Friday, June 18, 2010
The Napoleonic Complexity.
A very interesting topic that we discussed in class this week dealt with the differing public views of Napoleon Bonaparte. Beloved by many and despised by even more, Napoleon trampled over the fine line on which he walked, in regards to his reputation; you either loved him or you hated him! I find it quite amusing that a guy who wreaked devastating havoc externally and within his own country was still loved by so many. Napoleon put his ego ahead of the lives of his soldiers; he lost nearly 1 million French servicemen. The soldiers whom survived were deserted after defeat as Napoleon bolted back to Paris to handle some "personal" affairs. All this said, after Napoleon was exiled and subsequently returned, he was able to corral back his troops (who were sent out to stop him) and take back military control of the country. Once back in control, he proceeded to lead more young Frenchmen to their deaths (hindsight is 20/20). Understandingly, Napoleon was not very well like outside of France. We saw through the caricatures the extremely negative light which was shone upon Napoleon during and after his reign as "emperor" of France. The illustrations used strong symbolism and representations to describe Napoleon's impact on Europe. Animal symbolism was often used in the representation of Napoleon. He was often depicted as the sly fox. Why a fox? Possibly it represented his his shady actions and unstable persona. Another motif used was the fitting depiction of Napoleon as the devil. I think this is a lot more effective because it is a direct challenge to his motives and a straightforward comparison to the personification of evil. Why was he loved by so many and completely hated by more? How was there such a large discrepancy in the public view of Napoleon after he did such horrible things to both foreign countries and his own people?
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I think a reason Napoleon was still liked is because he's a winner, and had many successful conquests. We mentioned in class that his soldiers were loyal to him, so I think he was probably very charismatic and easy to follow. When he returned and was able to raise an army, I think it was because of his reputation from past successes outweighing recent failures. The cartoons depicted him as a loser or the devil, which may be true, but he was still a great military tactician in his early days.
ReplyDeleteGood post, I too talked about Napoleon and the conflicting views that people have of him. While he did horrible things to other countries as well as his own, I think people will love someone who is willing to lead. True, the leading might be in the wrong direction, but it's leading non the less. Hitler was the same way; loved by some, hated by many others. There are great differences in the two men, but the love/hate of the people in their country is similar.
ReplyDeleteI think the reason he was loved by so many French men was because he did do a lot for the French people and the reason why he was hated by so many people outside of France was because they were scared of him. I believe they used the caricatures to try to turn the people and his soldiers against him, because they were not sure they could beat him on the battlefield. He definitely let his ego get in the way. He did do a lot of things wrong and killed and hurt a lot more people. This is why there are so many mixed views of him.
ReplyDeleteNapoleon is definitely a divisive figure in European history. He kind of exemplifies the very best and worst qualities of a leader- he was talented, inspiring and charismatic, but he was also selfish, vengeful, and arrogant. I feel like you can't pigeonhole Napoleon as either a true product of the Enlightenment or a mere despot who was in the right place at the right time who made a (hugely) successful power grab. He was an interesting mixture of both these tendencies. I find it very interesting that, a couple hundred years out, we're still contemplating the significance of Napoleon and still trying to figure out what he was about.
ReplyDeleteAgain, an insightful post about the complexities of Napoleon. I agree with Andrew's response in many ways but I would also argue that for many people, Napoleon preserved the achievements of the French Revolution. His government stabilized a France that was teetering between the forces of counter-revolution and radical republicanism and ensured that the basic reforms of 1789 were not lost as a result. He also consolidated and introduced other domestic reforms that improved conditions in France for people of all different social backgrounds (except perhaps for women).
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