself. Bourrienne stated in his memoirs that “her taste for splendor and
expense was excessive,” and that “this proneness to luxury became a habit which seemed
constantly indulged without any motive.”31
Bourrienne went into great detail about an incident
between the two of them, during which Josephine informed him that she owed around 1,200,000
francs, but wished to “confess only 600,000” to Napoleon, out of fear of his reaction to her
expenses.32
Bourrienne noted that Josephine’s expenditures included “thirty-eight new hats, of
great price, in one month,” in addition to “a charge of 1800 francs for heron plumes, and 800
francs for perfumes.”33
While these expenses were all that Bourrienne noted, Josephine clearly
spent much more, as evidenced by her fear of Napoleon learning of her expenditures. Josephine
promised after this incident that she would “contract no more debts,” but, according to
Bourrienne, “soon fell again into the same excesses.”34
Bourrienne reasoned that Josephine’s
“thoughtless profusion occasioned permanent disorder in her household until the period of
Napoleon’s second marriage, when...she became a regular in her expenditure.”35
It would
surprise nobody to hear that Josephine’s excessive and seemingly frivolous spending created
tension between her and Napoleon, especially considering his own expenditures on foreign
matters and military campaigns throughout Europe. In a conversation Napoleon had with
Bourrienne in 1805 he pleaded with him to “try once more to make her see reason about her mad
31
Bourrienne, 44.
32
Ibid, 355.
33
Ibid.
34
Ibid, 355-356.
35
Ibid, 356.

12. Donaghue 12
expenditures,” and that it drove him “to despair.”36
While one must consider potential
exaggeration on the part of Bourrienne and the overall validity of his assessment of Josephine’s
spending habits, Napoleon’s reaction to the situation helped to shed additional light on his
feelings toward the autonomy of women, in this instance regarding finances.
This tension between the two that would last throughout their union was another
symptom of Napoleon’s views regarding Josephine’s role in their marriage. One could argue that
her spending of his finances represented a certain degree of individuality and autonomy that ran
contrary to Napoleon’s belief that a wife should be totally obedient to her husband, as evidenced
through specific laws found within the Napoleonic Code. This sense of autonomy and lack of
obedience was heightened by her apparent refusal to relinquish her excessive spending habits
despite knowing and fearing her husband’s reaction to them. Though Napoleon did not divorce
Josephine for financial reasons, his disdain for Josephine’s extravagance strongly reflected his
desire to place women in a subordinate position to men.
Not only did Napoleon find fault with Josephine over her expenditures, as evidenced
through his feelings of despair in response to them, but also her apparent disregard for his wishes
while he was away on campaign. Napoleon constantly urged Josephine to join him in Italy, such
as in a letter sent to her in April of 1796, in which he told her to “come soon,” and that if she did
not she would “find [him] ill.”37
However, Josephine “devoted to Paris and its gaiety as she was,
when he asked her to join him in Italy her reluctance was only too manifest and her excuses for
delay numerous.”38
While Josephine’s reasons for delaying and refusing Napoleon’s summons
could be numerous and diverse, and while historians debating their relationship could have an
agenda promoting Napoleon’s greatness to the detriment of his wife, Napoleon’s near-constant
36
Napoleon Bonaparte to Bourrienne. Quoted in Herold, 17.
37
Napoleon Bonaparte to Citizeness Josephine. Quoted in Howard, 103.
38
Richardson, 234.

13. Donaghue 13
demand for Josephine to devote her time, attention, and finally presence to him further
demonstrated his belief in the subservience of wives to husbands. Napoleon’s and Josephine’s
marriage was certainly damaged by Josephine’s disregard for his wishes, and many have
speculated that “if Josephine had but returned his love with greater fervor—if she had but
devoted herself to his wishes and interests rather than to society and its pleasures—then she
herself had never been repudiated, however powerful [Napoleon’s] ambitions.”39
Historians
could argue forever about whether or not Napoleon would have stayed with Josephine had she
been the obedient wife he expected her to be and followed the summons within his letters. What
could not be debated, however, was that a rift had formed in their relationship because of
Josephine’s refusal to adhere to Napoleon’s expectation of her as a woman.
Napoleon’s distaste for Josephine’s activism in the realm of French society, and the
subsequent sense of autonomy that activism brought, carried over into his expectations for
French women throughout his empire. A letter Napoleon sent to his brother Joseph in March of
1800 reflected this distaste, where he described the actions of Madame de Staël, who would be a
longtime rival to the emperor. In the letter Napoleon commented that de Staël was “giving
dinners and balls,” and that “sacred duties” were being “trodden under foot.”40
Napoleon made
another comment on women’s involvement in French society in a letter sent to Joseph in 1795,
which accounted some of his experiences in Paris. In this letter he stated:
The women [in Paris] are everywhere—plays, public walks, libraries.
[One] can see very pretty women in the scholar’s study room. Only here,
of all places on earth, do women deserve to wield such influence, and
indeed the men are mad about them, think of nothing else, and live only
through and for them. A woman, in order to know what is due her and
what power she has, must live in Paris for six months.41
39
Ibid.
40
Napoleon Bonaparte to Citizen Joseph Bonaparte. Quoted in Howard, 353.
41
Napoleon Bonaparte to Citizen Joseph Bonaparte. Quoted in Herold, J. Christopher, ed. The Mind of Napoleon: A Selection from His Written
and Spoken Words. New York: Columbia University Press, 1955, 13.

14. Donaghue 14
Here Napoleon described some of the gains made for women during the revolutionary years
pertaining to societal activism. At this point in his career, Napoleon seemed quite curious and
perhaps even a bit impressed with the level of activism he witnessed. However, “when Napoleon
became First Consul, he sought to change this state of affairs,” due in large part to “his hatred of
intellectual and independent women.”42
Napoleon clearly supported a return to the pre-
revolutionary status quo where women were confined to a more domestic role subordinate to the
will of men.
Napoleon’s views regarding women were further demonstrated through his and
Josephine’s experiences with infidelity that would lead to a further disintegration of their
marriage, culminating in their divorce in 1810. Both Napoleon and Josephine had additional
lovers throughout their marriage, and Napoleon’s reaction to learning of Josephine’s infidelity
revealed much of his attitudes regarding married women and men. One of the most notable of
Napoleon’s mistresses was Madame Pauline Bellisle Fourés, who accompanied her husband and
Napoleon during his Egyptian campaign in 1798.43
According to historians, Napoleon
“dispatched the husband to France, and lived openly with his mistress; she occupied a handsome
house, and was frequently to be seen riding at his side in a general’s uniform.”44
While Napoleon
was in Egypt he received word of a scandal “concerning Josephine’s relations with an officer,
Hippolyte Charles.”45
Bourrienne described in great detail Napoleon’s reaction to hearing about
this scandal, stating that “the General’s countenance, which was always pale, had...become paler
than usual,” and that he had “a wildness in his look, and he several times struck his head with his
hand.”46
Bourrienne went on to say that he had never seen him “exhibit such an air of
42
Herold, 13.
43
Richardson, 283.
44
Ibid.
45
Richardson, 234.
46
Bourrienne, 170.

15. Donaghue 15
dissatisfaction, or appear so much under the influence of some prepossession.”47
Napoleon’s
exclamations to Bourrienne included him shouting “Josephine!—and I 600 leagues from her—
you ought to have told me.—That she should thus have deceived me!—Woe to them!—I will
exterminate the whole race of fops and puppies!—As to her—divorce!—yes, divorce!—a public
and open divorce!”48
Napoleon’s outburst upon learning of Josephine’s alleged infidelity, as he
had at that point only heard it from a single source and had not yet spoken with Josephine,
displayed the vast difference in the expectations he held for married men and women. Napoleon
was outraged and immediately demanded a divorce from Josephine simply upon hearing an
unsubstantiated rumor of her unfaithfulness, all of which occurred after he had taken his own
mistress during their time apart.
Additional occurrences during the marriage of Napoleon and Josephine would reflect his
double standard regarding what married men and women were allowed to do. After Napoleon
had taken a new mistress while on campaign in 1807, Josephine grew suspicious and wrote
letters accusing him correctly of his infidelity. He responded evasively in a letter stating “as
usual, your little Creole head gets all excited and begins to worry,” and advising that they “not
speak of it any more.”49
Josephine did not buy the act, and Napoleon later sent another letter
claiming that she “easily takes offense,” and that “her tantrums are as charming as everything she
does; for she is always adorable, except when she is jealous.”50
Napoleon’s refusal to admit his
scandal and to belittle Josephine’s warranted accusations certainly demonstrated his negative
view of women compared to men. Napoleon even stated in 1802 and 1803 that “adultery on the
husband’s part should not be sufficient ground for divorce,” and that adultery was “nothing
47
Ibid.
48
Ibid.
49
Napoleon to Josephine. Quoted in Carr, Albert H. Z., and Julia Van Huele. Napoleon Speaks. n.p.: New York, The Viking Press, 1941, 256.
50
Napoleon to Josephine. Quoted in Carr, 257.

16. Donaghue 16
extraordinary...a transaction on a sofa, a most common occurrence.”51
In 1817 Napoleon said he
found it “ridiculous that a man should not be able to have more than one legitimate wife.”52
This
hypocrisy demonstrated the difference between what Napoleon considered to be acceptable for a
married man and what was acceptable for a married woman, more specifically that a man having
additional love interests was okay, while a woman doing the same was grounds for divorce.
Despite Napoleon’s seemingly resolute intentions to divorce Josephine upon learning of
her alleged infidelity, he was convinced by those close to him not to. However, he continued to
have additional mistresses, of which many were “found among Josephine’s ladies-in-waiting,”
such as “Mme. de Vaudey, Mlle. Lacoste, Carlotta Gazzani, Mlle. Guillebeau, and others.”53
Napoleon bore several male children through these dalliances, one in 1804 to a lady “of doubtful
identity,” another in 1806 to Eléonore Denuelle, and yet another in 1810 to Madame Walewska,
who was considered the “most faithful of [Napoleon’s] loves,” and even “paid her fallen lover a
brief visit in his captivity at Elba.”54
These additional and continuous infidelities clearly reflected
Napoleon’s differing views regarding what men and women could do and not do when married.
The actions, or inaction, Napoleon took after learning of Josephine’s affair provided
further evidence of the previous argument that Napoleon viewed Josephine as more of a political
tool than partner. According to Bourrienne, at the aforementioned moment when Napoleon
expressed his outrage over Josephine’s scandal and declared his intention to “write to Joseph,”
who would “get the divorce declared.”55
However, Bourrienne managed to talk Napoleon down,
warning him that “the letter might be intercepted,” and that it would “betray the feelings of
51
Herold, 23.
52
Ibid.
53
Richardson, 283.
54
Ibid.
55
Bourrienne, 171.

17. Donaghue 17
irritation which dictated it.”56
Napoleon would drop the subject of divorce until his return to
Paris, where “he received Josephine with studied coldness, and with an air of the most cruel
indifference,” after which “he had no communication with her for three days.”57
Bourrienne,
after once again “threats of divorce escaped his lips...took upon [himself] the office of
conciliator.”58
This time, however, Bourrienne warned Napoleon of “the dangers to be
apprehended from the publicity and scandal of such an affair; and that the moment when his
grand views might possibly be realized was not the fit time to entertain France and Europe with
the details of a charge of adultery.”59
Upon speaking with Bourrienne, Napoleon once again
suppressed his desire to divorce Josephine, and the two brought about what Bourrienne
considered “a complete reconciliation.”60
Clearly Napoleon, through his words and demeanor
after hearing of Josephine’s affair, was quite serious about his threats of divorce. That his mind
was changed almost immediately upon learning that such a scandal could ruin his chances to
seize control of France reflected once again Napoleon’s use of marriage as a political tool.
Still more evidence supporting the argument that Napoleon viewed Josephine’s role in
their marriage as more political than affectionate came through his eventual decision to divorce
her in 1810. Noteworthy in this matter was the carefully concealed fact that Josephine was six
years older than Napoleon, and by all accounts unable to bear children. According to historians,
“from the time [Napoleon] became First Consul, with powers over the choice of a successor, the
idea of divorce was present.”61
Josephine held a constant fear of divorce, particularly upon
hearing rumors of Napoleon’s desire to found his own dynasty, stating to Bourrienne that her
only desire was to continue as the wife of the First Consul, and pleading to him to “try and
56
Ibid, 172.
57
Ibid, 224.
58
Ibid.
59
Ibid, 224-225.
60
Ibid, 225.
61
Richardson, 235.

18. Donaghue 18
prevent [Napoleon] from making himself King.”62
Josephine also claimed Napoleon was “now
entirely given up to the interests of his policy and his ambition, which dominate every other
feeling in him.”63
She then went on to predict, accurately, that, regarding their eventual divorce,
“there will not now be any question of scandal, or of a trial before a court, but of an act of
authority which complaisant laws will justify and which the Church perhaps will sanction.”64
Throughout their decade and a half of marriage, Napoleon and Josephine were unable to produce
what Napoleon desired above all else, a male heir to continue his legacy, and “at last, in 1809,
driven by political and dynastic considerations, [Napoleon] decided on a divorce.”65
Threatening divorce was a tactic employed by Napoleon in his attempts to gain a male
heir on multiple occasions. According to one historian, during his dalliances with his mistress
Bellilote while on campaign in Egypt Napoleon “told Bellilote that he would obtain a divorce
and marry her—if she could have a child.”66
He went on to state that “paternity had become an
obsession with him, and he no longer had any hope of its gratification by Josephine.”67
According to this, Napoleon had already committed his full efforts toward gaining a child to
continue his legacy through biological legitimacy, even before his ascension to First Consul and
later Emperor of the French. Continuing with his affair, several months passed without success
for Napoleon, and, “irritated by the perverseness of the woman, he snapped, ‘The little stupid
doesn’t know how to produce a child.’”68
Referring back to the argument that Napoleon’s marriage to Josephine could be seen as a
balancing act between his admitted genuine affection for her and his devotion to himself and his
62
Bourrienne, Louis Antoine Fauvelet De. Memoirs of Napoleon Bonaparte. Edited by Ramsay Weston Phipps. New and Rev. ed. Vol. II. New
York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1891, 117.
63
Ibid, 118.
64
Ibid.
65
Richardson, 235.
66
Carr, 143.
67
Ibid.
68
Ibid.

19. Donaghue 19
legacy, the divorce was by all accounts a miserable affair for both parties. Regarding the
meetings that took place during the creation of the Napoleonic Code, Josephine’s “dread of this
possibility led her to use her influence in favor of strengthening the marriage tie, whereas
[Napoleon] was driven by self-interest to insist that marriage must not be indissoluble.”69
Another historian claimed that Josephine, “heartbroken...pleaded against it,” but eventually “she
read aloud, or tried to, her agreement with [Napoleon’s] decision, to which she tremblingly
affixed her signature.”70
Taking into account the letters he had written her professing his
affection for her and the length of time he stayed with Josephine despite knowing of her
comparably advanced age, that Napoleon “suffered greatly [was] undoubted.”71
The suffering of
both in this event was corroborated in the memoirs of Méneval, Bourrienne’s successor as
Napoleon’s personal secretary, as well as in the testimony of Savary, a French diplomat, who
stated that Napoleon was “apprehensive of the consequences of [Josephine’s] susceptibility of
feeling,” and that “his heart was never proof against the shedding of tears.”72
Savary went on to
describe the separation as “a sacrifice as painful to him as it was affecting.”73
That Napoleon felt
he had no other choice but to leave Josephine reflected his belief that a politically advantageous
marriage, such as his next to Archduchess Marie Louise, outweighed a marriage that to a certain
degree was built upon mutual love.
Napoleon’s eventual decision to choose the more politically advantageous marriage also
reflected his desire to reaffirm traditional biological descent of authority in France. From a
previous marriage Josephine had two children, including a son, who could have made a
legitimate claim to the French emperorship after Napoleon’s reign ended. Josephine’s son
69
Ludwig, Emil, Eden Paul, and Cedar Paul. Napoléon. n.p.: New York, Boni & Liveright, 1926, 172.
70
Richardson, 235.
71
Ibid.
72
Bourrienne, Louis Antoine Fauvelet De. Memoirs of Napoleon Bonaparte. Edited by Ramsay Weston Phipps. New and Rev. ed. Vol. III. New
York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1891, 186.
73
Ibid.

20. Donaghue 20
Eugene was even stationed alongside Napoleon in Cairo in 1798, and “had to swallow his pride
while his stepfather openly flaunted his new mistress.”74
However, this was not enough for him,
as Josephine’s children were not his own. As evidenced through his refusal to accept Josephine’s
children, “of whom Napoleon was fond,” as potential successors, he made clear his belief in the
importance of paternal biological legitimacy, particularly as it pertained to power in France.75
According to one historian, Napoleon held a desire in all of his endeavors “to maintain family
life,” in addition to being “a champion of order,” and “an anti-revolutionist.”76
A fierce opponent
of the increase in female political and social participation and rights during the revolutionary
years, Napoleon believed such activism and rights to be contradictory to what he considered to
be the ideal family structure, with the father or husband placed firmly at the top, and succession
traced biologically from him. This belief played both into Napoleon’s personal experiences with
his wives and families, as well as his overall inferior view of women.
Napoleon made it quite clear through his words and interactions with those around him of
his narrow and negative view of French women and what he considered to be their ideal role in
society. Where Napoleon’s negative reactions to Josephine’s and other women’s social activism
could be debated as to the extent they reflected his views on women, many of the words he spoke
left no doubt. In speaking to Josephine in 1806, Napoleon stated she “must submit to every one
of [his] whims.”77
While the definitive reasoning behind this command for obedience was left
ambiguous in this conversation, as Napoleon may have made the statement more for the reason
that he was the emperor than Josephine a woman, further evidence to support the latter would be
found in both his other conversations and in the laws he promulgated in his Napoleonic Code.
Another conversation, this one held between Napoleon and General Gaspard Gourgaud in 1817,
74
Carr, 143.
75
Carr, 146.
76
Ludwig, 173.
77
Napoleon Bonaparte to Citizeness Josephine. Quoted in Herold, 7.

21. Donaghue 21
helped to reveal Napoleon’s general disregard for the condition of women in France, asking
Gourgaud “isn’t it true...that it’s a lucky thing to be selfish, unfeeling? If you were, you wouldn’t
worry about the fate of your mother or your sister, would you?”78
At this point in Napoleon’s
career he was in his second exile, and thus could speak more freely, without fear of losing
political favor, of his beliefs regarding women.
Further delving into the many conversations Napoleon held regarding his views of
women helped to reveal more of his negative views on autonomous women. According to
Herold, Napoleon’s disdain for intellectual and independent women “found its ideal mark in
Mme. de Staël, the most celebrated woman of his time,” and that “his favorite method of
deflating a woman’s superiority was studied brusqueness.”79
This claim was supported by an
anecdote describing a conversation Napoleon had with de Staël at a reception around 1800,
during which he “scrutinized her décolleté,” and insinuated that she had nursed her children
herself, a statement to which she had no response.80
Napoleon apparently took great pleasure in
seeing the woman brought low. Another conversation Napoleon held in 1803 centered on his
opinion of de Staël’s novel Delphine, which discussed the issue of equality between the sexes.
Of this problem Napoleon stated that he did not “like masculine women any more than
effeminate men. Everybody should play his own part in this world. What’s the meaning of all
this gypsying of the imagination? What remains of it? Nothing. All this is sentimental
metaphysics, intellectual disorder.”81
Napoleon looked down upon any sort of intellectuality
among French women, and likened women feeling socially equal to men to a state of disorder. In
another anecdote taken from the point of view of de Staël, Napoleon approached “a
Frenchwoman who was celebrated for her beauty, wit, and liveliness of opinion. He placed
78
Napoleon Bonaparte to General Gaspard Gourgaud. Quoted in Herold, 8.
79
Herold, 14.
80
Ibid.
81
Napoleon. Quoted in Herold, 14.

22. Donaghue 22
himself directly facing her...and said, ‘Madam, I don’t like women to mix in politics.’”82
Napoleon’s words and interactions with intellectual women of his time clearly reflected his
belief that women were vastly inferior to men, and that they had little place within public French
society.
Napoleon furthered his argument that women should be shut out of French intellectual
society by offering what he considered to be their primary purpose, to make children. At a dinner
party in 1799 Madame de Staël asked Napoleon “what woman, dead or alive” he considered “to
be the greatest?”83
To this Napoleon replied “the one who has had the most children.”84
Napoleon could have easily said that he considered his wife or his mother the greatest woman, or
focused on any number of other attributes, but instead chose to reveal his view regarding what a
French woman’s role was. He could have brought up the qualities he found attractive in
Josephine that drew him to her, such as her beauty or personality, but did not. In yet another
conversation, this one held in 1817, Napoleon expressed his belief that “women receive too
much consideration in France,” and that “they should not be regarded as the equals of men,”
when “they are, in fact, mere machines to make children.”85
These words, taken as evidence
together with Napoleon’s decision to divorce Josephine for her inability to produce a male heir,
clearly supported his belief in the relegation of women to the domestic sphere due to their having
only a single function in French society, making children.
Supporting Napoleon’s emphasis on childbearing as the primary function of women in
France were the ways Napoleon treated his son after Marie Louise had him. Shortly after
Napoleon II’s birth in 1811, Napoleon sent a letter to Josephine, pointing out his son’s
82
Herold, 14.
83
Ibid.
84
Ibid.
85
Ibid.

23. Donaghue 23
resemblance to himself, and hoping that “[his son] will fulfill his destiny.”86
In addition,
Napoleon made it a point in his will to encourage his son “never to forget that he was born a
French Prince,” and that “he ought never to fight against France, or to injure her in any
manner.”87
These statements supported Napoleon’s view of women as merely machines to make
children, as he clearly saw his child as an important piece in cementing his legacy in France.
Further proof of Napoleon’s views of women as a means to preserve a positive legacy of himself
could be found in another section of his will, in which he declared that “Marchand shall preserve
[his] hair, and cause a bracelet to be made of it...to be sent to the Empress Maria Louisa, to [his]
mother, and to each of [his] brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces, the Cardinal, and one of larger
size for [his] son.”88
As could be seen through his words to his son and his desire to maintain a
physical, biological presence in France, Napoleon was interested above all else in creating and
preserving his own legacy, which had dramatic repercussions on how he viewed the women and
children in his life.
As regarded the amount of power men exercised over women, both married and
unmarried, Napoleon spoke often on his view that “one sex must submit to the other.”89
More
specifically, women must submit to men, this notion supported through a conversation held in
1817 where Napoleon stated he could “more easily conceive of incest between father and
daughter than between son and mother.”90
His reasoning behind this was that “in the one case, it
is the man who commands; in the other he must obey his mother,” a statement blatantly
revealing his refusal to acknowledge any amount of female superiority.91
While the statement
was hypothetical, it further revealed his belief in paternal authority and subsequent female
86
Napoleon Bonaparte to Josephine. Quoted in Herold, 25.
87
The Will of Napoleon. Quoted in Bourrienne, 376.
88
Ibid, 384.
89
Herold, 16.
90
Ibid.
91
Ibid.

24. Donaghue 24
subservience in any situation. Though both were obviously looked down upon, the former
rendering the man in control made it less offensive than the latter, which placed the woman in
control.
Napoleon’s views on women’s education in France also helped to reveal his narrow view
of women’s abilities and function in society. On this topic, in a note on the state school for girls
at Ecouen in 1807, Napoleon stressed the importance of teaching religion foremost, due to “the
weakness of women’s brains, the mobility of their ideas, their destination in the social order, the
necessity of constant and perpetual resignation and a kind of indulgent and facile
charitableness.”92
Napoleon wanted above all else that women learn skills to help them become
better suited for domestic tasks, stating “they should be kept busy, for three quarters of the year,
at manual tasks,” and that “they should know how to knit stockings, make shirts, embroider, in a
word, all sorts of feminine handiwork.”93
Napoleon claimed “the advantage of this is that they
acquire practice in everything they may be called upon to do and that their time is naturally
employed in practical and useful things.”94
Napoleon obviously did not consider political
activism or other pursuits of the sort to be practical and useful for women, supported by the fact
that “true to his prejudices, he never admitted [Josephine] into political matters.”95
An additional
element of women’s education that revealed his lower view of women lay in the exclusion of
men from women’s educational establishments “with the single exception of the headmaster,”
indicating that women, according to Napoleon, could not be permitted to oversee the instruction
of other women, which yet further revealed his outright refusal to allow any woman a position of
92
Herold, 18.
93
Ibid.
94
Herold, 19.
95
Richardson, 235.

25. Donaghue 25
authority in France.96
Separate emphases within the education of men and women furthered
Napoleon’s superior view of the role of men in France.
Marriage was another topic through which Napoleon’s views on the relationship between
power and gender revealed themselves. Napoleon made several remarks on marriage during
discussions of the Napoleonic Code by the Conseil d’Etat from 1802 to 1803 that revealed these
views, such as his statement that “a civil marriage requires a formula containing the promise of
obedience and fidelity on the part of the wife,” and that “she must be made to realize that on
leaving the tutelage of her family she passes under that of her husband.”97
These statements were
long held by Napoleon, but only at this point was he attempting to codify his views and make
them uniform throughout France. Napoleon also said at this meeting that “the husband must
possess the absolute power and right to say to his wife: ‘Madame, you shall not go out, you shall
not go to the theater, you shall not receive such and such a person; for the children you will bear
shall be mine.”’98
Most noteworthy about this statement was Napoleon’s emphasis on the
husband’s power being absolute and a right, revealing Napoleon’s beliefs of the superiority of
men to be a natural condition unable to be challenged.
All of the above evidence, including Napoleon’s actions and words relating to the issues
of power, gender, and differences in roles and expectations, came together to represent
Napoleon’s personal views on each. It was through the promulgation of the Napoleonic Code in
1804 that many of these views extended to the French populace, and how Napoleon was able to
impact the expectations for men and women held throughout his domain. Though Napoleon was
not present for the drafting of the entire Code, “without the personal force of [Napoleon] it may
96
Herold, 19.
97
Herold, 20.
98
Herold, 22.

26. Donaghue 26
well be said that the Code Civile could never have come into existence.”99
However debatable
Napoleon’s definitive contributions were to the Napoleonic Code, his ideas and views were
prevalent in the laws that were created.
Many of these laws could be found in the section “On Persons” in the fifth title “Of
Marriage” within the Code. For example, “of the qualities and conditions required in order to be
able to contract a marriage,” according to law 144, “a man before the age of 18, and a woman
before 15 complete, are incapable of contracting marriage.”100
Though this law was not
restrictive of women’s abilities to marry, it reflected the view of women as primarily child
bearers. While men had to wait until modern adulthood to marry, possibly for the purpose of
building financial stability, a theory supported by another law from this section of the Code,
women could marry at 15, a prime age to begin having children. Allowing women to marry and
begin having children at an earlier age likely was a product of Napoleon’s experience with
Josephine, where she, older than he, was unable to produce children. Napoleon’s view of women
as machines to make children was codified through this law, as women in France were expected
to marry earlier and have more children.
Additional laws within the Napoleonic Code reflected Napoleon’s views of male
superiority, and legalized those views across France. These laws included law 148, which
addressed the age at which potential marriage partners could not contract a marriage without
parental consent, and stated “in case of disagreement [between the mother and father], the
consent of the father is sufficient.”101
Laws 213, 214, 215, and 217 also helped to legalize male
superiority, specifically between husbands and wives, through establishing clear gender roles and
99
Richardson, 126.
100
144 of the Code Napoleon; or, The French Civil Code. Literally Translated from the Original and Official Edition, Published at Paris, in 1804.
By a Barrister of the Inner Temple. Translation attributed to George Spence (cf. Cushing's Anonyms: A Dictionary of Revealed Authorship and
Halkett & Laing's Dictionary of Anonymous and Pseudonymous English Literature and in the Dictionary of National Biography). London:
Published by William Benning, Law Bookseller, 1827. xix, 627 pages. 101
148 of the Code Napoleon.

27. Donaghue 27
placing restrictions on wives. Law 213 clearly defined these roles in saying “the husband owes
protection to his wife, the wife obedience to her husband.”102
Law 214 provided more specifics
regarding these roles in saying “the wife is obliged to live with her husband, and to follow him to
every place where he may judge it convenient to reside.”103
This law reaffirmed what was
established in law 108 of the third title of the Code, which stated “a married woman has no
domicile but that of her husband.”104
According to these laws, a woman had almost no say at all
in her marriage, a condition highly prevalent in Napoleon’s actions and words regarding his
marriage to Josephine.
Laws 215 and 217 provided additional restrictions on wives without their husbands’
consent, including the wife’s ability to plead in her own name.105
Laws 228 and 296 placed
another significant restriction on women specifically, stating “a woman cannot contract a new
marriage until ten months have elapsed of the dissolution of the preceding marriage.”106
This law
was notably not extended to men as well, as evidenced by Napoleon’s divorce of Josephine and
subsequent marriage to Marie Louise less than ten months after. There were obvious differences
in the expectations of men and women in France as a result of these laws, and Napoleon’s
fingerprints on these laws were highly visible.
The aforementioned double standard Napoleon held for men and women regarding
adultery played into the creation of laws 229 and 230 of the sixth title of the Code. While law
229 read ‘the husband may demand a divorce on the ground of his wife’s adultery,” law 230
stated that a wife could do the same only if the husband “shall have brought his concubine into
102
213 of the Code Napoleon.
103
214 of the Code Napoleon.
104
108 of the Code Napoleon.
105
215, 217 of the Code Napoleon.
106
228, 296 of the Code Napoleon.

28. Donaghue 28
their common residence.”107
Whereas the husband could demand a divorce simply on a rumor or
whim, as Napoleon did in 1799, the wife had to produce evidence of the adultery through the
mistress’s presence within her husband’s house.
The ninth title of the Code dealt with paternal power over children. Law 372 stated a
child remained “subject to [his parent’s] control until his majority or emancipation,” while law
373 stated “the father alone exercises this control during marriage.”108
When it came to power
within the household, Napoleon’s views of male superiority clearly made themselves present.
Another example of this lack of power for mothers could be found in laws 377 and 381. The
former, 377, described the father’s power to confine his child “from the age of sixteen years
commenced to the majority or emancipation...during six months,” while the latter, 381, stated
that “the mother surviving and not married again is not empowered to cause the confinement of a
child, except with the concurrence of the two nearest paternal relations.”109
Once again, the
mother faced a restriction requiring the consent of a man regarding her child, yet another
reflection of Napoleon’s input in this section of the Code.
The tenth title of the Code continued the trend of granting superior rights to fathers and
further restrictions on mothers, such as those found in laws 389, 391, 395, 399, 403, and 442. For
example Law 389 appointed the father “administrator of the personal effects of his children
being minors,” while Law 391 stated that ‘the father shall be at liberty...to nominate to the
mother surviving and being guardian, a special council, without whose concurrence she shall not
have power to do any act relative to the guardianship.”110
Law 395 required women seeking
guardianship to obtain consent from a family council, while Law 399 forbade remarried women
107
229, 230 of the Code Napoleon.
108
372, 373 of the Code Napoleon.
109
377, 381 of the Code Napoleon.
110
389, 391 of the Code Napoleon.

29. Donaghue 29
from choosing a guardian for their children.111
Finally, Law 442 declared “women, except the
mother or female and female ancestors,” as “persons incapable of being guardians or members of
family councils,” yet another restriction placed only on women.112
To recap, it could be reasonably stated that no figure had a more tremendous impact on
the events of nineteenth century Europe than the Emperor Napoleon. Indeed, after the chaos and
brutality that existed for years under the Directory and Reign of Terror, Napoleon, who
unquestionably desired and worked toward creating a stabilized and prosperous future for the
French citizenry, was perhaps exactly what France needed to achieve that goal. Napoleon greatly
impacted his empire through his personal views on gender roles and expectations, particularly
relating to marriage, and how his views were projected across the French population through the
Napoleonic Code. Napoleon’s experiences with women, particularly Josephine, Marie Louise,
and Madame de Staël, helped to shape his views as well as reflected them. His reaction to
Josephine’s infidelity and eventual divorce for political reasons displayed his objectified views
of women, and conversations he held both during and after his reign as emperor revealed his firm
belief that women were, to him, little more than machines to create children.
If the evidence presented of Napoleon’s words and actions was not enough to prove his
inferior regard for women, the laws he promoted that would negatively impact the lives of all
Frenchwomen for centuries certainly did. These included restrictions on the ability to seek
divorce and control the guardianship of children. In addition, women were legally declared
subordinate to their husbands, and were required to live with them regardless of where they
decided to reside. These laws helped to create a generalized view of the role and expectations of
women throughout France, and Napoleon’s role in this could not be ignored.
111
395, 399 of the Code Napoleon.
112
442 of the Code Napoleon.

30. Donaghue 30
The evidence presented here was supported through the work of numerous historians,
such as Desan, Hesse, Withee, and Outram, who more often than not agreed that in many ways
women’s rights and opportunities for activism improved during the Revolution. However, these
historians were unanimous in their belief that under Napoleon, and due specifically to his
Napoleonic Code, these rights and opportunities were drastically reduced and often eliminated
entirely. These reductions and eliminations were directly the result of Napoleon’s desire to
promote his personal views across his empire and to create a more generalized, inferior, and
subordinate expectation for women.
Present throughout these actions, conversations, and laws was Napoleon’s overarching
desire to build himself a lasting legacy and lineage, a desire that overruled any other aspect of his
life, particularly his familial relationships. Napoleon, himself, always came first, followed by a
stabilized and prosperous France, followed by his subjects, of which women were vastly inferior
to men. Though Napoleon would, with good reason, undoubtedly be remembered by most for his
military successes and failures, he very well could have had an even more titanic impact on
French society through the promotion of his personal views on gender roles and expectations
through the actions he took, the words he spoke, and the laws he created as Emperor of the
French.

31. Donaghue 31
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and Halkett & Laing's Dictionary of Anonymous and Pseudonymous English Literature and
in the Dictionary of National Biography). London: Published by William Benning, Law
Bookseller, 1827. xix, 627 pages.
http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/government/c_code.html
Andress, David. 2009. "The Shifting Landscape of Revolutionary Interpretations: A Death of the
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