The Guillotine and the Terror [Mass Market Paperback]

Daniel Arasse (Author), Christopher Miller (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1995

This is a study of the guillotine and its role in the French Revolution, concentrating as much upon the social and psychological contexts - the "mythology" and theatre of the guillotine - as upon the history and transformations of the guillotine's invention. The book offers a thesis which argues, for example, that the guillotine acts as an enlightenment machine, as the begetter of a new physiology of the headless body politic, as an aristocratic/democratic art of dying, and as the source of a new kind of criminological portraiture.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This rather curious book is more an evocation of an era than a revelation of new information. Arasse culls numerous first-hand accounts of the French Revolution to find out how contemporaries viewed the guillotine. Dr. Guillotin proposed that this machine should become a more humane form of executing criminals, but even before the Reign of Terror commenced the guillotine came to be associated with savagery. Arasse shows how every aspect of the ordeal (the procession, the scaffold, the final words of the accused, the actions of the executioner, as well as the guillotine's changing location) reveal important political and emotional details. By studying the public symbolism associated with the guillotine, this book helps the reader to gain an intimate appreciation of the drama of the Revolution. It should appeal to general readers as well as scholars.
- Thomas J. Schaeper, St. Bonaventure Univ., N.Y.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (January 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140108300
• ISBN-13: 978-0140108309
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,769,721 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not for the faint of heart, December 1, 2004

By 

Irene Rheinwald (Montreal, Quebec, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Guillotine and the Terror (Hardcover)

Perhaps one of the most eccentric and emotionally demanding books I have ever come across, but one that maintains its intellectual integrity. Few authors have examined this multi-layered subject: the symbolism of that judicious and 'humane' killing machine, the guillotine. Once thought the most progressive means of execution, it became a monster, with an independent, bloodthirsty spirit. The guillotine had a raison d'etre beyond mere rope, metal and wood. This is the Terror raised to an art form: theatre. Here is the headless Will of the People, without consciousness; the perfect government, subverting individuality.

In destroying the ancien regime, the newborn Republic and finally the perpetrators of the Revolution, the guillotine became viewed a symbol for man's darkest, most destructive impulses. The body politic beheaded, eventually turning in on itself: the she-wolf devouring her young.

This short but effective book analyzes the symbolism of the guillotine, and the image it projected into the minds and hearts of individuals and society. Through a series of well researched anecdotes, Arasse (a professor of art history) examines all the players: the instrument, the scaffold, the blade, the precision, the swiftness (or lack thereof), the executioner, the victims, and the spectators.

Perhaps the most grisly sections deals with contemporary speculations on the post beheading survival of consciousness from a neurological perspective. How does one deal with the impossible dilemma (compare with Descartes) of "I am dead"? Arasse even describes (apocryphal) experiments (volunteers, anyone?) of keeping a head alive following decapitation. And, of course, there is the well known tale of Charlotte Corday's indignant blush. Indeed, that select club, the beheaded, was quite the source of fascination. What happens at the moment? What of the blade's descent? What does the victim feel? How long does awareness persist, if at all? Is there recognition of time? With such a commonplace spectacle, thinkers pose questions. The masses remain indifferent, outside of expertly critiquing the executioner's methodology.

I purchased the book when it was first published, and occasionally re-read it. Prior to an extended trip to Paris in 2003, I devoured it, along with Simon Schama's brilliant 'Citizens'. In the Conciergerie, and on the Place de la Concorde, I could feel the reverberations of that terrible, tragic time.