King Louis XVI: Tyrant or Man?

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the research work by Jordan in which he presents a thorough character sketch of King Louis XVI. Jordan shows how through the role of the king, Louis accurately shows the duality that humans constantly face. Louis is at once a tyrant, and a family man; he is both treasonous and patriotic. Jordan presents both sides of Louis' character, and inevitably proves how important public perception of each side is, in evaluating the whole man.

From the Paper:

"Jordan divides the character of Louis XVI into two distinct parts- Louis the Tyrant, and Louis the Man. Louis the Tyrant is the part of the king that deals with the public's political perception of him after his acceptance of the constitution. It is this role that was the key focus within the Convention, for it was here that his "crimes" against the state were examined. The crimes were such that Louis was referred to as a "determined and devious man bent on destroying the Revolution." Among his many atrocities he was accused of having "deliberately obstructed the constitution, instructed his ministers to lie to the Legislative Assembly, sought to bribe deputies, encouraged the emigration of his friends and... tried to reestablish his authority." This form of public thought came about mostly as a result of the enlightenment, a period of time after which it was acceptable behavior to doubt Medieval ideology. Kings were no longer beings with divine rights, and the laws that they made were no longer seen to be the orders of God. These enlightened ideas were what made criticism of the king possible in the first place. Once illuminated thought made its way into society, people began to realize some of the cruelties that the monarchy had been inflicting upon them. They began to see King Louis as a threat to the nation, not their sovereign leader. This view of him came directly from how he appeared when reigning from his throne. As Jordan makes clear, this is not the only side of his personality."

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