question_answer

  Describe the persons represented in their actions, their postures, the objects they are carrying. Look carefully to see whether all of them come from the same social group. What symbols has the artist included in the image? What do they stand for? Do the actions of the women reflect traditional ideas of how women were expected to behave in public? What do you think: does the artist sympathise with the women's activities or is he critical of them? Discuss your views in the Class.                                                                                         This print is one of the many pictorial representations of the events of 5th October, 1789, when women marched to Versailles and brought the king back with them to Paris.

Answer:

                  They are all women and belong to the same social group, i.e., the underprivileged. The agricultural implements in their hands confirm that they are peasants. The clothes also show their poverty. The symbol of justice held by one woman depicts that they are striving for it. The woman on the horse symbolises power and strength. The drum symbolises that they are proclaiming their march to all concerned. Here the actions of the women do not reflect the traditional ideas of how women should publicly behave. The artist definitely sympathises with the activities of the women.