The Vanishing Children Of Paris Sparknotes

The Vanishing Children of Paris: Rumor and Politics before the French Revolution, written by Arlette Farge and Jacques Revel, is a compelling microhistory that considers how the disappearance of children in Paris revealed the deterioration of public trust in the monarchy, and the political and social tensions that ultimately led to the French Revolution. Through close analysis of primary sources, the authors use this singular event to reveal the mindset and the culture of Parisians during the eighteenth century. The monograph follows a two-day series of riots that erupted in Paris in 1750 as the public retaliated against police forces who they believed were abducting their children. As the police began to make arrests to maintain peace and

They start by outlining the historical context and landscape of the revolt. They then discuss police orders that were implemented in the city along with the contrasting truth and rumors that followed. The detrimental effects of the circulation of rumors and conspiracies amongst the public were particularly highlighted to show the difficulty of maintaining peace and order within a city. Finally, they solidify their argument by showing the impact of the riots on the public’s opinion of King Louis the 15th. They stated that although “the child abductions was one tiny episode in the whole narrative of the eighteenth century,” it initiated a significant shift in perspective and revealed a new truth: “The people no longer loved their kings whom once they had held so dear” (Farge and Revel 1991, 132). All together the riots represent the unique historical relationship between rumor, politics, and the power dynamics between ordinary citizens and their

This is largely due to their public opinions being “developed as part of a philosophical Enlightenment.” In contrast, the voices of the lower class were often not recorded, erasing their perspectives from this period. As Jill Lepore argues, the value of examining one’s life “lies in how it serves as an allegory for the culture as a whole.” By looking at the actions and viewpoints of Paris’s residents, readers better understand the the broader political tensions at this time. And though this event is not a direct cause of the French Revolution, the representation of marginalized groups revealed that the lower-class shared similar ideals with the aristocracy regarding those in positions of