The Third Estate Awakens

This colored etching, produced after the fall of the Bastille (note the heads on pikes outside the prison), shows a clergyman (First Estate) and a noble (Second Estate) alarmed by the awakening of the commoners (Third Estate). The Third Estate breaks the chains of oppression and arms itself. In what ways does this print draw attention to the social conflicts that lay behind the political struggles in the Estates General? (The Awakening of the Third Estate, July 1789 [coloured engraving] [see also 266297], French School, [18th century]/Musée de la Ville de Paris, Musée Carnavalet, Paris, France / Bridgeman Images.)