Marquis De Lafayette Character Analysis

For a man who was quoted for his dislike of Paris, Marquis de Lafayette spent a large proportion of his life fighting for the city, and working hard to help it grow. It seemed that no matter what the man could do, he would not be recognized for what he did for his country. He lived in Paris through its biggest period of change. Such periods were the revolution, the reign of terror, napoleon, the bourbon restoration and the July revolution. In each time his name was known, and he worked hard to have an effect, yet he is known mostly for the streets named after him. Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette grew up with a name that was a mouthful. He said in his autobiography “It’s not my fault, I was baptized …show more content…
All seemed to be perfect for the young aristocrat. However, when he turned twelve, both his mother and grandmother died within the same month, leaving him orphaned. However, he did become the richest orphan in all of France, perhaps the richest child in the country as well. By the age of fourteen, he was already a musketeer and having marriage plans arranged for him, though he did not wed his wife until he turned 16, and she 14. Before, during, and after the American Revolution, Lafayette was known to the French Monarchy. He was actually made fun of by Marie Antoinette, who he later saved, for his awful dance moves. However, you can’t blame him. He was raised in the ‘country’. When he returned from the American Revolution he asked for the help of fellow revolutionary Thomas Jefferson to write the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. His views on the French Revolution can be quite …show more content…
After his wife’s death in 1807, he stayed quietly in his home. He even refused multiple political opportunities from Napoleon, and Jefferson respectively. He refused the first because he refused to work under the emperor’s reign, and would prefer a democracy, and the latter because he wanted to help France find liberty. This silence did not last, however. He was soon to be in the public eye again.
After his wife’s death, he stayed rather reclusive. He hardly left his home ‘La Grange’. He invited all American’s to come stay in his home and meet him. Though he is not taught about in schools, he was one of America’s first celebrities. There were even gloves made with his face embroidered on them. Upon seeing one on the hand of a lady, he refused to kiss her hand saying ‘I would rather not kiss myself’, or something to that extent. He made his dislike for the Bourbon Restoration quite clear. As a loyal republican, it was impossible for him to support a Chambers of Deputies that was so restrictive. However, knowing there wasn’t much at the time he could do to fight it, he went against the king and helped support the Greek Revolution with his son. He was nearly arrested for this ‘treason’