16.1 The Patriotic Snack, Reunion of the Three Estates, August 4, 1789

Like all major social upheavals, the French Revolution unleashed both enormous hopes and great fears, largely depending on an individual’s position in French society. Nonetheless, in the early stages of the revolution (1789–1791), many people believed that France could become a constitutional monarchy with a far more limited role for the king and that the three estates—clergy, nobility, and commoners—could live together in harmony. Source 16.1 represents this phase of the revolution as it depicts the peaceful interaction of members of the three estates. The text that originally accompanied this image read: “Then Messieur we drink to the health of our good King and the Fatherland, that we may be in agreement, at least for this life. And that virtue may be our guide and we will taste together the true pleasures of life.”

image
Source 16.1 The Patriotic Snack, Reunion of the Three Estates, August 4, 1789 Musée de la Ville de Paris, Musée Carnavalet, Paris, France/Giraudon/Bridgeman Images